Linda Vista Connections to Veterans Day
Plus: New LV business open; LV Update commended; News Briefs; Kearny Girls Volleyball team; and Pajama Pants Day
November 11 is the day we honor the many veterans who have served our country in times of war and peace.
While recently walking through the downtown Linda Vista area, we tried to take notice of any connections to U.S. military veterans. Here is what we came up with. The three items range from the significant to the trivial.
First, Veterans Day is a good time to remind everyone about the significance of John P. Baca Park. The park is located across the street from the Linda Vista Shopping Center Plaza. This long strip of grass was known as Morley Park prior to 2019. In November of that year the park was dedicated as John P. Baca Park, named after John P. Baca, who grew up here in Linda Vista (Westinghouse Street) and attended Kearny High School.
Baca received the Medal of Honor (our country’s highest award for combat) for an act of heroism that took place in the Republic of Vietnam in 1970. After recovering from his wounds, Baca received the Medal of Honor from President Richard Nixon in 1971. Please take the time to read his MOH award citation. You’ll be impressed by what the young 21-year-old soldier did in the performance of his duties. You can also read a 2019 article from the San Diego Union Tribune regarding the dedication of the park.
John Baca currently lives in Serra Mesa.
Second, no history of Linda Vista is complete without the mention of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt’s 1942 visit to the community. During that year, she spoke at the dedication of the new Linda Vista Shopping Center, built to support the surge of defense workers moving into the neighborhood. A plaque commemorating the event is located right across the street from John P. Baca Park.
How did Ms Roosevelt find her away to Linda Vista? Was Linda Vista that important to the war effort that it merited a visit from the First Lady? Perhaps! However, there might have been one other important reason why she happened to find herself in the San Diego area. Her son James Roosevelt was stationed at the time in the San Diego area as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was a member of the legendary Carlson’s Rangers, an elite unit formed to carry out tactics similar to those used by British commando units. The story of Carlson’s Rangers (named after Colonel Evans Carlson) is told in the 1943 movie Gung-Ho, starring Randolph Scott. In the movie, available for viewing on Amazon Prime Video, you can see some great views of nearby Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego as it looked back in 1943 (not that much different from what it looks like today, and I mean that in a good way).
Finally, you may already know that the first donuts were supposedly made by the Dutch during the mid-19th century. But chances are you didn’t know that, according to Smithsonian Magazine, “Doughnuts didn't come into their own until World War I, when millions of homesick American doughboys met millions of doughnuts in the trenches of France. They were served up by women volunteers (known as Donut Dollies) who even brought them to the front lines to give soldiers a tasty touch of home. When the doughboys came back from the war they had a natural yen for more doughnuts. If today you happen to step into Yum-Yum Donuts to buy a donut, make sure you give credit to the soldiers of World War I that made this treat so popular.
Thank you to all of our local Veterans!
New LV Businesses Open
As you probably surmised, we often drive around the Linda Vista area looking for places to write about, whether it be an eating establishment, a place of business, or just something that looks interesting. Lately, I have been worried that we will run out of places and may have to start extending out even further than the Morena or Convoy districts. The thought recently ran through my mind…what if we have profiled them all?
Well, as it turns out, we are safe for at least another week. While driving around recently, we came across not one, but TWO new eating establishments. We are happy to tell you about them and hope you will give them a try.
First, at the corner of Linda Vista Road and Ulric Street there was a food truck we hadn’t seen before. We decided to take a closer look and discovered it was called Kyrios, a Mexican Marisco-Seafood truck. It is located in the Linda Liquor parking lot—the same area as another food truck we profiled, Dogs and Aguas (So now we have what amounts to a food truck food court). Next to the truck was a canopy and some tables and chairs. Several people were sitting down enjoying their lunch. We approached the proprietor whose name was Christian. He said they had been there for only a few days. We told him who we were and asked if we could take some pictures and try his food. He was most agreeable and indicated he was happy that someone was trying to publicize and help small businesses because they need all the help they can get. There were plenty of seafood dishes from which to choose, and as pescatarians, this made us very happy. They had every kind of seafood, including shrimp, oysters, fish, calamari and more. They had tacos, tostados, burritos, and soup. We ordered a fish taco and a shrimp taco. While we were waiting, we were given a sample of their seafood soup, which was really delicious. My shrimp taco was excellent. The shrimp was crispy and the veggies were very fresh. The prices were reasonable and there is quite a variety to choose from. This is a place we will definitely be eating at again. Perhaps for Taco Tuesdays. The staff were very friendly. We hope they succeed, and hope all of our readers will give it a try.
Then we drove through the Linda Vista Plaza Shopping Center and noticed that the Domino’s Pizza Shop behind McDonalds had finally opened (where previously there was a dress shop). Although Dominos is a well known pizza chain, we welcome it here in Linda Vista. We all know there are Pizza Hut folks and Dominos folks, so now they have a choice. They are open for delivery and for curb side service. When you order on line, you tell them the color and make of your car and they deliver the pizza right to your car. Very convenient. In looking at their on-line website, they have many specials for the month of November, taking as much as 49% off the price of a pizza. There are many varieties and you can build your own.
We are very happy to see new businesses coming to Linda Vista. This is a good sign that the economy is improving and also that Linda Vistans like to eat. It doesn’t look like we will be running out of places to write about for a while, and we are certainly glad about that.
Linda Vista Update Recognized
The Linda Vista Update is proud to announce that this publication was recently recognized by District 7 Councilmember Raul Campillo. The Councilmember was kind enough to present us with letters of commendation that noted how our newsletter “provides informative and exciting news” about the community. Two of our newsletter’s contributors—Janet Kaye and Kearny High student Nicole Phakdy—also received commendations. We wish to thank all of our readers for their continuing support.
— News Briefs
Linda Vista Youth Football Clinic
On November 13 (this Saturday), Officer Ricardo Pinon of the San Diego Police Department will partner with Kearny High School football coach Jeremy Stump to host a youth football clinic for Linda Vista youth in grades 5-8. The clinic will he held at Kelly Street Neighborhood Park from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. Pizza and water will be provided. Kearny High players will help Coach Stump provide instruction.
Support Local Micro Enterprises
The Mercadito Comunitario (Community Market), a program sponsored by Access, Inc., is once again open for business every Sunday. Mercadito Comunitario helps new or emerging entrepreneurs test their concept and refine their product and marketing approaches in a supportive environment provided at Access headquarters. Readers are encouraged to come out and support these local entrepreneurs. Please read the below poster for more details. See you there on Sunday.
79th State Assembly District Turkey Giveaway
The office of Assemblywoman Dr. Akilah Weber has announced a drive-thru Turkey Giveaway will be held on November 20, 2021. Details are provided in the below poster. Households can register to participate in the Turkey Giveaway by clicking here. Residents who wish to donate to support this Turkey Giveaway effort can do so by clicking here.
SD Humane Society Looking for Fosters
Are you looking for a fun and rewarding volunteer opportunity? One that is guaranteed to make a major difference in the lives of animals? If so, the SD Humane Society will be hosting a Zoom event on November 18 (6:00 to 7:30 pm) to explain how your family can become a foster family for foster animals. Click here for more information on how to attend this virtual event.
The SD Humane Society is also currently looking for volunteers to foster animals during the holiday season. Do you want to open up your home to a needy animal? Click here to learn what is required to participate in this volunteer opportunity.
Congresswoman Jacobs Participates in Bayside Community Clean-up
Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (53rd Congressional District) participated in the latest Bayside Community Clean-up this past Sunday. The Clean-ups are held the first Sunday of each month. Volunteers meet in the Linda Vista Library parking lot at 10:00 am. The next Community Clean-up will be held on December 5. Contact Bayside if you would like to participate in this worthy community service activity.
Kearny High Girls Volleyball Team are CIF Runners-up!
The Kearny High Girls Volleyball team concluded their 2021 season as Division V CIF Runners-up. Although the team lost to Central High (El Centro) in the championship round of the CIF playoffs last Friday, the team was able to previously score an exciting victory over first-seeded St. Joseph’s Academy (Vista) in the semi-final round.
We asked Coach Molly Keimach to give us her thoughts on the season. Here is what she had to say:
“Overall the team greatly exceeded my expectations. One of our goals as a team this season was to win against either Madison or Morse in our league since we have historically lost to both, but we ended up going 1-1 with both teams, and secured a spot as 2nd in our league. Another goal we had was to simply make the first round of playoffs, since we had yet to do so in recent history. It was only in my wildest dreams that we would be playing in the Championship game! The highlight of our season, though, was definitely the Semi-Finals match against St. Joseph's Academy, the #1 seed in our division. I had never seen the girls play like they did that night, and the energy of the crowd was so exhilarating. Even one of the refs from the match made a point to tell me how fun it was to watch. One player I want to highlight in particular is my junior setter, Sarina Faavi. She has been on Varsity since Freshman year, and has been our rock ever since. She sets the pace of the game, and has grown immensely as a leader and captain this season by maintaining calm and positive energy on the court in all situations after recognizing the impact she has on her team. A second player I want to highlight is my junior libero, Tenka Nozaki. This was her first year in the incredibly high-pressure position, and while this position is more than many players can handle, she showed up day after day, put in an incredible amount of work, and became the true front-line of defense our team needed.
When asked about the prospects for next season, she added…"In regards to next season, I am incredibly optimistic. Not only will we have 5 returning Varsity players including our setter and libero, but there is also an immense amount of talent coming up the pipeline of this program. While we already know our Varsity team had an incredible season, our JV and Freshman teams did as well. JV went 10-3 and Freshman's record was 7-1. Kearny Volleyball is just getting started, and I want to thank the current and past coaches, players and parents who have helped to build this program into what it is today. K-HOP!”
The Linda Vista Update extends high-five congrats to the Kearny High Girls Volleyball season on their high successful season!
Commentary
The Linda Vista PJ Pants Day Proposal
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our community could cultivate an image in which the name “Linda Vista” became synonymous with such a positive concept as “comfort?” Just as North Park is associated with “hipsters” and Ocean Beach is associated with “laid back hippies”, I can see how Linda Vista cold soon be known for promoting a “comfortable lifestyle” reputation. And it just so happens I have a plan that could make this come to fruition. What will this involve? Let me explain.
In case you haven’t noticed, the wearing of pajama pants in public spaces has become a more common sight. Stand outside the local 7-11 convenience store on a typical morning and you will see quite a few customers enter the premises wearing their pajama pants. Look outside the window of your home on any morning (and sometimes even in the early afternoon) and you will see people walking their dogs while still dressed in their pajama pants. Stand in line at the post office and you will inevitably see people unashamedly mailing packages in their pajama pants. This trend was growing long before the COVID pandemic, but courtesy of the past 18 months during which time residents worked at home while still dressed in comfortable pajamas, the “pajama pants in public places” phenomenon has gained greater traction.
I understand why some people view the wearing of pajama pants in public as a symbol of Western civilization’s decline. Wearing pajama pants might be seen as the height of laziness, or just bad taste. But I offer that many pajama pants look sharp—when I wear my Costco-bought plaid draw-string pajama pants, I tend to think I look as good as people dressed in khaki pants, much better than those wearing faded or shredded blue jeans, and much, much better than those wearing simple sweatpants intended for the gym. Nothing says “classy, cozy and comfortable” like a dark colored, conservative pair of plaid pajamas.
Now, I personally haven’t made the leap to wearing pajama pants in public. I have, however, gone so far as to rush in and out of my garage in the morning to place my trash can on the side of the street while wearing pajama pants (It was still dark, and I don’t think anyone saw me). And I did once drive to McDonald’s to purchase an Egg McMuffin while in my pajama pants (again, no one actually saw what I was wearing because I utilized the drive-thru window and never stepped out of the car). But I would not hesitate to wear pajama pants in public if everyone else in Linda Vista did as well, for I am a team player and more than willing to participate in any worthy community effort.
Accordingly, in order to perpetuate the element of more comfort in the lives of Linda Vista residents, and as a way to shape and eventually market our community’s popular image to the rest of the world, I suggest the following actions:
· We pick a day in the week—Wednesdays, for example—and designate that day “Linda Vista Pajama Pants Day.”
· On that day, all Linda Vista residents will be encouraged to wear pajama pants to any places of employment or to any commercial establishments within the Linda Vista boundaries.
· Linda Vista employers will encourage all their employees to wear pajama pants, while business owners will offer discounts to any customers dressed in pajama pants.
· Local civic organizations like the Linda Vista Town Council will sell pajama pants with a logo that reads “LVPJ’s” or “Linda Vista Means Comfort” on the sides to promote this comfortable Linda Vista lifestyle.
· To ensure the necessary degree of classiness (and hygiene), residents will maintain a set of pajamas pants for sleeping and a separate pair for wearing in public places.
· Any local business establishment that does not play along and refuses to allow its employees to wear pajama pants will be gently harassed by the Linda Vista community choir repeatedly singing the chorus “All we are saying is give PJ’s a chance” outside of the establishment’s entrance.
In these still trying times, I propose we take the coziness of our homes with us wherever we go and use the comfort of our pajama pants to help us cope in public (bedroom slippers to remain optional). Let’s make Linda Vista an official Pajama-friendly public zone—at least on Wednesday’s. If we can make this happen, I am sure our community will develop a world-wide reputation for comfort. No doubt, the Linda Vista “comfort” brand will be the envy of other San Diego communities. Aloha attire Fridays work in Hawaii. No reason PJ Pants Wednesdays can’t do the same here. Who knows? We may find that Linda Vista residents long to dress in pajama pants all seven days a week, and that would get us even more attention!
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The Linda Vista Update publishes informative, interesting and fun news about Linda Vista and its neighboring communities.