Feelings

This will be the 22nd year in a row that I've observed Father's Day without my father. I was barely a teenager when he died, yet the memories are still painfully present. I can't help but feel a pang of sadness each year this day comes around and I am reminded once again that my dad isn't here for a card, a breakfast, a ballgame or even a hug. So, I know firsthand that holidays that bring joy to so many often bring sadness to others. Many of us struggle with the loss of our fathers or grandfathers, remembering the happy times together and lamenting their absence and simply missing their love, wisdom and presence.

"On the whole, God's love for us is a much safer subject to think about than our love for him. Nobody can always have devout feelings; and even if we could, feelings are not what God principally cares about. Christian love, either toward God or toward man, is an affair of the will. But the great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, his love for us does not." -- C.S. LEWIS Apparently, it is time for another change in my life.

While Mother's Day can be a time for sentimental reflection and celebration, it also can unleash emotions that surround one of life's most complex relationships. Writers, medical professionals and psychologists provide help for sorting out such sentiments in new books on library shelves. For new mothers, Kate Figes surveys the difficult, exhilarating and traumatic feelings childbirth can unleash in "Life After Birth: What Even Your Friends Won't Tell You About Motherhood."

The special-needs students in Lynda Zussman’s Newport Harbor High School class naturally have more obstacles than most. They have mild learning disabilities and struggle sometimes to deal with their emotions. That is why Zussman finds it necessary to create a positive atmosphere and methods to better prepare them for life’s challenges. “Negative feelings are OK,” she tells her classroom. “It is part of growing up.” Zussman wanted to help her students in a way that offered practical lessons.

On Monday, State Sen. Roy Ashburn (R-Bakersfield), whose voting record has consistently gone against legislative measures that favor gay rights and are friendly to homosexuals, lesbians and transgender people, told a hometown radio station that he is gay. He came out while answering questions about his arrest for suspected DUI on March 3. It turned out that he had visited a gay bar in the hours leading up to his arrest, according to...

Mathis Winkler COSTA MESA -- When Peter Vash starts talking about the holidays, it's easy to think that the season of joy is the most depressing time of the year. "Frustration, disappointment, loneliness, time constraints -- these are all emotions associated with the holidays that cause people to feel lonely and depressed," Vash said. But Vash's views don't mean that he's trying to become a real-life Grinch. As a doctor at the Costa Mesa branch of Lindora Medical Clinics, which specialize in weight-loss programs, he's simply trying to raise awareness that overeating is a real danger for many people during the holidays.

Lolita Harper Welcome to Skaters Anonymous. His name is Jim Gray, and he's a skate-aholic. He is addicted to rolling. He can't get enough of the adrenaline that pumps through his body when he does a backside ollie 180. He needs the rush. Unlike other addicts, Gray doesn't want to boot his 17-year habit. Quite the contrary. The 39-year-old is making great strides to recruit other addicts -- or even those on the brink of dependency -- to lobby the city for a park that will support their practice.

"God never promised you a Disneyland. He offers something better -- His own sustaining presence through any trouble you may encounter." -- Charles R. Swindoll I've heard from several readers about last week's column. For those of you who didn't read it, it was about the fact that as we travel through life, we will encounter painful low points, as well as joyful highlights. It's great to have people to share those times with, but in any case, God will always be there with us. One reader wrote about the personal pain in her life and said that though she believes in God, she has had many sad things happen to her. After reading her e-mail, I agree that she has had more than her share of bad situations happen.

MAXINE COHEN I was horrified when I read about the 17-year-old senior at Corona del Mar high school who committed suicide. How very, very sad. It is truly a tragedy when such a young person takes her own life. She had barely begun to live, and her life is now over. Her parents live on but they will grieve in the depths of a despair that most of us will never know -- thank goodness -- in our own lifetimes. Then there are siblings, teachers, friends and relatives, whose lives have been irretrievably touched.

Editor’s Note: This is the fifth in a six-part series about war veterans who are members of UC Irvine’s Veterans Student Union .   Expecting to see family and friends soon, a unit of soldiers takes a break in front of a Post Exchange in an Iraqi base. But not all of them make it home. Mortar fire is common in Iraq. It’s random, the targeting is frantic, and most soldiers learn to live with it as an everyday occurrence. The blasts usually inflict more panic than harm.

This will be the 22nd year in a row that I've observed Father's Day without my father. I was barely a teenager when he died, yet the memories are still painfully present. I can't help but feel a pang of sadness each year this day comes around and I am reminded once again that my dad isn't here for a card, a breakfast, a ballgame or even a hug. So, I know firsthand that holidays that bring joy to so many often bring sadness to others. Many of us struggle with the loss of our fathers or grandfathers, remembering the happy times together and lamenting their absence and simply missing their love, wisdom and presence.

IRVINE - There was barely a cloud in the sky Saturday at Anteater Ballpark, but still plenty of silver linings in a 5-0 nonconference baseball win that continued a feel-good, season-opening series against visiting Baylor. Junior left-hander pitcher Matt Whitehouse, who was shut down early and later took a medical redshirt season in 2012, allowed two hits in 6 1/3 innings to earn his first victory in nearly two years. Junior Kyle Hooper, another pitcher who was shut down due to arm trouble and took his own medical redshirt season in 2012, finished off the shutout to help the Anteaters (2-0)

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA - The regular season really was anything but regular for the Corona del Mar High girls' water polo team. The Sea Kings were ranked No. 1 in CIF Southern Section Division 1 to start the year, and they opened in December with big wins on the road at Dos Pueblos and Santa Barbara while missing three senior starters. Some called them the team to beat. But they struggled to find consistency in January, after their Greek transfers, Stephania and Ioanna Haralabidis, were cleared to play.

Julie Clayton, a mother of a Newport Harbor High School water polo player, reported that a number of the boys' water polo team members took advantage of one of their only breaks from practice this holiday to volunteer their time at the Someone Cares Soup Kitchen in Costa Mesa. The boys woke up early on a Saturday morning to combine their efforts with those of other volunteers to provide a breakfast for many of the area's needy. The boys helped in setting up, cooking, serving, cleaning up and in performing other general maintenance needed to keep the kitchen going.

I am sure there are many harbor users who are still rather bunched up about the recent tidelands permit increases. So let me take a few minutes to shed some light on your eelgrass and explain your options on dredging your slips. You might just come away feeling a little better how your money in the tidelands fund is being spent. Last year, the Regional General Permit 54, which allows residents to dredge, was allowed to expire. This kept residents from being able to dredge their slips for more than a year.

About 150 Corona del Mar Middle School students got a chance to play Santa on Wednesday at the Veterans Administration in Long Beach. They handed out gifts with hand-written cards, feasted on a donated Christmas dinner and put on a variety show in the VA's packed community room. "It's really nice to have a chance to serve them because they served us so much," said eighth-grader Sarah Lawson. CdM has a long-lasting relationship with the hospital, putting on the Christmas party for 34 years under the steady hands of Kathy and Jim Roberts, whose children have long since graduated.

He was the Newport-Mesa doctor known for his old-fashioned flair, a hometown feel to his craft, compassion for his patients and a twinkle in his eye. Dr. Dudley A. Pfaff, a longtime Newport Beach resident, 41-year physician and team doctor to local sports teams — including for Costa Mesa, Estancia, Newport Harbor and Corona del Mar high schools — died Nov. 21. He was 86. Pfaff, aka "Dr. Dud" and the "jock doc," was born and raised in...

LOS ANGELES - The pre-game excitement before a college football game - where throngs of people are dressed in school colors, barbecuing and having a good time - is enough to get anyone energized. But for about two-dozen Costa Mesa sixth-grade students, just being on a university campus, let alone the pre-football game revelry, was an eye opener. "Everywhere I've been has been awesome," said Andrea Rubalcava on Saturday at the University of Southern California campus, just before the Trojans faced Colorado at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

SANTA ANA — A Costa Mesa woman whose SUV plowed into a 17-year-old student outside of Newport Harbor High School shortly after classes let out pleaded guilty Thursday to felony driving under the influence and causing the wreck. Marnie Jo Lippincott, 39, entered the plea in Orange County Superior Court. The charges included enhancements for causing great bodily injury or paralysis, as well as a misdemeanor for driving with a suspended license. Lippincott was driving her black Chevy Tahoe on Dec. 6 when she hit Crystal Morales, who was crossing Margaret Drive in a crosswalk near of the school.

Cayman Carter said he would never forget how it felt to rush the football field after Corona del Mar High last won the Battle of the Bay. It happened six years ago, when Carter was a sixth-grader. It hasn't happened since, CdM beating rival Newport Harbor. Carter can help change that Friday night as the Sea Kings travel to Newport Harbor to play at 7. The field is the same one Carter charged as a middle school student. "Any time CdM beats Harbor, it's a pretty big win," said Carter, who's well aware of Newport Harbor's dominance, a 37-13 record, in the series.