Bruce Wilson

Bruce Wilson

Watch this one and then see what other shows that you watched BITD pop into your head.

Bruce Wilson

Just in case some folks here become devotees of Dick Dale, I went to Dick Dale's on Van Buren in Riverside in the sixties.

There do not appear to be any photos of the building, but here's Dick & Wife & friend from the era:

Bruce Wilson

Anyone heading out to visit Jim Longerbone who has an interest in rock'n'roll (and/or other)  guitars may want to stop in at the Fender Museum in Corona. Eight bucks for Seniors and grandkids under 12 free..

Fender Museum of Music and the Arts ---- Aroundevery corner, walls of Fender amplifiers await your eyes, anddozens of guitars. Technology that started a music revolution isclose enough to touch. Items from Merle Haggard, Dick Dale, KurtCobain, the Fender Custom Shop and photos from the Kids Rock Freemusic education program. Featured at the museum is the "JohnnyCash: An American Icon Exhibit," a one-of-a-kind exhibit, featuringoriginal instruments, stage clothing, awards, and memorabilia ownedworn and used by the legendary entertainer from the collection oflongtime Cash friend Bill Miller. The wall of friends featuresconcert pictures from many of the great shows the museum hashosted, including Steve Miller, Merle Haggard, Joe Walsh, EttaJames, the Turtles, John Waite, Paul Rodgers, Dick Dale and more.Steve Miller (Steve Miller Band) is featured in a tribute exhibit.Paul Rodgers is another legendary music icon represented in themuseum. The singer songwriter, multi-instrumentalist of Free, BadCompany, The Firm, and Queen + Paul Rodgers fame is featured inrare photos, clothing and handwritten lyrics; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.Wednesdays through Saturdays; 365 N. Main Street, Corona; $10 foradults, $8 for students and seniors and children age 12 and youngerare free; 951-735-2440, fendermuseum.com.

Bruce Wilson

Jim brings to mind ships, which brings to mind autonomous (unmanned) ships, featured on 60 Minutes last night.

What the impact will be on the Transpac is beyond the scope of this article.

Terry Lee Maple

Re steroids in the sixties. Recall that body builders like Steve Reeves demonstrated muscularity that indicated steroids in the 1950's. I know a strength expert at the University of Texas who told me he could just look at a guy and tell you if he abused steroids. It appears that steroids will give an athlete about a ten percent advantage, so sprinters become world class with steroids, pitchers enjoy significant velocity increases, and hitters hit monstrous home runs. I observed a few contemporaries who improved their size and their performance noticebly. One was Frank Fernandez who ran sprints with me every day. His senior year he became noticably faster. He was never one of the fastest runners in our class, but his senior year he was remarkably better. Knowing Frank, if there was a performance enhanching drug that would improve his game, he would have found it. I think the source of PED's in Chula Vista at that time was Earl Clark's Health Club. One thing for sure, steroids (if he used them) didn't improve his arm. Frank could throw a sixty year pass in elementary school. As a passer, he didn't need any help. I hasten to add that Frank was a remarkable, natural athlete with the most perfect baseball swing I ever saw. If he had help, it didn't alter his trajectory as one of the best all-around athletes in our era. Dirk van Dyke, the heat-throwing junior pitcher who played with us in 1964 might know if the drugs were being used by pitchers in the area. I understsand steroids were legal then, so its no big deal that anyone used them. Evidence has shown that steroids work, so no wonder that they are in great demand in college and professional sports. There is clearly an ethical issue with their use especially by young men and women who can be damaged, e.g. the East German swimmers. I'm still looking for a team-mate who will come clean and tell me if he used steroids in high school or college. The media have been duped into thinking there was a "steroid era" and everyone was clean before then. Not true, in my opinion. My educated guess is this; steroids were available to high school athletes in the sixties but they were not widely used. For one thing, the stakes weren't that high. Today's athlete sees dollar signs at the end of the PED rainbow.

Bruce Wilson

Terry et al. 

My buddy Det. C. (CVPD) has confirmed steroids were readily available at Earl Clark's World Gym.

On an unrelated note, Coronado, 1886.

.

Bruce Wilson

It's official.

Chicano Park  is now an officially designated National Historic Landmark. Fomer Hilltop High School student and junior high school bus stop monitor Michael Schnorr was instrumental in getting its' murals restored,

Local firefighters love the place.

Michele, Corinne & Jolie (sp?) and I (and many others I did not know) attended a tribure to Mike at the park. No firemen showed up.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/sd-me-chicano-historic-20170111-story.html

Bruce Wilson

In more mundane news of Otay,  we took our first official ride on the new I-805 ramp which is just a small part of the $1.4 Billion project and the Chargers are moving to L.A.

Bob Dylan used to say that "money doesn't talk, it swears", but sometimes it just laughs.

Bridge No. 57-1222, for aficionados of fancy bridge artwork (rumoured to have cost $500K) and Michele (rumoured to be nearing the 500K views mark)::

Bruce Wilson

Local high school - 50 year reunion. Any guesses.

Hint: Class of 1963

May, 2002

1. The Sloughs surprised everyone on Good Friday with a classic, all-time session. After a week of pitifully tiny, crappy waves, Friday morning dawned with 8-10 foot PERFECT waves at 1st Notch. Warm water too! As usual, only the old guys were out

Bruce Wilson

Linda Keating:

Here's a little background on the your sailing trip which you told me about,

Using the resin/laminating techniques of surfboard production, Tom Warner started making nautical furniture and selling unique items at Kettenberg Marine and designer boutiques.

It was at the Kettenberg store in Point Loma that the actor/comedian Jerry Lewis saw some of the antique hatch cover tables Tom created. Lewis requested some custom items for his new yacht, the Princess Two, and his Hollywood office. 

The quality of craftsmanship, attention to detail, and implicit love of the ocean expressed in all his work impressed the comedian. Lewis made Warner an offer he just couldn’t refuse: Maintain and navigate the yacht he had docked at the Kona Kai Club in Point Loma. 

Fortunately, Tom knew how to “drive” a boat. 

He had owned a small commercial fishing vessel with his father, and had worked a few summers as a deckhand chasing tuna. Tom’s deep understanding and respect for the tides, currents, and uncertainties of the oceans calmed the nerves of the original “Nutty Professor.”

The opportunity to surf the high seas on luxury yachts was an irresistible new career path. Tom sold South Coast Surfboards at the peak of the late 1960s surfing craze to a retired Navy captain, William Mercer, and the original Surf Hut to an old friend, Jim Hartnet. 

Jim Hartnet is a CV boy.

Bruce Wilson

Mystery photo from my past. I recognize her easily, but the guy, nope.

Two more, unrelated to the first, but related to one another.

If anyone guesses any or all of the identities, then try this. If someone stowed away on one of those unmanned ships, would the ship's captain know?

George Bracey Gillow

The following is from the South Bay Historical Society on a Rohr Exhibit that will open at the CV Library on January 29th:

"A new exhibit on the history of the Rohr Aircraft Corporation will open January 29 at the Chula Vista Heritage Museum in the Chula Vista Civic Library at 365 F Street. The exhibit will open at 3:30 pm following a talk in the Auditorium at 2:30 by Steve Schoenherr on the history of Rohr.

The company that was founded on the bayfront in 1940 had a profound impact on the history of Chula Vista and the aircraft industry. It was the world's largest producer of engine power packages from World War II to the 1990s. Fred Rohr pioneered the concept of a "feeder" subcontractor supplying vital airplane components to the factory where the plane was assembled. He developed new tools such as the drop hammer and new materials such as honeycombed titanium. The company employed up to 10,000 workers in its 67 buildings on 162 acres along the Chula Vista bayfront from G Street to J Street. The influence of the Rohr weekly payroll was dramatically demonstrated in 1954 when Fred Rohr paid his workers in silver dollars, flooding the community with bags of coins." 

Bruce Wilson

Fred Rohr (I worked at the elementary school named after him with the inimitable Mary 'P' Cotton) paid his employees in silver dollars. The San Diego Union Tribune paid the paperboys in the equivalent of wooden nickels.

I also worked with Claudia Anderson (sweetheart in the photo below)  at Palomar Elementary.

Never worked with Tubo, but I believe he as a cousin of the Iulis so he gets a nod.

Brings to mind Dire Straits

Terry Lee Maple

That photo does resemble Tubo Leonard. I had my first encounter with him in junior high school when we travelled to Southwestern to play a game of touch football. I enraged him when I clipped him and he never forgot it. We had some battles on the boards in Y basketball. He didn't improve much so I don't remember him as a major factor in high school. Phil Iuli was one of our best defensive players my unior year. He didn't play his senior year as he and my buddy George Kelly joined the marines on the buddy system. They spent time as sea marines on the Kitty Hawk just before the Viet Nam war heated up. Phil was a good boxer and had a lot of fights while he was stationed in the far east. George told me he also had a lot of street fights which kept George on his toes. Phil had an older brother who was tall. Lopati was a good basketball player. These were among the first Samoan athletes who showed up in American high schools and began to dominate in colleges like BYU, USC, UCLA, Utah, and UW. I loved playing with Phil but I was glad he wasn't playing against me. I met George when I started dating his lovely sister Mary. He became my best friend. Sadly, we lost him at an early age. RIP George Kelly.

Bruce Wilson

Leonard Tubo Yandall. I have what may or may not still be his email address.

The Iuli family lived not far from where I live now. I've asked around but the folks I talked to don't have any info.

I believe Papa Iuli was also named Lopati. The one I think is the youngest Iuli son used to come to Greg Rogers playground when I worked there.

George was a good guy. My memory is weak on this, but I seem to recall him hanging out alot in junior high with Jim Probert.

Back to IB.

Finally Richard Joly, who appears with Tubo, was one of the early surboard builders in IB. As far as I know Geoffrey Logan was the first. I remember going to Logan's shop with Mike Hollister and Mike McCombs.

Mr. Logan, one of the first world traveling surfers of  the era, is credited with this photo of the NZ Chapter of the Windansea Surf Club, circa 1968.

Bruce Wilson

Public Service Reminder:

The year in which you turn 70 1/2 you must begin taking RMD's (required minimum distributions) from IRA, SEP-IRA, 401-K etc. accounts.

Generally your annual RMD must be made by December 31 of each year. However, you can delay taking your first RMD -- and only your first RMD -- until April 1, of the following year. If you choose this election then two RMD's will be required in the firstr year, one by April 1 and the other by December 31.

The penalty for failure to take your required RMD is steep--50% of the amount you should have received.

Some companies notify you of this, others do not.

Some companies will handle everything for you, some do not.

If you have more than one, an RMD equal to the total amount for all of them must be made, but it can come from just one account.

Bruce Wilson

Public Service Reminder Take Two:

If you have cataract surgery, question your doctor thoroughly and read all the manufacturer's literature before choosing a multifocal lense. 

The literature will contain a lot of informationabout the good results, but buried in there willalso  be information about potential downsides.

My initial surgery and follow-up YAG laser procedure went well. However, I now have starbursts (see [sic] below) which make it hard to drive a night (and if I had both eyes done, impossible, to drive at night).

George Bracey Gillow

An important point on RMD's (Required Minimum Distributions ) is that you must take out from EACH 401k every year.

However, as Bruce mentioned, you can take out of only one IRA or SEP/IRA as long as the total covers what is required for all IRAs.

So, for example, if you have five (5)  IRAs each of $10,000 and the RMD is, say, $400 for each, then you can take out $2000 from one to cover all.

But if you have a number of 401ks you need to take out RMDs from every one.

Companies like Fidelity and Merrill Lynch Edge automatically calculate the RMDs and you can have them set up to automatically distribute to your bank checking or savings account yearly. (You cannot deposit into retirement accounts like IRAs or 401ks after you retire.  Just into regular accounts.)

The IRS website has information on RMDs: https://www.irs.gov/ (search RMD)

Fidelity has an RMD calculator: https://web.fidelity.com/mrd/application/MRDCalculator

Also, as Bruce mentioned, you can wait until April 1st of the year after you turn 70 1/2 to take out the first RMD but you also must take the next years by December 31st.  

For example if you turned 70 1/2 this year-- 2017-- and decided to wait until April next year to take out the RMD it would count as 2018 income, not 2017 income.  Since you would, also, have to take out the RMD for 2018 by December 2018, you would have more income that would be taxed and your taxes would be higher in 2018, especially if it puts you in a higher income bracket.

Bruce Wilson

Thanks for the correction George .  Since I won't be reaching 70 1/2 for  a few years, I had just begun to look into it. 

thank

T

Gregory Jay (Greg) Witherspoon

Your IRA comments are helpful but I don't believe that applies to Roth IRA's.

Bruce Wilson

Righto, Greg. Amongst the three of us, we'll get all the details in sooner or later.

One caveat, either step through all the information yourself or hire a professional.

An interesting side note, the IRS is using 26.5 as the expected life expectancy of a 70 1/2 year old currently for the calculations.

Will there be a high school reunion that year?

George Bracey Gillow

This from the www.irs.com site:

"Your required minimum distribution is the minimum amount you must withdraw from your account each year. You generally have to start taking withdrawals from your IRA, SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA, or retirement plan account when you reach age 70½. Roth IRAs do not require withdrawals until after the death of the owner."

The IRS site has a lot of information on RMDs.  

I got RMDed last year, Pam this year.  One IRA--that I had for over 30 years--had a wrong social security number for me and it took a bit to get it corrected.

John Carleton Cowherd

As a retired CPA I have been following the RMD discussion.  I can't add anything, as you guys have pretty much covered it.  I will say that getting professional help (your CPA, Financial Avisor, Tax Attorney) is the best part of the discussion.  There are many intricacies to the law, and the professionals should be keeping up with changes.  Most of them will have computer programs that compute the RMD, and have access to the latest info.  One thing to watch out for is the timing of valuation of the plan to compute the RMd.  If you defer until the following year after you turn 70 1/2, do you use the valuation at December 31 of the year before you turned    70 1/2, or do you use December 31 of the year before you take the distribution.  The way I remember it, it is the December 31 prior to taking the distribution, but I could be wrong.  This could be critical in a year of stock market volatility, as the values could differ significantly in that year period.  I just went through getting my first RMD in December.  I took it this year instead of waiting until next year and doubling up because I have some things happening in 2017, and didn't want to have two RMD's in the same year.

I know it is a little late for this, but Social Security planning comes into play here also.  The current thinking is to defer taking Social Security until you are 70, when you will draw the maximum monthly amount.  Between your full retirment age and 70, draw from your IRA, thus reducing the value when you have to start your RMD. 

Free advice. You get what you pay for.  I"m off to the gym.

Bruce Wilson

Is John saying we're unprofessional? 

You got that right. Pretty ragtag group if you ask me. Can we just get back to historical photos and songs and wiggly pigs?

Imperial Beach (1956) with nary a surfboard, woody, or street rod in sight. Interestingly there do not seem to be any people either. Maybe Tubo chased them off.

Courtesy of Evonn Avila

9th and Palm Avenue Imperial Beach - I remember going to the Rexall Drug Store to shop, Palm Theater for movies, there was a pawn shop, and a grocery store in one section, then in the other section was Stoney's liquor store, Mario's Pizzaria, and Staples & Wymore (sp?) furniture store. Accross the street was Jack in the Box, Rascoe, Karl's Shoes, another drug store, Big Bear groceries. On the other corner was Music and Hobby store.

From 1953 Mar Vista High Yearbook