This is an open letter to the Napa County Board of Supervisors.

As hundreds of out of town tourists rush north on Highway 29 to the world famous Napa Valley, eager to see the sights, taste the wines and enjoy the international cuisine, hundreds of others, Napa's poor and working class, rush south to the flea market off of this same highway. Some call it the swap meet, others call it the "tiangis." The two groups are driving on opposite sides of the highway, both seeking rest and recreation from their daily toils.

Those rushing to the flea market are those who have toiled and worked hard so that the tourists can enjoy the world-famous Napa Valley. They have tended to and picked the grapes that make the wines, worked in the wine industry, and others have made the beds that welcome many of the guests. Others have prepared the wonderful and tasty dishes that make Napa's restaurants well respected in the Bay Area, and others have been dishwashers. Many others have worked in construction, landscaping, baby sitting and the list goes on and on.

What does the group heading south on Highway 29 look for and want? To enjoy a Sunday off, a day of rest and recreation, and where do so many of them find it? At the flea market. Not by work alone does a person live, but by the rest and play that he or she enjoys, and which helps to sustain their inner nature. As the church services end on Sunday morning, several more hundreds flood the flea market, eager to look, buy, and chat with their fellow residents, to chat and pass the time away listening to music, purchasing fresh produce, trinkets, art works, kitchen items, appliances, CDs, DVDs, flowers, plants, hats and luggage. In their hours, they stop to have any of various ethnic lunches. And they continue shopping: 16 pairs of socks for just $10, a new waterproof jacket for only $10, religious articles to continue stimulating their faith, and they move around happily, peacefully and in a friendly and harmonious manner.

Napa's flea market is well known outside of Napa to flea market seekers. Many visitors from out of town as far as San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento and Santa Rosa have come to enjoy the social environment, as do those of nearby cities.

For another group of poor and working class, this is their opportunity to be part of a "community yard sale." Besides offering a service to Napa's hardworking community, some of them live and maintain their family needs by sales that they make at this flea market.

The administration of the flea market is well organized and ensures that the parking areas and internal pedestrian ways are safe, with a friendly staff of internal security and parking attendants who patrol the areas and provide a physically safe, friendly and healthy family environment. In going to this open market place, you get your money's worth. It's only $3 to park your car in a safe place and the day is yours to enjoy with your friends and family.

How do I know all these things? Well, 10 years ago when I first moved to Napa to "retire," I asked someone, "What is there to do on Sundays that's inexpensive and stimulating after a hard week's work?" And the answer was, "Go to the flea market." I did, and I have been going there ever since. So my message comes from personal experience. I have even been there on several occasions and opened my own "little yard sale" booth to sell trinkets to raise some needed funds to support some of my school's educational programs. So you, see, I can talk the talk because I have been to the flea market.

Members of the Napa County Board of Supervisors, please help.

To keep the flea market open, do not diminish it in any way. Otherwise, where will we play?

(Garcia is director of Napa's Latino Adult Institute.)