I’M NOT SURE WHEN THE TOWN COUNCIL “adopted” little Danny Froelich, but it may have been in 1984 when Pacific Beach was home to “The World’s Largest Sand Castle” on the beach north of Crystal Pier. I’m guessing he was 12 or so when he attached himself to the Town Council crew that was sponsoring the event. Danny’s mom even let him join the group that stayed up all night making sure no one damaged the sand castle. Later, Danny could be seen helping at the Pacific Beach Block Party and the Christmas Parade. I didn’t see him much after he graduated from Mission Bay High School, but I knew he wanted to pursue a career in firefighting. Once I ran into him and he said he’d landed a position in Temecula (I think). Eventually, he got on with the San Diego Fire Department. A couple of years back I was leaving the Green Flash after breakfast and there was Danny — now Dan — polishing the hook and ladder truck in front of Station 21. Last week, I was reading an article in The Union-Tribune about a storm-related mud slide in the College area. The article had extensive quotes from San Diego Fire Battalion Chief Dan Froelich. Time does fly. I CONVINCED THE ONCE-A-MONTH LUNCH BUNCH to try Randy Jones All American Sports Grill, the former Trophy’s Restaurant at Hazard Center where we once regularly dined. For the most part, the group goes back 30 years to when three of them were members of the band that backed the hypnotist Michael Dean at the Catamaran. As always, I was the first on the scene at Randy Jones, and thought I’d wandered into an episode of the “Twilight Zone,” or maybe “Candid Camera.” In the self-same spot that a bubbly hostess once stood was — no one. I waited five minutes and seated myself. A few parties were ordering and dining, but I couldn’t get arrested. Eventually, a nice young man got me a cup of coffee and a menu. The rest of my friends drifted in and pretty soon we ordered our food and enjoyed a little camaraderie. Here’s the kicker. All of the wait staff were of the male persuasion. Call me prejudiced if you will, but if I want to be served by a guy I’ll do what I usually do — put a TV dinner in the microwave. I’m thinking Mrs. Jones must be in charge of the hiring. At Hooter’s, the girls weren’t quite enough to make up for the bad food. At Randy Jones the food wasn’t quite good enough to make up for the lack of femininity. BOY OH BOY! HAVE YOU NOTICED the days getting longer? Me neither, but summer can’t be far away! Oh, wait — we still have winter and spring don’t we? — John Fry may be reached at 272-6655 or [email protected]