I was out on my second walk of the day when I realized today is the 25th anniversary of me moving to San Diego. It is now officially the place where I’ve lived the longest. I moved here from Pittsburgh, PA on December 1st, 1998. Just me and my faithful feline companion, Ollie, on a long direct flight on USAir. Neither of those last two mentions exist anymore, sad to say.
I had no real plan when I came here, and no back-up plan either. I exchanged dreary Pittsburgh, with its winter storms and summer humidity for lovely San Diego with its palm trees, mostly gentle breezes, and 300+ sunny days per year. I had fallen in love with the city when I first visited it in 1992 to go to Comic-Con. Little did I know how much that happy summer vacation spot would figure in my future.
21 of those last 25 years were spent as a senior manager at Comic-Con, first as Director of Programming, then as Director of Print and Publications (eventually Print and Digital Media), and for a very brief pre-pandemic moment, as Curator of the Comic-Con Museum. (You can read all about that stuff by clicking here, just scroll around a bit and you’ll find it.), I watched downtown San Diego rise and fall from 1998 through 2017, when I finally got out and moved across the bay to peaceful Coronado, where I planned to eventually retire, which I did in February of 2021, hence the two walks per day. I have lots of time on my hands (and feet, evidently).
I can’t believe it’s 25 years since I got off that plane on a rare, rainy night. I can’t believe I worked for Comic-Con, basically my dream job (although there were times it was anything but) for most of that time. I can’t believe I’m now 68 (and 1/2) and—as my calling card says—“gainfully retired.”
I just had to pause for a minute and commemorate this momentous milestone. It’s more than a third of my life in one place. I loved Pittsburgh, where I lived from 1979 to 1998, and I have very fond memories of Tamaqua, PA, where I was born and raised, from 1955 to 1979. But San Diego (and Coronado) … this has been really special.
One thought springs to mind on a regular basis, usually while I’m walking out by San Diego Bay and see sights like this: I’m so lucky to live here. (There’s usually an expletive between “so” and “lucky,” but this a classy website, so I’m keeping it clean.)
Happy anniversary to me.
@innocent-bystander.com 
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