#26: Otay Mesa-Nestor Branch

OTAY MESA/NESTOR BRANCH

Visiting Time: 1:45-2:30

Did I get lost on my way? Nope. :)

Book Checked out: The Daily Coyote: A Story of Love, Survival, and Trust in the Wilds of Wyoming (Shreve Stockton)

Book Selection: 2 bookmarks
Seating: 3 bookmarks
Staff: 4 bookmarks
Architecture/Atmosphere: 2 bookmarks

Total: 11 bookmarks

At Starbucks this morning, I sat next to a trio of homeless people who'd bought coffee and were sharing a newspaper. Not long after sitting down, one man began reminiscing about the time before he'd lost his sense of smell.

Then he proceeded to tell the woman in their group how he and the other man had yesterday gone through the trash cans of what I believe is my complex. Apparently they'd made a good haul, filling two big bags with aluminum cans.

They read the paper some more, and then the second man began reading facts from an article about the La Cañada wildfire. It reminded the first man of San Diego's 07 wildfires, and he described how he'd lived and eaten at the Qualcomm evacuation center. After a few days, the volunteers began asking for names and addresses--which he didn't have--so he had to move on. But he said "it was good while it lasted." The three of them thought maybe they'd try to make it up to LA, and their evacuation shelters.

Towards the end, the first man said this: "I miss two things. A refrigerator and a shower. That's it."

This is a longwinded introduction to say that, after such a morning at Starbucks, I went to the Otay Mesa library looking for a book on homelessness. Surely, I thought, someone's written a memoir about having been homeless. It seems like good book idea, but I couldn't find it. What I did check out didn't disappoint, though, which is proof to me that one can't over-think things.

I checked out The Daily Coyote, the memoir of a writer/photographer who moves to Wyoming. The writing is deeply felt and, as it's accompanied by some of the author's photographs, is something I can recommend to my father.

Anyone know who the Nestor benefactor is?

Pictures:

(A picture of a picture.)

(Courtyard. Really pleasant in the shade. In the sun, freakin hot.)

(View of the library from the street below.)