filling in the blank spaces

I took a drive down into Oxnard tonight. The last time I had ventured down Oxnard blvd was 1994. I remember a nasty area of cheap hotels, used car lots, adult bookstores, and dive bars. They are all gone. In fact, the area where they were is now a blank space. there is nothing left. The buildings were removed and replaced with grass and single family homes. An empty stretch of open parkland parallels the train tracks where the worst of the stores were located. The only thing that survived was a small thrift store.

The rest of Oxnard blvd looks like a patchwork of corporate America. If I did not know I was in Oxnard, I would guess I was in a section of homogenized Orange County. I was hunting good food, but Jack in the Box was the norm. I wanted to stop for a street taco but could only find two taco trucks operating. Since nobody was on line for a taco, I passed (this is the rule: no line, no taco.) I remember dozens of taco trucks serving a migrant work force. I would wait for tres tacos de linqua and then smile as I ate them with a horchata (or a beer from my ice chest). They were so good. All gone now... except I still have the ice chest.

It feels like Oxnard has lost its soul. I drove its streets with my camera but I could not take a picture. Who wants a picture of something we all see everyday. Such a shame.