Society & Culture
Valcine Brown remembers trips to Las Vegas with her Aunt, Uncle and cousins as her first experience with desert. Valcine describes a recent drive through the Mojave Preserve and what it was like to witness the destruction of the 2020 summer wildfires up close and personal. Valcine moved to the lower desert in the 90’s. While thinking about leaving Los Angeles county, her husband at the time received a timely promotion that brought them to the low desert. Some time after moving, the couple divorced and eventually Valcine came up to the hi-desert looking to purchase her next home, Having lived in both the low and hi-deserts, Valcine shares her perspective on the differences between the two places. Valcine didn’t really know anyone when she moved here, but when you love to sing karaoke, it’s easy to find friends in a place filled with musical talent. One night at karaoke, a woman who enjoyed Valcine singing approached her, gave Valcine her phone number and introduced her to Lisa Rae Black (Ep 95) who invited Valcine to join hi-desert band, The LP’s. Valcine grew up singing, starting in her church choir at the age of 15 and participating in the opera theatre in college. Valcine says her perfect life would be teaching during the week and singing on the weekends. 6:22 Saloon – karaoke In this episode, Valcine talks about transitioning to teaching online during the pandemic and the challenges around building a rapport with new students when the school year began in the fall of 2020. A self-proclaimed nerd, Valcine has earned two MFA’s, and is currently working toward her Doctorate. Valcine discusses her independent publishing company, La CrisaAnd Productions, and her inspiration for starting it.