Okay where to begin . . . well let me start by saying that I often peruse websites, or for that matter blogs which pertain to subjects which I find interesting. To be more specific, I am referring to the ones that deal in some way, shape or form with the City of Pomona. Well a while back a colleague of mine introduced me to a blog by an author that goes by the name “The Goddess of Pomona”. In one of her older posts I remember her referring to a local and extremely familiar business know as “Nancy’s Carniceria”. The reason I bring this up is because about a month ago they took down a banner that had been hanging on the side of the building for quite some time. While banners are nothing out of the ordinary, this one caught my attention (while it was up). Now I have nothing against Nancy’s, the tortillas are rather good and from the longevity of the business I don’t think many people would argue that fact. But every time (up until recently that is) that I would drive by I would see that banner and something just didn’t sit right with me, then it hit me. Just above the front doors of this business and under the green Nancy’s sign there was another sign that said “carniceria” (pretty much means meat market or butcher shop). Well for as long as I can remember that is the correct spelling for that word but on the banner plain as day it said “carniseria”, the c had been changed to an s. I know it’s now big deal or I should say it was no big deal but I couldn’t help but look in that direction every time while driving by. And apparently someone else noticed it as well for it is no longer there. Had the Spanish language changed overnight or was this just an alternate spelling of the word? Who knows, perhaps no one noticed the spelling error or maybe the owner received a discount on the banners for the spelling mistake. Anyone that has been to Tacos Jalisco (a great taco shop also located in the city) might remember a similar spelling mistake. I don’t recall exactly how many years ago it was but I clearly remember reading the phrase “Thank you for coming” on the bottom of their receipts. The only problem was that it actually read “Thank you for caming”. It was on their receipts for quite a while before it was taken off. I guess an accent can easily be translated into a spelling error. But now the sign is gone and I’m glad I got that out of my system (finally). Anyway, let’s get back to the Goddess’s story. I also recall her giving a bit of back story to the picture on their tortilla packages. If I remember her (The Goddess’s) story correctly she wrote how the picture on the package was the owner’s daughter Nancy. The picture has been on there as long as I can remember. Well I feel obligated to interject a little bit of information, something that I have been told for as long as I can remember. Whether it is true or not I can’t say for sure because I have never gone to Nancy’s and asked to talk to the owners to verify, but it does make for an interesting story. You know that little girl on the tortilla packages that we have all come to know and love as Nancy? Well . . . (I’m constantly told) that that isn’t Nancy. I know what you’re saying, and if I hadn’t heard the story for a good part of my life I wouldn’t have believed it either. The girl whose picture is on all those packages is supposedly one of Nancy’s older sisters. I believe her name is Cynthia and she is the third of four sisters in that family (so I’ve been told). Fact or fiction, it does make for an interesting story. One thing I can guarantee you is that I didn’t just make that up. I’m not exactly sure on how it came to be that way but if anybody wants to (with certainty) say otherwise please do. I would hate people to think that I am just starting wild rumors about our beloved “carniseria”.
