Here are the stories of a people in a rural community transformed by explosive growth starting in the late 20th century, a community of people who came for the good life who now deal with all the issues so many towns have coped with - long lines on the freeway exits, urbanism, infrastructure, fast food joints and the like that in some ways make the area look like countless other suburbs across the land with their identical chain stores and strip malls - and yet underneath it all are the human stories, stories that reveal the spirit and triumphs and tragedies and lives of a people who more often than not still come together when it matters, to live and learn and celebrate the life of a community so much like the America around them, and yet so unique. These are the columns and stories of these people, this community, across 25 years of time since I began writing and sharing my observations in The Press-Enterprise newspaper, having lived here with my wife and young children since 1988. Looking back, I would do it again. And reading along you may find yourself in one of these stories, or someone just like yourself, in your hometown, in your neighborhood, in your community - wherever you live and call home.