More television shows than it makes sense to enumerate are set in LA or NY. Miami had the Golden Girls; Denver, Dynasty; Las Vegas, Vegas. San Francisco has Charmed; Boston, The Practice; Philadelphia, Philly; Washington, The West Wing. My new crib got ER. Even Cleveland has The Drew Carey Show, for crying out loud.

San Diego? THAT 80's SHOW.

haven't we suffered enough?

proudly, i managed to avoid the premiere of this weekly insult to our intelligence, but i did catch a review in the times that revealed the truth identified above. That 80's Show is set in 1984...in San Diego. now, the 80's in San Diego is actually something i know a little bit about, having moved there myself in the summer of 1985, peacefully completing my high school and college careers in its quiet, warm embrace, leaving for foreign shores not long after Clinton's first inauguration.

i must admit that now my curiosity is piqued. though i dig the mohawk girl, i don't remember a single one at my high school, just alot of drugged out hessians getting their metal on. molly ringwald must have only existed at upper-middle class schools in winnetka, because when i got the news that folks shot up my alma mater, Santana High School, last year, i simply shrugged and uttered "of course, they did."

this is what i remember about San Diego in the 80's. Petey Wilson's ascendence from backwater mayor to national prominence. James Huberty and the McDonalds Massacre. Peter Navarro and Prevent Los Angelesization Now (PLAN). Horton Plaza. Cara Knott's body along I-15, left there by CHP officer Craig Peyer. Mayor MO and the Soviet Arts Festival (damn those eggs!) The World Series AND the Super Bowl. Roger Hedgecock's conviction for conspiracy and perjury, his resignation as mayor in disgrace, and rehabilitation as a radio talk show host. and of course, Simon and Simon.

I just might be keeping a close eye on this one. if you're gonna pillage my past, you best get it right.

on a unrelated note, i spotted a blue-haired moppet on the train today. he obviously hadn't gotten the memo that punk is over, but bless his little smurfy head. there may just be life left in this hulking metropolis after all.

-huck