February 2, 2006

La Jolla's Boomer Beach could have been a real bummer for Jim Orr, a Hollywood cinematographer who drove down recently to body surf at dawn. There was only one other surfer in sight when a seven-foot wave pitched Orr, a former San Diegan, at an awkward angle. He felt a sharp pain in his left shoulder.

As he surfaced, Orr's left arm was hanging uselessly at his side and he realized his shoulder had been dislocated. He struggled to paddle away from the rocks and outside the impact zone. The other surfer swam over to ask if he was OK, saw the problem and began to gently examine the injured arm. Somewhat alarmed, Orr asked, “Are you a doctor?” The stranger replied, “Well, actually I'm an orthopedic surgeon.”

He turned out to be Dr. John “Chip” Rowe, a Mayo Clinic-trained orthopedist and an ex-lifeguard who lives in La Jolla. After assessing the damage in the churning waves, Rowe tried various approaches, finally bracing his swim fin against Orr's armpit and manipulating the arm back into alignment.

Orr, 44, admits he's not sure he could have made it safely to shore without the doctor's quick fix. And he marvels at his good luck. He didn't even have to visit a hospital.

Holiday Bowl transition

Rudy Castruita, who retires as county schools superintendent on June 30, apparently isn't leaving San Diego anytime soon. He was just made president-elect of the Holiday Bowl football contest for 2007. Doug Sawyer will chair the event this year, after Steve Cushman, the 2005 Holiday Bowl president, steps down later this month.

Talk of term limits...

The San Diego Libertarian Party, critical of the county's handling of its pension crisis, threw its support firmly behind a proposal to limit county supervisors' service to two terms. The action came during its annual convention here last weekend.

Language for such a proposition, earmarked for the November ballot, already has been submitted to the Registrar of Voters by medical marijuana proponents. They're striking back at San Diego supervisors for not only refusing to implement a state proposition allowing medical marijuana use, but for filing a court action to overturn the measure.

Rob Kampia, of the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C., says the wording of the group's proposal, which calls for a maximum of two consecutive four-year terms, is expected to be cleared today and signature-gathering will begin next week. The group has set aside $150,000 for a paid petition drive. They intend to collect about 110,000 signatures to ensure they have the required 66,121 valid names.

City scene

Women were the toast of the evening at the Coronado Yacht Club's Old Timer's Dinner Saturday. That's because the three members who have belonged the longest all are female. Mimi Healy has been a member for 74 years, Ruth McKane for 55 years and Ann Kirschner for 49 years. It so happens that each of their husbands served as commodores of the club.

Precocious kid?

Jennifer Jensen asked her 6-year-old daughter on Monday what she wanted for lunch: a cheese sandwich, peanut butter and jelly, or pizza.

First-graders love to spell things out, so the youngster promptly spelled, “P-I-A-Z-Z-A.”

This left Jensen wondering if her daughter was really telling her what the Padres wanted, rather than her lunch entrée. The Padres announced their contract agreement with catcher Mike Piazza the next day.

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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.

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