Much More to Modesto

In early 2005 America invaded my hometown. Every major news corporation had a full news crew reporting live from my downtown around the clock, competing to be the first to broadcast every new development in the mysterious disappearance of a woman I had met once as a substitute teacher. America, especially my hometown of Modesto, CA, was riveted by the Laci Peterson case. Sadly, this was not the first time in my life that I had experienced the presence of America in my hometown. In fact, the Laci Peterson case was the third time in my life time that America was reporting from my hometown on a high profile disappearance turned murder.

After reading and affirming the truth of the above statements one might expect me to go on about how terrible and dangerous Modesto, CA is. After all, it can only be logical to assume that any hometown with a track record of three high profile murder cases in the course of seven years is infested with crime. I have to disagree, however. There is much more to Modesto than serial murders and high profile missing persons cases. Modesto was a great place to grow up. I was surrounded by family that loved me, friends that shaped my childhood, and a community that worked to change things for the better.

Modesto has always meant family to me. In fact, my family was “born” in Modesto when my mother and father met at St. Joseph’s Parish in 1986 just after my father had moved to town. Their love for each other quickly grew and in the fall of 1987 they were married in the very place that they had met. In the following few years, my siblings and I were all born and raised in the city. The majority of my childhood years were spent around the corner from my grandmother. While some children see their grandparents only rarely, I have cherished memories of walking with my grandmother to the store where she would buy us ice cream cones or bologna sandwiches. I never took for granted the blessing it was to be so close to her. In addition to my grandmother, Modesto was centrally located in regards to the rest of my extended family. As a result, most family reunions and holidays were hosted at our house. Modesto will always hold the memories of the Christmases, Easters, and Thanksgivings of my childhood.

Modesto will also hold the memories of summers and school days spent with my friends. Though Modesto is a small city, when we were together there was never a lack of adventure. We found ways of turning our dining rooms into treasure troves and battlefields while playing D&D. We transformed our living rooms into theaters and stages, performing monologues, dialogues, and songs to our heart’s content. Our coffeehouses, smoothie stores, and creameries were more than just workplaces and weekend hot spots—they were havens of fellowship and companionship. We boldly took all that Modesto had to offer and molded it into a refuge we will always be able to escape back to in our memories.

Growing up there, one of the qualities that impressed me the most about Modesto was that it was a place where community was so much more than an ambiguous word. The community of Modesto always strived to improve the status quo. In my service to several community organizations, I found that the community leaders of Modesto were willing to lend an open mind to new ideas, especially regarding the youth. More than this though, the community as a whole was willing to take those ideas and develop them into realities. For instance, what was the dream of a state-of-the-art theater a decade ago was recently realized in the grand opening of the Gallo Center for the Performing Arts. For residents of Modesto, it is not enough to be merely content with today. We always strived for a better tomorrow.

Although to the world Modesto may seem a place plagued by serial killers and high profile murderers, it is not. Rather, Modesto is a place where family, friends, and community are intrinsic values that bond us to one another. I do not—nor will I ever—regret growing up in Modesto. Had it not been for the family, friends, and community that embraced me there for all those years, I would not be who I am today. I am eternally thankful to each and every one of them for the positive difference they have made in my life.