Looks forward to change in America

On Christmas Eve, my husband attempted to turn onto Wildwood Avenue to take our family to my inlaws' to celebrate, but couldn't. It had been sealed off by police. We had no idea what had happened.

Around the same time, I received a call from my parents who were also trying to head home and to confirm if we were okay. They had seen an ambulance and knew someone had been hurt in an accident. Unfortunately, it ended up being a fatality.

The following day we read that a man, 29, had lost control of his vehicle around 4:30 p.m. and had gone through a block wall.

A memorial had been set up with candles and a poster made by the victim's children on Christmas Day. Whatever happened, Rolando Gutierrez never reached his destination.

Now that a new year is upon us, I profoundly hope that change and social growth are a part of a new beginning. On Jan. 20, we'll not only inaugurate our new president but the first African American president.

My 8-year-old son recently returned from school and told me that while he was getting a drink at a fountain, a secondgrader asked him, "Are you Mexican?" My son answered, "Yes," to which the other child responded, "The Mexican drinking fountain is over there."

I'm saddened by the hate consistently directed at undocumented immigrants who are here making a living, supporting our ailing economy and doing the work which we educated, Englishspeaking white or bluecollar Americans would unarguably rather not do.

During the election, I was sickened to see Congressman Elton Gallegly's oversized signs once again posted by the strawberry fields off the 101 Freeway, right in the faces of the very people he attacks every election. I wonder if Mr. Gallegly would like to pick the strawberries that we enjoy at the annual Strawberry Festival.

With hope in the air, the beginning of a new year and a new president entering office, I eagerly anticipate the many changes that are inevitably sure to come.

May Rolando Gutierrez rest in peace. Tina Aschenbrenner Thousand Oaks