My interview with Grandpa

[This was the presentation I gave for my class.]

Greetings! I chose to interview my grandpa, David Eugene DeVol, whom I was named after. My grandpa was born on February 12, 1938, in San Diego's only hospital at that time, Mercy Hospital.

My grandpa grew up in the Point Loma area of San Diego, although he lived with his uncle in Los Angeles for a year while my great-grandpa was away during WWII. Grandpa attended Cabrillo Elementary School while growing up. He did not have to do any homework, and they had no computers, calculators, or TV's. School lasted about as long as it does now. Grandpa's favorite subject at school was recess. They mainly dug around in the dirt at recess, and played a game where they pretended to be squirrels. Grandpa loved to play pranks on other kids. He won't tell me what those pranks were because he doesn't want to give me any ideas. His favorite teacher was his 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Follsum.

As a child, Grandpa spent his free time riding his bike, playing baseball, building with his erector set, and playing with Legos. Grandpa remembers seeing his first jet while his family drove to Yosemite when he was nine years old.

Grandpa grew up in a small house in Point Loma. It had two bedrooms and one bathroom, but it had a nice big back yard where his father enjoyed vegetable gardening. Grandpa once poured a whole packet of carrot seeds into a hole, then watered it until it grew into a monstrous carrot. A photo of Grandpa and his carrot made it into the newspaper.

There were no foreign cars when Grandpa was young. There were no Japanese cars, as our country had just been at war with Japan. His family owned a Dodge, and most of the cars around were big Fords or Chevrolets.

The best day of Grandpa's life was the day he married my Grandma. They met at San Diego State University in their first year. After Grandpa earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Management, they married. They married in the First Presbyterian Church of San Diego on August 16, 1959. They spent their honeymoon in San Francisco and Lake Tahoe.

Grandpa's career was spent mostly as a banker. He started as a loan officer at a bank years ago, then eventually worked his way up to be the President of Silvergate Bank in La Mesa.

Although my Grandpa is able to retire, he still enjoys working at Zementis (a software development company) as their Chief Financial Officer. He is still very active. He climbed Half Dome at Yosemite in one day 6 years ago, and jogs 9 miles a week. He hikes every Saturday, and skis at Mammoth Mountain every year.

Here are some of Grandpa's favorite things:

His favorite book is the dictionary, favorite vacation spot is Yosemite, favorite food is ice cream, favorite TV comedy is The Odd Couple (a show from the 1970's), favorite board game is Monopoly, favorite holiday is Thanksgiving, favorite candy is 100 Grand, favorite music is Wagner (a classical composer), and his favorite restaurant is The House of Prime Rib in San Francisco.

San Diego County Fair 2008

I'll have to say, from a food standpoint, the San Diego County Fair was a disappointment this year.

Sherry and I both had deep-fried White Castle Slyders, but it was pretty greasy, and Sherry found some hair in hers.

Later, I had a Koolickle... a pickle marinated in Kool-Aid. That was awful.

However, David did have a frozen, chocolate-dipped cheesecake on a stick that was fantastic, if a bit rich. And I finished the day with a shaved ice from a vendor with a do-it-yourself syrup-dispenser station.

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We all took the skyride over to Kiddieland where David and Charlie went on some big slides, a funhouse, and a ride where you lie on your stomach and it feels like you're flying.

We went on the first Friday that the fair was open, and it wasn't too crowded. We even got a parking space in the main lot!

June with Joan

When Bees Attack!

This was the second time I have been stung by a bee. When I was playing a game with my friends I fell down into a big bush. At first I didn't feel anything, but then I felt the bee moving around and it hurt. I was bleeding. I went to the nurses office and she put baking soda and a bandage on it.It was very exciting! I hope I don't get stung again!

Father's Day hardly par for the course

Today was an unprecedented Father's Day for the DeVol Family as we sat and watched all six hours of U.S. Open coverage. None of us has even watched ten minutes of golf on TV, let alone six hours. The excuse, of course, was that it's being held at Torrey Pines.

Turned out to be a worthwhile watch, as Tiger Woods sunk a 12-foot putt to birdie 18 and force a playoff tomorrow against Rocco Mediate.

San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park

We took a quick trip up to the Wild Animal Park and were surprised to discover that the Wgasa Bush Line Railway no longer exists! It's been replaced by The African Express, which takes you on essentially the same route, only on a tram instead of a monorail.

According to an article I found in the North County Times, the Wgasa had been "plagued by breakdowns and mechanical problems in recent years."

Two downsides to the new ride are:

• It's not free like I believe the old ride was. It's $10 per adult and $6 per child, although it was free for us 'cause we're members (thanks Dana!).
• The boarding area is located some distance from the park's main entrance; in fact, it's about as far away as you can get. The old ride was much closer.

One upside to the new ride:

• The route takes you closer to the animals than the old ride did.

Walk With The Animals 2008