Feature Stories
I grew up on the east edge of Rolando Village. Rolando was, and is, a fine neighborhood of middle-class houses and lawns; but our street, Judson Way, was an unpaved road that went through a shallow arroyo.
"A lot of us guys had an interest in hopping up cars, and I finally said, 'Let’s get a little organization together.’ So we met in one of the guys’ garage. Armistice Day, the 11th …
It’s Friday morning, August 19. Although I’m dressed in a Chanel-style blue-and-white suit, I’m not wearing an apron as I heap two inches of chopped liver on fresh egg bread. The sandwich is for Bill …
For me, first car was my parents’ car, a 1958 Hilman Lynx. This thing was a squat, 35-horsepower English import the size of a VW bug, except square. It had the aerodynamics of a grocery …
“Since when don’t you like attention? Didn’t you like it when the guys sang Oh, Donna, Donna Delicious to you at camp?
Saturday, November 14, 1992. Mi hija Shawn’s 29th birthday. [Ramon] traces for me the course of the underground river. It flows directly under your house he says. How can you tell? He becomes fierce like …
Thursday, November 12, 1992 The Ramona Sentinel comes out on Thursdays. Larry Littlefield’s sports page is impressive, both in the quality of writing and the depth of the coverage, but I wonder, how can he …
Monday, November 9, 1992 “San Diego Estates,” Mama says on the phone, “was zoned for 'second housing.’ They couldn’t zone it for regular housing because of no water — it was the only way they …
One disturbing element of the Mercado Apartments is its parking facilities. The two lots accommodate 100 cars each, and until shade trees (jacarandas and other flowering species) take over, will invite comparisons to a small Wal-Mart.
I was afraid Sarah hated me, afraid that my relationship with my mother would duplicate itself. Hadn’t my mother disapproved this second child, hadn’t she said, “How can you take care of two?” with the emphasis on “you”?
Friday, November 6, 1992 They Pulling the shades to see the blue mountains. That they escaped there, into them. That I didn’t know this before. That the core Mesa Grande Indians are the original Ramona …
Grasses indigenous to North America did not produce good lawn; they were rough after cutting and green only during the growing season.
Europeans considered wild rabbit’s flavor far superior to domesticated; hare they found tastiest of all (and beginning in the Middle Ages, hare’s blood was one of the apothecary’s most important ingredients).
Where onramp and asphalt, Passing lane and hawk, Converge in quick collusion Against those who race and never walk. Southern California has it all. We’ve pot ground that shakes, hillsides that burn, a dazzling assortment …
A beach is a good place for not thinking. There’s no work at a beach. Everyone’s there to hang out. Normal rules of life are suspended. That makes the beach safe, in a weird way. …
French and Americans have put millions of dollars into research that would develop a mechanical asparagus harvester. “Technologists have yet to find a replacement for the skilled hands of the experienced Filipino.”