Hooray for YIMFY's!
Plus: LV Spotlight on Doug Beckham; Upcoming Community Events, and Mr. Moto Pizza Review
Let’s hear it for YIMFY’s. No, not NIMBY’s. I am specifically referring to YIMFY’s! They have my admiration.
The term NIMBY is familiar to most people. NIMBY is the acronym for Not in My Back Yard. According to one internet site, NIMBY’s are residents who “adamantly resist a development plan near their area.” They “act in their own interests and oppose nearby developments they would otherwise support if the developments did not take place near their area.”
There is a negative connotation associated with the term NIMBY, mainly because NIMBY’s are associated with obstructionism. I’m not sure how many people in Linda Vista are possible NIMBY’s, however, I am happy to report that we do have several residents who deserve the distinction of being called YIMFY’s. In case you didn’t know, YIMFY stands for Yes in My Front Yard. You can classify YIMFY’s as bold, creative residents who aren’t afraid to make an artistic (though sometimes quirky) contribution to the appearance of their neighborhoods by displaying unique ornaments, decorations, or arrangements in their front yards. They are not afraid to make a statement—though in some cases, that statement might be hard to discern.
While driving through Linda Vista this past week, we found 4 interesting displays of YIMFYism. We’ve identified them below for your own analysis and contemplation.
# 1 The LV Man
This antenna-wearing YIMFY decoration (see photo above) sits on a lawn located in north Linda Vista. We weren’t able to contact the residents who live at this house and inquire as to the meaning of this eye-catching object d’art. But that only adds to the mystery. What’s with LV Man? What does he represent? You have to admit, this space alien’s beach attire makes him so appropriate to the San Diego area. Here’s some possible explanations for LV Man that we came up with on our own:
· LV Man commemorates the little-known visitation of extra-terrestrials to Linda Vista in 1942, a full five years before the more famous 1947 Roswell, New Mexico UFO sighting. 1942 was a busy year for Linda Vista, what with the war effort and the construction of new houses in the community. The local residents were too preoccupied to make a big deal about funny looking space aliens, so the city of Roswell, in the more relaxed post-war era, was eventually able to garner all the flying saucer fame.
· LV Man is what remains of a recent campaign to come up with an official Linda Vista mascot. Rumor has it LV Man was up for serious consideration, but this controversial mascot campaign eventually fizzled when the judging panel’s final selection of the Linda Vista Lunatic statue was determined to be too similar to the Cardiff Kook statute.
· LV Man is a visual representation of what you would get if you crossed a space alien with a surfer and Vladimir Putin.
#2 A Little Free Library
We first wrote about the Little Free Library phenomenon way back in November of 2020. We have since sighted several other Little Free Libraries in the area. They are such nice contributions to the neighborhood, fostering a love of reading while serving as aesthetically pleasing front yard decorations that mesh with the designs of the respective houses that host them.
The Little Free Library pictured above, located in the front yard of a residence in the Alcala Knolls neighborhood, is one of the most attractive ones we’ve seen.
# 3 One Answer for Coping with the Drought
This unique Cactus front yard is actually located at a residence just outside the Linda Vista borders, close to Kearny High School. Forget green grass lawns, there is cactus here as far as the eye can see. The owner of the residence, Ben, explained that he first started growing the cactus about twenty years ago. He’s grown each of the cactus from their original small plant status. He’s proud to say that he’s never had to water these plants; yet they continue to thrive. Let’s hear it for front yard water conservation!
#4 The Blue Horse
People often adorn their front yards with statues of gnomes or flamingos, but I can’t recall the last time I saw an full-scale horse utilized as such a decoration, not to mention a blue horse. As I observed this unique ornament on a central Linda Vista neighborhood street, I thought of that famous Italian song from the 1950’s…Volare…and how a line from the lyrics read “Nei blu, dipinto di blu.” These Italian words actually mean “In the blue-painted blue (sky)”, but I’ve always thought of a blue colored pinto horse when hearing this song. I imagined the idea of a blue colored horse sounding like such a pleasant, but far-fetched fantasy. Accordingly, I never thought I would actually come across a blue horse in my lifetime, and in of all places, here in Linda Vista.
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Readers, let us know if you encounter any more interesting examples of YIMBYism in Linda Vista. We’ll be happy to include them in future posts of this newsletter.
Linda Vistan in the Spotlight
Doug Beckham is an LV Storyteller
Communities need their storytellers—those long-time residents who can reach into the past to pass along interesting anecdotes, observations, and other local lore to younger generations of residents. This storytelling helps a community preserve its special traditions and customs, and it provides the necessary perspective for a community to properly handle the inevitable change that must occur over the years.
One such local resident I’ve encountered around Linda Vista is Doug Beckham. Many of our readers are familiar with him. They know him as a neighbor, a former classmate, a friend, a civic organization colleague, and of course, a raconteur. In my opinion, Doug serves as a sort of avatar for Linda Vista; his life has been deeply enmeshed in the goings-on of the community. While respecting that many other long-time LV residents have their own unique experiences, I believe he offers us one version of an authentic perspective of the community that can be rivaled by few people. Listening to him tell his LV-related stories is like studying a San Diego chunk of Americana.
In order to capture some of Doug’s storytelling, as well as the extent of his Linda Vista long-time resident credentials, I decided the other day to sit down with him in a corner of Yum-Yum Donuts so he could share his thoughts about growing up and living in Linda Vista.
Here is what I found out.
He is the epitome of a longtime Linda Vista resident in that he grew up in a house on Glidden Street, attended Kit Carson Elementary School, Montgomery Middle School, and Kearny High School. With the exception of a 13-month tour in Vietnam, and some time spent in the Bay Park and Serra Mesa during the 70’s/80’s timeframe, he has lived most of his life in this community. He got married at Holy Family Catholic Church. Five of his children have also gone the local school route and graduated from Kearny High School. His own parents met in Linda Vista.
As an adult, he has proven himself a civic-minded person, having served on boards for such local organizations as the Linda Vista Planning Group, the Linda Vista Town Council, and the Linda Vista Recreation Council. While serving with these organizations, he played a role in the community securing such valuable venues as Edward J. Cramer Park, Silver Terrace Park, the clock tower adjacent to the American Legion Hall, and the Linda Vista Skateboard Park. In representing these organizations, he also helped advocate for Skateworld when this Linda Vista institution was threatened with closure back in 2010 and again in 2018. He has also served as an officer for the Kiwanis Club and has worked with organizations supporting Kearny High. Based on these experiences, he can regale you with stories of how these local venues came to be, and how he had to work with (and sometimes against) such former Linda Vista political luminaries as Supervisor Ron Roberts and Councilmembers Donna Frye and Scott Sherman. But I guess his sometimes-opponents got over his vigorous advocacy, because back in 2015, former Councilmember Scott Sherman officially declared November 10 as “Doug Beckham Day” in San Diego.
Having attended Kearny in the 60s’s, Doug can tell you stories about the school’s great football teams that won CIF San Diego championships in the 1964 and 1965 seasons. As many Linda Vista old timers will tell you, those were the days when the Komets ruled the gridiron. He can tell you all about Bill Bolden, the quarterback for those championship teams, and someone who is generally regarded as the greatest Kearny High/Linda Vista athlete ever. Doug agrees with that appraisal.
Doug’s stories of growing up in Linda Vista back in 50’s and early 60’s are most interesting. He paints a picture of LV as an idyllic place—sort of like a cross between the fictional Leave It to Beaver and the Donna Reed Show—though definitely a more ethnically/racially diverse version of how Hollywood sitcoms were depicted that era. He can tell you about riding his bike down into Mission Valley when the Westgate Stadium was being built, and about going into the San Diego River to fish for golf balls that he would then sell back to the golfers. In explaining the difference between that era and today, he describes the old Linda Vista as being more “wide-open”, with fewer buildings like apartment complexes, more open canyons, and less traffic. And he can tell you about all the shops at the old Linda Vista Shopping Center, like the Linda Vista department store, and Bill’s Burgers, where you could get 12 hamburgers for a dollar, and the old movie theatre and the community center. He also grew up spending time with a youngster by the name of John Baca, who was later the recipient of the Medal of Honor (and who the local park is named after).
Of course, one big difference between Hollywood sitcoms of the 60’s and real-life people from the 60’s is that many real-life people ended up going to Vietnam, (unlike fictional characters like Gomer Pyle USMC, who never went to war). That’s what happened to Doug (and later, his friend John Baca), as he first went through Marine boot camp at the nearby Marine Corps Recruit Depot, followed by 13 months in Vietnam, to include time at the besieged Khe Sahn combat base. And ironically, in the years after returning he got to see the arrival of Vietnamese refugees in Linda Vista.
If you see Doug Beckham around the community, you may want to ask him a question or two about Linda Vista. Pick an era…the 50’s, the 60’s, or current times. Tell him to elaborate on a few of the topics in this article. No doubt, he will entertain you with his answers.
And if you know of any other entertaining Linda Vista story tellers who would like to share their stories with the LV Update, please let us know.
Upcoming Community Events
—Fish Fry: The Knights of Columbus is sponsoring a Fish Fry at Holy Family Catholic Church this Friday from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Check out the photo below.
—College Baseball: The University of San Diego baseball team hosts Dallas Baptist on March 5 (6:00 pm), March 6 (5:00 pm) and March 7 (1:00 pm). The Toreros also host UCSD on March 8 at 6:00 pm.
—Community Clean-up: The next monthly Bayside Community Clean-up is scheduled for March 6 at 10:00 am. Volunteers meet in the Linda Vista Library parking lot. This is a great opportunity to help serve your community.
—Official Proclamation Ceremony: On March 11 at 10:30 am, Councilmember Raul Campillo will present representatives of Bayside Community Center with an official proclamation in recognition of the nonprofit’s 90 years of service to San Diego’s diverse population. The ceremony will take place at John Baca Park. The public is invited.
—Soccer Match: The SD Loyal Soccer Club plays its 2022 season home opener on March 12 at 7:00 pm. The game will be played at the University of San Diego’s Torero Stadium. Click here for ticket info.
Wanna Slice, Anyone?
For those of you who have spent time in New York City, you know you can get a slice of pizza on every street corner. Often the pizza is $3 or less a slice, and sometimes you get a drink included. Unfortunately, in San Diego it is difficult to get just a slice of pizza. You end up buying a whole pizza, and then eating it, which then piles on the calories and requires several hours of exercise to get rid of them.
Well, Linda Vistans, fuggedaboutit, because a pizza place recently opened in the area where you can not only get slices, but whole pizzas, stromboli, calzone, garlic knots and more. It is Mr. Moto Pizza in the Friars Mission Center. The hours are 11:00 am to 7:00 pm, Mon-Sun.
We recently paid a visit to Mr. Moto Pizza. We were delighted to know we didn’t have to order a whole pizza, which meant that we could try out different toppings, of which they have many. We were fortunate to be once again joined by our carnivore sidekick. This meant we could review several different pizzas, with and without meat.
They have many different pies, both white and red, with various toppings. Some have meat – some have lots of meat. Some have no meat, but lots of veggies. So, something for everyone.
Steve and I opted for a Smoky Greens slice, which included fresh spinach, ricotta, garlic, sweet balsamic glaze on garlic paste, and a Mamma Moto which included Burrata, truffle oil and parsley, cherry tomatoes, and garlic paste.
The carnivore opted for a Mr. Moto which included Italian sausage, meatballs, Spanish chorizo, burrata cheese, and marinara dots on garlic paste.
We also tried Stuffed Garlic Knots, which are filled with either pepperoni and Jalapeno, or spinach and ricotta (they both come with marinara or ranch dipping sauce). We opted for marinara.
Some of the other toppings included bacon, chicken, ranch, caramelized onions; spinach, pepperoni, bacon, gorgonzola; spinach, roasted tomato, garlic, artichoke and caramelized onions; and many more. You can see the entire menu on their website, and I’m sure you will have a hard time deciding which to choose. The large pizzas start at about $18.00, mediums are less, but the slices are only $4.50 and enable you to try a variety.
The pizzas are thin crust and can easily be folded. They are modeled after New York style pizza and the restaurant gives you that same vibe. Mr. Moto has been in business about 10 years and has several locations in the San Diego area.
I love spinach and balsamic and ricotta, so the Smoky greens was made for me. It was a nice sized slice, and I thought the flavors went together well. One slice was enough, though if pressed, I could probably eat two.
Steve’s Mamma Moto was “excellent,” he said. After previously writing about truffles, he thought the truffle oil taste was very distinctive. Of course, he didn’t offer to share. He really enjoyed pretending we were in the Big Apple and proceeded to fold his slice.
We shared a Stuffed Knot, stuffed with spinach and ricotta.
Our sidekick, of course, needed two slices to satisfy him. He reminded us that he works out every day and never has to worry about gaining an ounce. He also ate an entire Garlic Knot stuffed with jalapeno and pepperoni. He dipped it in marinara and declared it “really good.”
Concerning his pizza, he said everything tasted very fresh from the dough to the tomatoes and various meats. The meats added the perfect amount of salt and flavor. He liked the red sauce and would like to try it on their pasta dishes. His overall rating was “amazing.”
Mr. Moto also serves several pasta dishes including spaghetti and meatballs and pesto penne. Caesar and house salads are also available. And, of course, some tiramisu for dessert.
Give it a try, we think you will like it.
5618 Mission Centre Road Ste 1001
San Diego, CA 92018
619-308-2979
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LV man was here way before the kook...fyi