Tag: nicole knight columns

Hispanic, Irish, Japanese, African-American, American Indian, Caucasian – everyone has had to pick one or any of the other 20 options before in their lifetime. SATs, college applications and even MySpace provide check boxes to give us a label. Ethnicity is, and will probably always be, a complex and touchy issue.

Milk, pumpkin pie, paper towels, oranges and batteries mosey down the conveyor belt in the checkout line at Albertsons. Like in a sort of trance, all the shoppers are staring upward.

Beaming rays of sunlight reflected off the tan interior of my ’99 Nissan Altima and illuminated the mileage dial on the dashboard last week as I cruised past Garey Avenue on the 10 Freeway.

Scandal, corruption, controversial propositions, vicious campaigns and recounts are enough to worry about during any election. However, during this 2006 midterm election, technology swooped in to add another layer of drama.

Warm, aromatic coffee penetrates the air combining with the stale, ink smell of a fresh newspaper as the loyal reader opens this Sunday’s latest edition.

Sneaking up behind the bright orange jack ‘o’ lanterns peers a plastic jolly Santa Claus complete with rosy cheeks. Red hats lined with white fluffy trim sit in back of ghoulish, bloody masks. Hiding at the end of the long rows stacked with Halloween candy, trick-or-treat bags and costumes, Christmas lights, fake trees, stockings and glittering ornaments stake out waiting for their turn in the spotlight.