I’m writing this to Skip Tindle, Todd Strong, Tom Griswold and all the others who are having an ongoing contest via the Beacon as to who’s more right. You silly boys, just stop it. Let it go and stop criticizing everything and everybody. Nobody’s going to go into the archives to read previous letters, except you guys, because we don’t care.
I moved to Ocean Beach 14 years ago and I love this community. It is incredible. Is OB perfect? Of course not. But really, as you drive into OB after a long day, don’t you feel so happy to be home? Or coming down the hill from Point Loma and seeing the ocean and the pier, doesn’t it give you a chill to know you actually get to live here? Don’t you relish our weird, eclectic mix of people, our diversity and camaraderie? As far as the OB Town Council goes, I think they do a wonderful job at our Chili Cook-Off and Christmas Parade. I don’t know any of them but they seem to have our best interest at heart.
As for Starbucks and Wings, while they weren’t my first choice, after sitting vacant for years, at least we have thriving businesses there, not empty buildings. None of the locals stepped up to rent the spaces and they couldn’t stay vacant forever. I miss the pet store, the drug store, Tuba Mans and the others who’ve left, but there are 80-year-olds who miss the trolley cars and the dance hall. Life moves forward. Yes, the bums on the beach wall are annoying, but so are the people whose every other word is the “f” word. I think that’s more offensive, but it’s a free country last I checked. The booze ban is stupid. People will just bring hard liquor and mix it, but that’s my opinion, and I don’t even drink. But this is OB. It’s just who we are.
All that being said, Ocean Beach is one of the last, truly best places to live. I’m a 55-year-old real estate broker and own a property management company ” hardly an ill-informed kid. When, or if, I have to leave here it will be one of the saddest days of my life and OB will live in my heart forever. I love this community and wish you’d stop the bickering, name calling, et cetera. Better yet, just e-mail each other and leave our wonderful community out of your testosterone-induced newspaper quarrel. To the rest of Ocean Beach, you’re the greatest!