Off the I-15

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

Desert Dispatch reporters Jason Smith and Aaron Aupperlee saw splatters of rain on Aaron’s windshield as they drove on Lenwood Road near Highway 58 in Hinkley at about 1:45 p.m. on Tuesday.

According to the National Weather Service Forecast Office’s Web site, the Las Vegas station reports a 20 percent chance of thunderstorms for Barstow on Tuesday afternoon.

If it is raining near you, call the Desert Dispatch at 256-4121 and let us know.

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

A question posed to the Desert Dispatch newsroom: What is your favorite American icon?

David Heldreth: The bald eagle.
Why? “I like animals.”

Matthew Peters: The 1980 Gold Medal United States Hockey Team, aka “The Miracle on Ice.”
Why? “They beat the Soviets, and plus, it was a cool movie.”

Stevie St. John: The First Amendment, which is often displayed in newspaper offices.
Why? One of her favorite quotations is from Voltaire: “I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech and religion, Stevie said, and that’s “the key to what makes America great.”

Jason Smith: Apple pie.
Why? “It’s the icon you can eat.”

Aaron Aupperlee: The Statue of Liberty
Why: When Aaron was a child, he used to don his green foam Statue of Liberty hat, the one with the spikes and stuff, wad up a newspaper into a torch shape, stand on top of things and say, “I am the statue of wiberwee.”

What’s your favorite American icon?

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?