A Piece of Home in a Lost Mural

Last summer I went on a bit of fact-finding mission to little National City, just across the municipal border from San Diego’s south side. Every summer and school break when I was growing up, my mother took my siblings and me to spend time at the National City Public Library. It was a place we all liked. We went to preschool in the building next door, got library cards as soon as we were old enough, and spent long days in the stacks, absorbing stories of distant lands.

I remember a …