I started to sit down and write this about a week before we had to travel for my Nana’s memorial service. I knew exactly what I wanted to write. There were things I wanted to share about myself with our readers. I suppose I will still share some of it, but I won’t go into as much detail as I originally expected. Our journey for my Nana’s memorial service is now at the forefront of my thoughts and I have much I would like to share. So, my thoughts are, obviously, divided.

Recently, someone asked me about a Central Valley town about which I know very little. It’s a nearby city that many people are familiar with, but not one I visit and, in fact, I have only been to once or twice (on the west side). So, when asked a “do you know” question about it, my response was simple, “I am still new. I’ve only been in the Central Valley for 15 years.”

Now, the interesting thing is that I have never lived in a single region for that long before in my life. I have called Delhi home longer than any other community in my 33 years. (And yes, even though I lay my head on a pillow in my house in Turlock, I do still consider Delhi my home.) But still, even after nearly 12 years in and around Delhi and 15 years in the Central Valley (total), I consider myself new to the area. I still have much to see, do and learn.

That said, I sometimes feel like an oddball, I think. There are many things I am still learning about this area and the people here. I know I am not always on the same page as many people, even those I call friends. But, I am happy that we are able to communicate with each other and I love having interesting conversations with people.

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Tags: Cambria, Delhi, Episcopal Church of the Messiah, family, friends, James Dean, LACHSA, Midnight Mechanic, Orange, Paso Robles, Santa Ana, Santa Maria

Riding the Rails Trip #1
I took #714 South to Bakersfield, then the bus to Union Station in L.A.
For the return trip, I took the bus from L.A. to Bakersfield and then train #713 home to the Denair station.
I set out on train #714. The Amtrak train would take me from the Turlock/Denair station (located on Santa Fe in Denair) to the end of the line in Bakersfield. There, I would board a bus and travel over the Grapevine to Los Angeles’ Union Station. I was taking the trip to help out some family and I didn’t want to worry about driving and all the stress that often comes along with it.
I scheduled a train that left late enough that I was able to attend church with my two-year-old in the morning and still early enough that I was able to have dinner with my girlfriend in Los Angeles that evening. It was perfect.
While the Turlock/Denair train station is little more than an over-sized bus stop, it still makes for a nice send-off point. Connor seemed to like watching the train pull out of the station, though he later realized that the train was taking mommy away for a few days. I waved to my family as the train headed south down the tracks. I wish they had actually seen me as I waved.
I had no intention of eating anything on the train, but that didn’t take long to change. When I got my cup of coffee and saw that some of the prices were really reasonable, I knew I would have to take another look. So, when I was still hungry after eating the bagel I’d brought along, I scoped out the rest of the menu. One of the things that they had was a Hummus Snack Kit. I gave it a try and it was so worth it. It was pretty good as was the price. It cost $2.50. I also got a refill on my cup of coffee. That was a well-spent $1.50, too. The coffee includes free refills.
The candies are a little pricier than many places, but they are “king sized” candies and the prices are still better than you find at a movie theater.
The light snack was filling enough for my lunchtime travel, but didn’t fill me too much. I was still able to enjoy a nice dinner with my friend and her husband upon my arrival in Los Angeles.
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As I write this, the California State Legislature is considering Governor Arnold Schwarzenneger’s proposal to close approximately 80-percent of our state parks. I find this to be disturbing and disappointing. On the list of proposed closures is McConnell State Recreation Area, the state park just out South Avenue. It is a place where locals can go to camp, picnic and fish along the Merced River. It is, of course, a nice place for out-of-towners to visit as well.

Also included on the list are many area favorites including Caswell State Park in Ripon, 1897 Railtown in Jamestown and Columbia State Historic Park. As if that is not enough, the state historic park connected to Mission San Juan Bautista is also on the list. Two missions appear on the list: La Purisma and Santa Cruz.

To close down our state parks is to close down chunks of our history. To close down our state parks is to close off access for affordable fun for families. To close down our state parks is to close down educational opportunities for students of all ages. To close down our state parks is to put thousands of people out of jobs.

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Tags: California state parks, closure, Great Depression, recreation

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I know what I want to write. I know what I want to include in this column. I don’t know where to begin nor where to end. I have done just about everything I can to procrastinate in writing this month’s column. I can’t continue to do so, though. I’ve put some music on to play in the background and I’m not sure if it is helping or hindering. I guess we’ll see. Mahalia Jackson is singing “Rock of Ages.” What an amazing voice!

I am struggling to write this time around because our family is in the midst of a personal tragedy that at some moments is consuming. Of course, I’m not sure anyone would expect it to not be consuming for us.

I only recently wrote about my pregnancy in one of my columns. I experienced some ups and downs during the pregnancy. It was quite different from my pregnancy with Connor. I will spare our dear readers all of the details. But, our second son was stillborn on Sunday, April 26. You will find a short obituary in our obituary section this month. I’m a mom of two boys and yet, I have only one to hold in my arms.

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Tags: Delhi, DHS journalism program, Info Night, moms, stillbirth

Once again there are many things about which I can write this month. It has been a busy month for our family and for our extended “family”: the Delhi community and, of course, The Delhi Express.

The day we go to press is the same day as the Community Informational Night that will take place at the Delhi Educational Park. I will make every effort to make sure the papers are picked up and available during the event. Of course, we have experienced slight delays in the past and in continuing to learn to be more flexible, I am trying to take things one at a time.

The Informational Nights have grown and they offer a wealth of information on services, organizations, schools and the community in general. The two presentations this time around will focus on Delhi’s future and education in Delhi. Military recruiters, community services, the Delhi Unified School District, local agencies, Merced County and many others will be available with information for community members. The last informational night took place in November. It was a very positive experience. I participate in this event wearing my many hats, but the two most prominent hats I wear are adult school teacher and newspaper owner. I appreciate the opportunity to get my adult school students involved in the community and I appreciate the opportunity to share The Delhi Express with people.

It was exciting to see a student not only write a good dialog, but also to be so interested in the community that he wrote about it.

One of my ESL students did something spectacular for his final project. The final project is to write a dialog. We do dialogs throughout the semester, but I always write them. This allows the students to have practice speaking English, but also allows them the chance to see it written. It all comes together at the end when they write their own dialogs and do them for the class. This particular dialog focused on the things Delhi has to offer. It was exciting to see a student not only write a good dialog, but also to be so interested in the community that he wrote about it.

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