Growing up along with Moorpark
By Brent E. McCoy thereal@roadrunner.com

We've lived in Moorpark for a little over 21 years now. My wife and I moved here when it was just the two of us, and now we have two kids who have grown up here. Well, they've grown up as much as they can, at this point. We have one kid who is in college and another kid who is a senior at Moorpark High School. They have grown up just as Moorpark has.

It sure is a different town than it was all those years ago. Some think the town is better and others disagree, but the fact remains that Moorpark has grown and changed since 1986.

We've changed, too. When we first got here, my pants were always too big and my wallet was always empty as we struggled like most young couples do. Times got better, and the kids came along. That sure changed life. Now after all of these good years, my pants are always too tight but mywalletissti llalways empty. Remember, I said we had kids- some things don't ever change that much.

In 1986, the Moorpark High School that we know today was still 10 years away from seating its first class. The Marmonte League was that other league where the good teams played, and water polo was something that was very cruel to the horses. I doubt if anyone had even heard of the Academic Decathlon back in 1986. The baseball fields weren't much more than a dirt diamond surrounded by weeds.

The parks weren't much either back then. I took my kids to Griffin Park almost every weekend. The animals were housed right across the street, and we would usually stop by to see the ostrich on our way home. The park was usually busy with families just playing in the grass or maybe playing on the swing planted in the grass. There was no play area and no sand or wood chips.

Now the parks are really something to behold. They have all of the landscaping, equipment and activities that one could want. They seem to have just about everything, except families playing in the grass. Griffin Park is still there, but like so many who attain the finest things, its name has been changed.

Back then, there were still three or four small markets and stores, but if you felt the need to go to a "super market," you had two choices: you could go to the Hughes downtown or stay home. Actually, I believe that they had big markets over in Simi those many years ago, but who wanted to leave Moorpark?

We have more than our fair share of fast food places now, but back in 1986, if my memory serves me well, we only had three choices for fast food. You could go to Wendy's. You could turn up the oven really, really high. Or you could drive really fast over to Simi, which wasn't all that easy, since the freeway didn't go across town then.

It never occurred to us back then that our little town of Moorpark would be home to so many shopping centers, so many fast food emporiums and so many nail and spa salons. Actually, it never occurred to us that there would ever be such a thing as a nail and spa salon.

There also was no Moorpark Acorn to feature news of our town. Others tried and failed, but the Moorpark Acorn, thanks to the efforts of the publisher, editor and staff, has given us something unique that informs, entertains and gives all of us a place to voice an opinion. As an example of our diversity, some of you might think that the previous sentence was written by a lowly sycophant while I look at it as a feeble attempt at added job security.

This town has changed a lot in 21 years, but I still can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be.