We gave the four major mayoral candidates the chance to be photographed anywhere they wanted in the city of San Diego. This week, we’re revealing where they wanted to be photographed and why.
Bonnie’s pick: A park bench in Rancho Bernardo, dedicated to her father.
Why did you want to be photographed here?
Because it was a very special place for me and my dad. My dad used to park there in the handicapped (spot) right next to the bench and, while the dog was able to walk, we used to go down to the dog park and stay in the park.
Then as both of them got older, the dog wasn’t able to walk very far. So my dad would park over here, he would sit right over there in his wheelchair. And I would have a chair and I’d sit next to him. And my dad and I would throw the ball, but mostly he threw the ball to the dog who just lied there and caught the ball.
It was a special time for me and my dad to talk. It was every weekend usually. So when my mother and Denise (Dumanis’ spouse) and I were thinking about what we wanted to do to have a special memorial to him, we thought about the park and this area and we thought he would really like it that we had this bench right here dedicated to him.
Sam Hodgson is a photojournalist at voiceofsandiego.org. You can contact him directly at sam.hodgson@voiceofsandiego.org or 619.550.5664.
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