2. Hector's story about growing up in Los Angeles near various freeways (Hollywood, Santa Ana, and Pasadena). He was born in Los Angeles but his parents are immigrants from Guatemala. Hector shared a few stories about the various freeways he grew up around and how they affected his life during important times in his life. He explained how the freeways have changed over time but somehow remained the same in his memories from childhood. It seems something fairly insignificant as a freeway can have a great affect on someone and their memory of it.
3. Favorite part of reading: Pages 53-54 --- Once I witnessed a sports car flip in the air on the long curve where Arroyo Seco Boulevard ends and the freeway begins. The car twisted in the air like a gyroscope before landing right side up, its driver staring out at me, his eyes empty in shock. I mouthed the words, "Are you okay?" as I drove past, but he didn't answer.
4. The reading made me think of my own childhood in San Diego living so close to the 5 freeway that stopped about 2 blocks from my house and turned into a 3 lane road. We could hear tires screeching, watch cars pull over for mechanical problems, and once in a while we would hear metal slamming into metal. There were many children in my area and we were not allowed to go on the sidewalk outside of our neighborhood. But sometimes we would sit in someone's backyard or up in a tree and watch cars flying by or slamming on their brakes for the red light.
5. From reading Hector's story, I did not realize that there were so many houses and a school that were so close to the Hollywood Freeway. That just doesn't sound like a great idea. Whoever planned that wasn't very smart.
Montalvo, Myths and Dreams of Home by Thomas Steinbeck
2. Thomas begins his short story explaining history in California in the 1500's. He proceeds to tell us about Cortez in Baja California and Lewis and Clark. He tends to throw out little bits of information about various little moments in time about people that dreamed of coming to California. People would talk about California like it was it's own country and not part of the United States. It seems like a mystical place and the curiosity would deepen for those who never seen the Pacific Ocean. Even though California is such a small place on the map, it sure has quite a reputation.
3. My favorite part of the story: Page 65 -- What impresses the studied observer over a period of time is the fact that a marginal literary invention from an eminently forgettable sixteenth-century romance novel should still hold so many people in thrall to the present day. In a lifetime of travel I have become acquainted with hundreds of people who dreamed of coming to Calfiornia. Most of them couldn't have cared less about the other forty-nine states, for it was the intricate stratification and emotional significance of the California myth to which they clung like wided-eyed orphans.
4. This short story made me think of how lucky we are to live in the greatest state in the best country in the world. People that live in California don't realize and take for granted what a great part of the world we live in. We have so much at our disposal and get to have experiences that others don't. There is nothing better than driving from Sonoma County down the coast to San Diego.....what a breaktaking experience!
5. There were quite a few things I didn't know before reading the story. He stated a lot of history I wasn't aware of and used some words I didn't know. Overall, I think his writing style was harder to comprehend than a few other stories in the book.
The Last Little Beach Town by Edward Humes
2. Edward tells a story about his first encounter with the town of Seal Beach and the hospitible locals he crossed paths with. He proceeds to explain how the California coast varies from Seal Beach down the Pacific Coast Highway in Orange County (the OC). He describes how the town of Seal Beach looks compared to the surrounding cities such as Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, and Laguna Beach. Since he is a fan of Seal Beach, he told a few stories about how the town changed each time he drove through, telling how many gas stations there are and strip malls.
3. My favorite part of the story: Page 70 --- People actually walk here. We leave our cars at home and stroll to the not-Starbucks coffee shop, amble to the Gap-less and Banana Republic-free Main Street, walk our kids to school, or simply put one foot in front of the other until we reach the beach or the market or the playground. Sometimes we even talk to each other along the way, which turns out, after all, not to be unlawful in car-centric So Cal.
4. This story reminded me of my last trip driving from Sonoma County down the coast to Los Angeles visiting friends in Orange County. It is quite different than Northern California because of the beaches and scenery, it is more plush in Southern California. The surroundings look nicer and more expensive, you can tell people have a wealth of money in that area.
5. I really didn't have any idea how people in Seal Beach are towards others (maybe tourists), because I haven't spent time in that area. But it has made me even more curious to visit that area sometime to experience it for myself.
Surfacing by Matt Warshaw
2. Surfacing is a story about Jay Moriarity from Santa Cruz who is an avid surfer. This story revolves around the surf scene between central and northern California. Unless you are into surfing or understand the lingo, the story doesn't make much sense to me (I haven't had the desire to surf) so it sounds like a scary adventure to partake in.
3. My favorite part of the story: Page 80 --- The religious metaphor is an easy one to make -- since bigwave surfers themselves so often use spiritual terms to characterize and illustrate their sport -- but it makes you wonder how God, or Lono, or any such devine presence, could have decided to flick Jay Moriarity, Maverick's youngest and sweetest surfer, into the abyss.
4. This story made me think of a few things for starters. How scary surfing is to me and what is invovled in being out in the ocean. But there is something exciting about watching surfers from the beach, the excitement and nervousness of it all. Also California must be one of the best places to surf in the United States, what awesome beaches and views to take advantage of.
5. I had no idea about surfing history, Edward, David and Cupid Kawananakoa were three Hawaiian teenagers atttending local military school. They crafted boards for themselves from redwood planks and tested shorebreak near the San Lorenzo rivermouth, becoming the first surfers in America not just Santa Cruz.
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