I have lived in Simi for about four years now; I came from the San Fernando Valley. I consider Simi a dead town as far as nightlife.

I am 42 years old, so that fact doesn't bother me as much as it would if I were 24 years old, although about three times a year I like to go out and cavort as if I were in my 20s, and I must go to the San Fernando Valley or Hollywood to do so.

When I heard of the club Candlelight and the discrimination they are having with certain groups of residents, I thought, "Gee, I can ride my bicycle, take a cab or call a friend and have a good ol' time right here in my own backyard," and that's what I did two times in the last six months.

The club is a victim of a type of mentality that makes people think they own a public street. I know exactly the type of people doing the campaign against the club, for in my first rental house here in Simi on Eve Road I had that type of person as a neighbor.

The first night I parked my car on the public street in front of this man's house he came early the next morning and requested I move it or give him my keys so he could move it, seeing as how he roused me out of bed.

The next thing I know the landlord comes from his house about five minutes away, and once again I am roused out of bed and told to move my car and not to make problems. I know how the Gersons feel. I could have told the landlord the same thing I told the neighbor but knew I would be told to leave as a result. I felt so un-American after that episode.

I feel sorry for the young ones who need dancing and amplified music in their area; they now must go to SFV or Hollywood due to statements like the one by Keith Mashburn, who has the audacity to refer to this situation as a "game." I would not mind waking up and finding people leaving valuables in the street, sidewalk or even my front lawn in the form of recyclables.

Thank you for being a true American free press and observing both sides of a story. David O'Connor Simi Valley