Hope
Licia’s Imports is a small retailer of Portuguese imports, most notably gold and silver jewelry and Catholic saint statues. The store is located on Alum Rock Avenue, the main road that Licia’s Imports calls home, is a major traffic junction. Alum Rock is directly off of the 101 freeway - and thus is often overlooked as a through road, rather than a place to casually walk and shop.
Despite very obvious location limitations, the owners of Licia’s Imports remain incredibly positive and hopeful. Their small brick and mortar, which is certainly no larger than 500 square feet, represents their opportunity to establish financial security - for both themselves and their young daughter, Rachel.
I once could walk past a small, “mom and pop” store - similar to Licia’s Imports - and never think twice about the inherent importance of its existence and success. Not only do these stores create a neighborhood’s character, they also can also represent a family’s lifeline…
The collection of short non-fiction stories, entitled DeBug: Voices from the Underside of Silicon Valley, provides concrete examples of the devastation that occur in the blink of an eye in Silicon Valley’s cut throat economy. These short, yet extraordinarily moving accounts of devastating realities are the most effective ways to express difficult situations. The most notable story in DeBug was “Addiction and Recovery in the Silicon Valley”. The author, Anthony, shares his life’s events that define the underprivileged Silicon Valley lifestyle. From holding a full time job, but still failing to provide a comfortable life for himself and his family, to losing the job, turning to drug dealing to earn an income, then developing a drug addiction, living on the streets, and eventually utilizing low income housing, this individual had experienced multiple of the most devastating aspects of life.
Reading “Addiction” illustrated the importance of Licia’s Imports to its owners, Sergio and Licia. Without this business, this immigrant couple could easily fall into the trap of unemployment and homelessness. While I may just be realizing this reality, Sergio and Licia have most certainly thought about this reality on many occasions. Their hope for Licia’s Imports derives from the legitimacy of failure and the consequences of this failure. I aspire to assist the business to transform this hope for future stability into certainty that their family will be comfortable and secure.