Every Saturday since his wife's funeral 18 months ago, Archie Liston, with his daughter and granddaughter, visits Greenwood Memorial Park to tend to her grave, along with the graves of other family members.
One day they spotted a plot nearby they had never noticed before.
The headstone was so choked with weeds and tall grass that Liston glimpsed just its corner. The brass plaque said: LINTON C. VOYLES CSC US NAVY VIETNAM FEB. 1, 1954-SEPT. 20, 1973.
Apparently, groundskeepers' mowers couldn't reach the site because of a nearby tree. So the family adopted this young sailor's grave. Each Saturday they trim the grass, clean and polish the brass plaque, and leave flowers, just as they do for their own family members.
“It looks real nice now,” said Liston, a Navy veteran of World War II and Korea. “Wherever he's at, I'm sure he appreciates it. I would hope someone would do the same for me.”
School news
Every week, adults match wits with a panel of brainy 10-and 11-year-olds on Fox Television's “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?”
This fall season, which begins at 8 p.m. Sept. 5, the show will introduce Francesca DeRosa, a North County fifth-grader, and newcomer to the panel.
This won't be Francesca's first TV appearance. She was on an episode of the CBS series “Without a Trace” last season, along with fellow San Diegan Eric Close. . .
Moving on to higher education, SDSU has made a list of worst colleges – Radar magazine's flippant answer to U.S. News & World Report's annual best-colleges issue. Radar accorded SDSU “Most Degenerate Student Body” status, citing fraternity shenanigans, drug busts and hardy partying. The first runner-up (dis)honor went to CSU Chico.
Other California schools that appeared on Radar's list include the University of Southern California for “Most Superficial” and UC Santa Cruz for “Most Stoned Student Body.”
Radar factors in statistics on academics, graduation rates and student life from diverse sources, but admits its selections are semi-scientific.
An 'A' in athletics
Not all U.S. athletes claimed their victories this month in Beijing.
Bologna, Italy, was the site of the Freestyle Players Association's international flying-disc championships. An Ocean Beach couple, Amy Bekken Schiller and Dave Schiller, grabbed two world championship titles there with their Frisbee prowess.
The Schillers won the “mixed pairs” competition for their four-minute choreographed disc routine set to Carlos Santana's “Amore.”
Dave Schiller and his Italian partner also took the “men's pairs” freestyle title.
It's the fifth time since 1995 that the couple, frequently seen practicing their artful athletics on the beach, won the mixed pairs contest.
Amy Bekken Schiller, who works in SDSU's recreation department, holds the Guinness women's flying disc world record for longest time aloft (11.81 seconds). Her Guinness record for distance (426 feet and 10 inches in 1990) has since been surpassed. . .
In Orlando, Fla. the National Scrabble Championship Division 2 title was captured by Conrad Bassett-Bouchard, a UC San Diego sophomore. Bassett-Bouchard returns to college this fall $4,120 richer. . .
San Diegans in Denver
Patricia Winter, founder of the San Diego Science Alliance, had a special interest in Michelle Obama's Democratic National Convention speech Monday evening. Winter's daughter, Melissa, is Michelle's chief of staff.
Also at the convention was San Diegan Barbara Bry, who was able to reunite with her daughter, Rachel Kruer, the regional field director for Mark Udall, a Colorado congressman campaigning for the U.S. Senate. Said Bry: “We are all proud of our daughters who are devoting their lives to public service.”
Diane Bell's column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Fax items to (619) 260-5009; call (619) 293-1518; or e-mail to diane.bell@uniontrib.com.
