Newest articles on The Sacramento Press written by Lee McMullen

Rick's garden

2009-04-26T01:16:27Z

Leaving the house can be somewhat of a chore. Some days it's nice to be secluded in my apartment, reading or watching television. However, once I step foot outside of the apartment, I immediately feel a warm pleasantness come over me. Rick's garden sprawls across the small front yard. The garden is an explosion of all kinds of different plants, colors and textures.

With every new day of spring and summer, there is always something new and interesting blooming, making for a pleasant surprise. There are traditional beauties like roses and irises, but also plants to satisfy unusual tastes such as Mullens, which grow over six feet and are covered in pods and look as if they arrived from another planet.

When Rick Castro and Larry Fox bought the house over four years ago when it had not been lived in for many years and had suffered a fire. They gutted the house, by putting in new amenities while still maintaining the structure of the house. When my boyfriend and I moved in nearly two years ago, Rick was just starting to develop his garden. His main themes are, Victorian style (to match the house), native plants and drought tolerance.

Because of water shortages and waste, it is very important for Rick that his plants use as little water as possible. Drought tolerant plants are not only convenient in their minimal use of water but in that they can thrive in arid areas such as Sacramento. One of Rick's more interesting plants is the Sago Palm. The Sago Palm grows in a confined space and only generally reaches a height of six feet. It is coniferous and also kin to the Ginko tree. They can be traced back to the Mesozoic era and are often referred to as "living fossils". Rick was lucky enough to find the Sago at a garage sale and instantly liked it for its Victorian look (Victorians loved palms).

White and gray were two of the colors Rick had in mind to dominate the garden. White flowers are not only visible at night but also reflect light and color from the other plants. Another factor in some of his flower choices is a desire to attract hummingbirds. By planting red flowers next to white flowers with an especially tasty nectar, the hummingbirds flock to the garden.

Vegetables can also be found in the garden. He chose self-seeding leeks, Swiss chard and kale. Not only do these vegetables look very ornamental but they are tasty as well. Rick plans to grow more vegetables and herbs in the significantly larger backyard because of their growing success.

For mulch, Rick collects fallen leaves and covers the ground with them. This is an efficient way of reusing the leaves and a very effective one. I have hardly seen a weed. He is also working on a worm compost, using worms to compost food scraps and other organic material into a nutrient rich soil.

If I had to narrow down my favorite plants in the garden, they would be the more unusual ones. The Melianthus major Honeybush is tall and imposing, with jagged leaves and whispy maroon blooms. The Mullens are also tall and, at first, have a fuzzy appearance with small yellow flowers. As they age, the fuzz and flowers disappear into hundreds of dry pods. Rick's Foxgloves take my breath away with their beauty, looking like the layered ruffled dresses of the Civil War era. The Lamb's Ears, which resemble overgrown sage leaves,add texture and the gray color desired by Rick. Euphorbia may be my favorite of the bunch with their bright green color and suction cup look. I also appreciate the rose bushes because they are some of the plants that survived the fire.

By using drought tolerant plants and composting and mulch, Rick has created a beautiful and eco-friendly garden for all that pass by to enjoy. People have likened his garden to The Wizard of Oz because of its unusual plants and bright colors. Rick enjoys the otherworldly comparison and will continue to garden, introducing people to new and interesting plants.

Super Bowl in Sacramento... not quite the South...

2009-02-02T05:54:38Z

Needless to say, the Super Bowl is a huge deal. Millions upon millions of advertisers' dollars go into it. The spirit and enthusiasm of hundreds of millions people are vested in this one showdown of the "best of the best." In the South, it is a little different. Football is not a sport but the sport to Southerners. It is a common occurrence for people to ride through town replicating rebel yells to the best of their ability just over a high school game. Yes, a local high school game...

The Southern reaction to a college game is a similar one but with an underlying hostility. Everyone has a team they are rooting for either because it is nearby or their alma mater. The camps separate and stare down anyone else in an opposing sweatshirt.

The Super Bowl is a different matter. Mississippi has no local NFL teams and the ones that are relatively close usually do not make it that far. The animosity between people's team preferences is good natured. If you happen to venture out of the house prior to the game, the stores and streets are crowded with frantic fans making their last minute beer or snacks run. It is reminiscent of that Walmart commercial with the family setting up for the game in unison, chanting Queen's "We Will Rock You." Honestly, that commercial is not that far fetched...

The Super Bowl is the day that most people seem to look forward to most each year. People of all ages, of different sexes, of different races are unified in their excitement. It is a beautiful thing to see, really (There are other amazing things about the Super Bowl. The commercials are mostly clever and I can stock up on Mountain Dew for ridiculously low prices).

I, however, hate football. I do not know whether it is because of its blatant gladiator aspects or because my dad forced me to watch it no matter how I had pleaded to dismiss myself in order to read. I thought I could escape it by going to freinds' houses but they all were into it. My lack of interest in football led to people accusing me of being "un-American" and weird.

I am not trying to imply that Sacramento football fans are any less loyal than Southern ones. It just seems like the die-hard fans go to sports bars, stay at home or go to a party. There also seem to be more people that do not live and breathe the Super Bowl. In Mississippi, if you left the house while the game was on, the streets were empty of cars and people. I could walk for miles and feel like the only person on Earth, until I passed a nearby window where shouts of joy for a touchdown or cries of outrage at a bad call could be heard.

Today, I woke up and it was like every Sunday. There were many pedestrians going about business as usual. There were still people driving around. I did not realize it even was the Super Bowl until I noticed my boyfriend's dad glued to the screen.

This is one of the things I like about Sacramento (not just that some people aren't obsessed with football...). People carry on and do their own things whether it is against the norm or not. The world does not become frozen in time because two football teams are going at it.

Quest for the ultimate burrito...

2008-11-16T08:41:36Z

Originally from the Deep South, the comfort food I grew up on was fried chicken, mac and cheese and mustard greens. My dad, a chef of sorts, would come up with new family classics monthly, be it a rare steak, chicken Marsala, pulled pork sandwiches, fried catfish or tilapia covered in scallops and mushrooms. It was not until I was fifteen that our small town got its first Mexican restaurant.

This was a very cosmopolitan event for most Natchezians who had grown up on soul food with the exception of Chinese or Italian for special occasions. However, the specialty of the sole Mexican restaurant was the fajitas. Don't get me wrong. They were fabulous but my dad had been making them sporadically for years. So I shrugged off the allure of Mexican food; that its, until I came to California.

My first burrito experience was at High Tech Burrito in Berkeley and it floored me. Beans, cheese, rice, sour cream and salsa (I prefer nuclear) all rolled up into a perfectly mixed meal. It was decadent, not just because of the foreign factor but because it consisted of all totally delicious flavors mixed together in an easy (depending on where you go) to eat manner.

I began to frequent High Tech and Chipotle weekly for dinner. I was in burrito heaven until a friend pointed me to Gordo's in the Bay Area. Gordo's is leaps and bounds better than all those chain places. The meat is not all super high quality like the kind found at the chains, but you can tell it has been cooked all day in a traditional manner: low and slow to maximize the flavor. Plus, I like that they will give me extra hot sauce without rolling their eyes.

To this day, every time I go back to Berkeley, I have to get a Gordo burrito. The only thing better than a Gordo burrito is almost any one you can find in the Mission District in San Fransisco. Taqueria Cancun is my favorite but Taqueria San Fransisco, La Coreta Taqueria and Papalote Mexiacon Grill (if you have vegan friends eating with) are all stellar.

I moved to Sacramento September of 2007 and have had no luck in the burrito department. Before any cynics tell me to go back to the Bay if I like it so much, I want to clarify that I love Sacramento. The people are polite and inviting. A lot of the restaurants I have been to rival San Fransisco any day. My only complaint is that I have not found one burrito that I would want more than once here.

I fear the Mission District has set my bar really high and I think that was my problem when I first came here. Now I am desperate. I would love a recomendation or suggestion if any of you kind souls reading would care to offer.

Here is the small list of places I have had burritos:

Vallejo's- Not bad, really... The ingredients were mixed well but the chicken was stringy and had only a faint flavor.
Ernesto's- Ah, the gourmet burrito... The chicken was good, I give them that. However, I always ask for no olvies and they always manage to throw a few in. This has happened more than three times. That's not my real problem with them, though. They put entirely too much rice in the burrito and not enough wet ingredients. Plus, the burritos are enormous, so it is like a giant plate of dry spanish rice.
Jalapeno's- Mediocre... I was hoping it would be packed with the spice implied by the restaurant name. Not so much...
La Fiesta- This is probably the most promising of the bunch. The burritos are on the small size, which is good for little people like me. The pollo asado is very flavorful and yummy as you are eating it. It isn't until afterward that you are guzzling water from the saltiness of their food.
La Garnacha- Where should I start? I asked if they would leave off the lettuce and the clerk appeared to understand. When I got home, the burrito was filled with shredded lettuce to the point where it could not be picked out. Plus, the burrito was cold... like out of the fridge cold.
Rey Azteca- The burrito was fine but oh so bland. I had to slice habaneros on it to get any flavor at all.

And finally, Lalo's Restaurant — I loved the atmosphere and the salsas were great (no chips though). I have a hard time explaining the burrito, but I will try. The meat was boiled so there was little flavor. The rest was good but, I dunno... The rice, salsa, cheese and sour cream tasted all the same. For example, the cheese tasted like chicken stock, as did the rice and the beans.

If anyone has any recommendations, I would love to hear them. My once-a-month fix of Gordo's isn't doing it for me. I am willing to travel within the greater Sacramento area. Please help a poor burrito deprived girl.

Success... maybe

2008-11-04T09:53:17Z

As of 9:54 CST 11/03/08, my vote was received by Adams County, MS.

Will it count? Who knows? At least I tried.

Here's to hoping Adams County will be an Obama one.

Spokes in my craw

2008-11-04T09:44:26Z

There is nothing I enjoy more on a stressful day than to go for a walk around Midtown. I love to watch the trees changing colors and losing leaves. I love the various dog walkers and their curious pooches, sniffing everything in sight. I love the craggy old men stumbling along, lost in thought. Most of all, I love going to Sutter's Fort and feeding the ducks who are always ecstatic to see me. That short walk is the perfect de-stressor to life and can elevate my day from so-so to good. The only thing that majorly detracts from this is the bicyclists.

First of all, I would like to state clearly that I have the utmost respect for those choosing walking, bicycling and using public transportation in lieu of driving a car. Gas lately, has been exorbitantly expensive plus the exhaust from cars is a major pollutant. The car symbolizes independence for the individual. Having a car means you can go anywhere at any time you want and provides the security of your own personal escape route. Walking or riding a bike flips the middle finger to this contention. Pedestrians and cyclists also have the liberty of going wherever we want at any time (albeit at a slower pace) and we are not doing it at the expense of the environment.

I have no problem with responsible cyclists that ride in the bike lanes. Those of you reading are completely expempt from this complaint. I also give leeway to the parents teaching their children how to ride their bicycles sans training wheels on the sidewalk. I was a kid once and it took me a really long time to get it. If my mother had thrust me into a bike lane as training, I may very well not be writing this now. As an adult, I ride in the bike lanes and feel very anxious of the cars speeding behind me.

What I do have a problem with is the experienced cyclists crowding the sidewarlk for the pedestrians. It is a common occurance that I see a group of pedestrians approaching a bicyclist going the opposite way. Rather than to give the pedestrians room, the cyclist flashes them a dirty look and whizzes past, nearly hitting them.

The sense of entitlement these cyclists have is inexcuseable. Most of Midtown has very nice, clearly defined bike lanes for them. I understand that the sidewalk is roomy and inviting for the cyclists and I understand that being in traffic with cars is daunting, to say the least. Drivers can be unpredicatble and pull into the bike lane to double park, causing the cyclist to halt or be forced on the sidewalk for safety.

I have also witnessed experienced cyclists whipping past the eldery using walkers around Sutter Hospital on numerous occasions. This confused the elderly. It often led them to comment to me about how rude it was to ride on the sidewalk when they had bike lanes. I have seen the same with parents holding the hands of toddlers, already unsteady on their feet. The cyclists whriled past the toddlers with barely any room between them and sped away. Toddlers are unpredictable. Who is to say that one might move over to look at a flower in a yard. The cyclist would collide with him.

A friend of mine is a devoted cyclist. She treks well more than a mile to work every morning. When I brought up my concerns, she was equally outraged. She stated that she always followed the bike lanes to work. However, she pointed out that the bike lanes were not as nice as I perceived. She said that they were often polluted with leaves and debris as well as double parked cars. In spite of all of this, she followed the rules.

I encourage bicycling wholeheartedly. I just want you bicyclists to reevaluate your sense of entitlement to the sidewalks of Midtown. There are many pedestrians- some of us with disabilities- and we deserve respect. Those angry looks you flash us for being on your sidewalk are unwarranted. It is our sidewalk too.

Are you a cyclist in Midtown? If you do so, why do you ride on the sidewalk? Are the bike lanes really that unworkable? Do you find it safe to closely pass pedestrians?

Adventures in absentee voting...

2008-11-03T05:54:12Z

I am from Mississippi and have been living in Sacramento for a year attending school.

My father arranged to have the absentee ballot sent to me here. Disappointingly, the ballot was the only straight-forward document of the bunch. The instructions were convoluted to say the least. The envelope required to mail the ballot was even more confusing. What was clear was that I had to fill out my ballot in front of a witness. The witness could be a notary public, postmaster, asst. postmaster or postal clerk.

In the last general election, the directions were very clear cut. It stated that a notary should be the witness and there was room for their seal. In the new and improved procedure, there was no space for the seal. Despite this fact, I went on a search for a notary. After calling several places, I found a notary I could see immediately at Downtown Mail and Shipping.

He was equally confused by the ballot instructions. It was clear he had to sign the envelope, attesting that he saw me vote without any aid from others. However, there was only room for a signature and not a seal. He scratched his head and said that he was reluctant to sign because he would have to also send a form to put his seal on. This, he worried, may factor against my vote (the instructions were very specific that only the ballot should be in the envelope) and he said he would hate to aid in not making my vote count. He recommended that I go to the post office on 801 I St. It was only a couple of blocks away and he felt I would have no problem.

His kind advice proved wrong. I waited nearly twenty minutes in line, frantically filling out the parts of the forms that I was allowed to without a witness. Finally, I was called to the clerk. I explained to her that I am an absentee voter and that I needed here to watch me vote as well as sign the sealed envelope. She, then, would sign the envelope as my witness.

She said that her boss was not there. I replied, "Oh, no. The asst. postmaster or a clerk could sign."

"I won't sign." She waved her hand dismissively.

I rifled through all the government documents in my hand, taking out the directions. I pushed the instructions toward her saying, "The directions clearly state that you are totally qualified to sign."

She did not look at the paper but at me with disgust, as if I was trying to con her. "I'm not signing anything."

I asked if she would at least look at the directions. She said, "You can wait as long as you want. I won't sign."

Dejected, I returned to Downtown Mail and Shipping and told my tale of woe to the notary. He was aghast that she had turned me down so blatantly and seemed to genuinely feel bad for me. He looked over the directions for the ballot and discovered that a clerk in charge of a contract postal station could sign as witness. He signed free of charge. I mailed the letter overnight, hoping that it meets the 11/03 deadline. I was glad to support his store and him, as well.

Most of the people I have told this story to are outraged and feel that the postal clerk was leaving me disenfranchised by not only refusing to sign, but refusing to read the government mandated instructions. I really do not believe that was her intent. I think she was clueless regarding absentee voting. What she should have done is to say that she did not feel comfortable signing any government documents and would prefer that I come back at a later time to talk to her manager.

Have any other absentee voters had similar problems out there? Or, for that matter, do any postal clerks have some advice to enlighten me as to what protocol is?