Off the I-15

Hi all,

We have been sadly neglecting this blog for the past few months, but in case anyone is still checking it — do you know anyone doing something interesting but overlooked here in town? Sometimes we get so caught up in reporting the latest City Council decisions, school cuts, or crime incidents that we overlook stories about everyday people. That’s where our readers can help make the paper better. Do you know anyone here in town who does something innovative, quirky, charming, or otherwise interesting? Often people make the mistake of assuming that no one besides them will care about their stories, when that’s simply not true.

So let us know if you see or hear something interesting around town. We want the good news as well as the bad.

— Abby Sewell, staff writer

I’ve fried them, sautéed them, baked them into breads and muffins, blended them into soup and even tried eating them raw, but the zucchinis keep coming.

A common problem, I am sure. The zucchini plants — there must be only three or four — in my gardening have been exploding with zukes for months now, and I fear there is no end in sight.

So before the stack on my counter turns into a green wall of squash, I am asking the ingenious cooks of Barstow to give me some creative ways to cook zucchini. Post your favorite zucchini recipes in the comment section, and I’ll let you know what my housemates and I think.

Thanks

Aaron Aupperlee | Staff writer

As I wandered around the Sportspark during the Fourth of July event, I remembered the poll question that circulated the newsroom on Tuesday night and thought it would be interesting to pose it to a few people at the event. Here’s what they had to say.

What’s your favorite American icon?

Tim Silva: Abraham Lincoln.Why: He was honest and stayed with his vision when the country was split.

Terri Peralta: The troops.

Why? Because of “what they do for us to keep us safe and free.”

John Rader: The bald eagle.

Why? It represents freedom.

Jeanette Hayhurst: The American flag.

Why: “It represents this country through and through. Men and women have died for that flag.”

What do you think best represents what America stands for?

— Stevie St. John

For Loretta Chavez, the day her mother was shot in the foot and her aunt was seriously injured offered an extra blow; the shooting took place in her grandfather’s house. Catarino Renteria, Loretta’s grandfather, built the house in 1952 and died there in March 2001.

“I never thought anything like that would happen in my grandfather’s house,” she said. “It’s always been a very sacred place.”

To Chavez, memories of the family’s Fourth of July celebrations give the home special significance.

Family ties are among many reasons people come to regard places as special or even sacred. The space can be specifically set aside for religious use or just inspire deep feelings.

For some, that might mean a fondness for evenings wading in the ocean or a tendency to frequent the cemetery where a loved one lies. Perhaps a location takes on special meaning because it is the site of a wedding, birth or other special event.

What spaces are special to you? What gives a geographical location emotional or spiritual significance?