High Street will once again be the site of Moorpark's an- nual Country Days tomorrow, Sat., Oct. 7. This year's festi- val theme is "Home Sweet Home," which is the way most residents already feel about their community.

As the citizens of our fair city turn out in potentially record numbers to enjoy homespun fun and a parade with appar- ently more people marching in it than are on the sidelines watching (this is one darn big parade), it would be proper to stop and consider why Country Days always takes place where it does-on High Street.

It might be that High Street is really a "Chicken Soup for the Moorparkian's Soul." The feeling most residents have when they take their first-ever ride or walk down High Street is, "We're in 'Andy of Mayberry' country." It could have been while going to some corny show years ago at the old Moorpark Melodrama (now the newly re-named High Street Arts Cen- ter). Or it may have been on a romantic night when a spouse or lover made a special date at one of the street's unique res- taurants.

Whatever the reason, experiencing High Street with its beautiful historic peppertrees, early 20th-century charm, and mom-and-pop-style businesses certainly can lower the blood pressure. The place "speaks" to many Moorpark residents as a throwback to simpler days when time wasn't such a pre- cious commodity.

So while your family is cheering Grand Marshal Justin Walker from "Clueless" and the local pea-wee soccer team as they proudly march down High Street along side the Acorn squirrel and re-enactors from the Moorpark Rotary's annual Battle of the Blue and Grey-just stop for a moment and wrap your mind around the big picture:

High Street really is our community's "Home Sweet Home."

For more information on Moorpark Country Days, go to www.countrydays.org and watch Time-Warner Cable for one of the numerous narrated broadcasts of the parade.