Valerie is an African-American woman living on a hill in Valencia Park. She is 37, but she looks younger. She has a round face surrounded by a curtain of heavy braids and large eyes that …
May 22, 1997
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Stories by Matthew Lickona
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Life in Valencia Park is simple
Domenigoni Ranch, experts in coyote-killing
In mid-February, Bug, our neighbor's orange-yellow cat, disappeared. Last week, a woman in a Jeep Cherokee pulled up in front of our house. She asked me if I had seen Ivan, a black cat with …
May 1, 1997
While wife gone, I read Kerouac's On the Road
My wife left me while she still could. A ten-day visit with her family in Kansas City, to see her new nephew and to help a friend in need. Soon she will be too pregnant …
April 17, 1997
San Diego on $520 a Month
Until December of last year, 51-year-old Jaime Nieto made $10 an hour working for a construction company "doing their ironwork needs. That's my trade - security. Window-guards, rails, gates, fences. But that company works on …
March 27, 1997
Men will rise to the level women demand of them
"....and there's his scrotum. It's a boy." As the doctor said this and pointed an arrow labeled "boy" at the white dot on the ultrasound, a wave of pride hit me. Yes, I admit to …
March 20, 1997
Hollandia Dairy started at Center City Parkway and Felicita in Escondido
When Pete DeJung applied for a bank loan to start a dairy in 1951, he was turned down. "We didn't speak the language very well," recalls DeJung, who is Dutch. "We were very green in …
February 27, 1997
Matt Lickona purchases a grey cardigan sweater
"Talk to him," my wife commands, and I obey. I bend down, place my mouth against her belly, and say hello to my son, whose ears are fully developed by now. I tell him that …
February 13, 1997
What San Diego wine experts say among themselves
Eddie Osterland, one of 29 master sommeliers in the U.S., left New York because he wanted to raise his daughter in less aggressive surroundings, and he chose San Diego because “this is a beautiful city, …
February 6, 1997
San Diego County Jail treats visitors as criminals
You recognize the visitor's door at the downtown jail because it is the only door that is open. A row of blowers lines the wall overhead, giving the feeling of a back entrance. First-time visitors …
January 2, 1997
San Diego's Burdens: What's in Your Backpack?
Come on, open up. Nothing tells us who you are quiet like what you're willing to haul around with you, and so do so want to know who you are, San Diego. Come on, just …
June 27, 1996
A precise account of the business from Donut Touch on Mira Mesa Boulevard
I buy a shortening they have designed only for frying donuts —100 percent vegetable oil. A mix of cottonseed and soybean. Nobody uses lard anymore. Shortening ranges from $15 for a 50-pound box to $22.
May 9, 1996
Solving the world's problems at Flinn Springs feed store
The tone of things changes with the arrival of Dietrich. His voice and manner make you feel both at home and that there is a great deal to be done, and right away.
December 14, 1995
San Diego Orchids & Onions winners, 20 years later
“We build our buildings and then our buildings build us.” The thought belongs to Winston Churchill, and I don’t think anyone would argue the point that the "built environment,” as it is referred to these …
November 22, 1995