Sublime Sunday Shelltown Food Desert My California

One of the last places I lived before leaving California and the US was a place called Shelltown in San Diego. It is the poorest demographic region in the county and was mostly Hispanic, Filipino and some Blacks. Few white people are there and few speak English. My son and I both lived there in a few places on and off for a couple of years and liked it a lot.

It’s mostly families of poor people who will do you not harm and actually look out for you. I was approached often to see if I was lost and needed help.

Why would some old white lady be wandering around in this place? Go check to see if she is ok.

The streets were quiet since no one drove in or through unless they lived there. It is supposed to be a place of high crime, but it is not. Poor neighborhoods are also supposed to be food deserts, but this was anything but.

This food truck came from noon to dark and had delicious and very cheap food. $5 would feed me for a couple of days at least. They gave free soup while you were waiting in the crowd to be served you take out meal. Sometimes you would get two soups if it was really busy.

It might not have been too sanitary, but I always got my fill of limes. I was not lacking Vitamin C while living in The Hood.

And over there, across the street from this parking lot, has the place you can get Middle Eastern food from the “A-rabs” as they were called.

That side of the street is National City; a place somewhat more affluent than here. I did not often get the cooked food but they had other good things I liked. Most of what is in that store is imported from the Middle East and not expensive.

I like my sweets and molasses does the trick for me. It has nutrients not found in sugar, and so I will choose it when I can.

They had many types in this store. All I tried were fantastic.

And I use tamarind paste when I can get it. I left one of these jars with a bit in it for my son when I left about a year after this time.

And this Bulgarian feta cheese lives on in my dreams!

You are looking at 1 pound chunks for $5! I was buying this once a week and surely wish I had some now. This was some of the best feta cheese I have ever eaten. It was awesome on the food truck food from across the street.

SE Asia is the land of bad and expensive chess, so I rarely eat it now.

My time in Shelltown was very good and I remember it fondly. I look at these photos and see a time of hope I am not feeling now.

My son is still in California and struggling. Right now he has a badly sprained and maybe broken ankle. His genetic heart condition, inherited from me, is acting up. Though he has insurance, he cannot seem to get help for his heart. He is passing out and wandering around homeless now at the age of 27. He needs a pacemaker. He needs a roof. He needs some peace.

And I in Malaysia struggle with bad air from Indonesian fires, little money, no food and 100 bug bites from something that keeps swarming me.

Then today I find that something sucked my metered wifi dry. I had 17 gigs left a couple of days ago and 4 today. I get 55 gigs a month and that will renew in a week, so I will be in and out of the internet and severely restricted until Friday night.

Meanwhile on STEEM we are losing little people daily. Many of those with less than one year and 1000 sp see no reason to continue under NewSTEEM. I can see the improvements, and I feel we are on the right path after the fork. I encourage everyone I can get to.

But the changes are very hard to comprehend down in redfish-ville. The contests, challenges and bounties I enter are all still empty. This is where I will use my wifi time. If I enter, I have a very good chance to win.

When @tasteem voted on my last restaurant review, they voted with 100% vp. So they are not voting very much now. Unheard of!

This crow was on my neighbor’s fence in Coronado California to scare away other birds. My son is sleeping on the beach there or under the pier. Somehow that place is still home to him.

My post today is for the Sublime Sunday event by @c0ff33a. I do not need much of an excuse to post my random, creative or crazy ideas here on STEEM, and fortunately I get a good place to do so here.

I’m also posting to the weekly Show Us Your California Contest held by @socalsteemit. What does your California look like? I was the only entry last week. If you want to win some SBI shares, this is your chance.

I’m spending some time sorting photos since I cannot be online, and this was what I found first.

I am a proud member of @socalsteemit. We bring Southern California to you on the STEEM blockchain. If you have a connection to this area, please join us. We would love to have you!