5a - Group #2

AN ORDINARY PLACE by D.J. Waldie

2. D.J. Waldie tells a story of growing up in Lakewood, California, a suburb in the most southeast corner of Los Angeles County. His parents bought a modest but small home in 1946, when tract homes were the desirable place to raise a family. The middle to lower working class were mainly living in surburbia during this time. The residents of Lakewood were grateful for their homes and livestyle. but they already adjusted to the idea of not be able to afford a "mega mansion" in the more up-scale neighborhoods of Los Angeles. He nows lives in the home his parents purchased and is quite content in his surburbia lifestyle.

3. My favorite part of the story: Page 150 --- Loyalty is the last habit that anyone would impute to those of us who live in surburbia; we're supposed to be so dissatisfied. But I'm not unusual in living in Lakewood for all these years I have. Nearly twenty-seven percent of the city's residents have lived here thirty years or more. Perhaps, like me, they've found a place that permits restless people to be still. The primal mythmakers of Los Angeles are its real estate agents, and one of them told me that Lakewood attracted aspirant homebuyers because "it's in the heart of the metroplex." Or, maybe, it's just in the heart. I live here because Lakewood is adequate to the demands of my desire, although I know there's a price to pay.

4. This story makes me think of my childhood living in a suburb of downtown San Diego. We were considered San Diego (living in Pacific Beach) but it took approximately 15 minutes to reach downtown minus the traffic. There are numerous reasons that people like where they live and are content with it. It could be location, weather, neighborhood safety, friends and family that live close by.

5. I didn't know that you could find out ethnic diversity for the area you live in through The Public Policy Institute of California. That is a handy tool and could tell you alot about the area you live in or are considering moving to.

ALMOST HOME by Gerald Haslam

2. Gerald tells a story of an area in California's Central Valley called Oildale. It is a small community that lies north of Bakersfield. This town is known for it's oil refinery, which gives it a distinct smell of sulfuric and crude oil. His great-great grandparents migrated to the valley in the 1850's from Mexico. Even though Oildale wasn't the best place to live or raise a family due to the pollution in the air, Gerald called it home. Now he calls Penngrove home.

3. My favorite part of the story: Page 154/155 --- In some ways the setting, not the people, dominates. Oildale is part of one of the most productive unnatural landscapes in the history of the world: transported water, chemical agriculture, steam-infused petroleum and more than a little political chicanery produce jobs for many, wealth for few. Despite the absense of buildings, the nearby fields and hills are as developed as downtown Bakersfield.

4. This story reminds me of driving down Interstate 5 from the bay area to southern California. There aren't many desirable places to live off of Interstate 5 between Stockton and the Grapevine area. Since Gerald did grow up in that area near Bakersfield, he wouldn't know any different and it would be and feel like home to him. I totally understand where he is coming from in his story.

5. I did not know that Oildale (North Bakersfield area) was so dry and gets less than six inches of rain per year. Also this area is home to a variety of wildlife from ants, lizards, rabbits, coyotes, and hawks.

MY LITTLE SAIGON by Anh Do

2. Anh tells a story of growing up in the middle of Westminster, a bedroom community in Orange County. This area of Orange County has a high population of Vietnamese and the majority of them don't speak English. Her high school was 1/3 Vietnamese, 1/3 Latino, and 1/3 White kids. This area called "Little Saigon" has become it's own little world in the sense that everything they need is within a mile and a half stretch. This neighborhood sits between Santa Ana, Garden Grove, and Fountain Valley with more than three-thousand Vietnamese run businsesses .

3. My favorite part of the story: Page 160 --- Tens of thousands of immigrants had crossed the ocean at the end of the Vietnam War and church sponsors resettled them in places like Arkansas and Pennsylvania. But those states were too isolated, too cold. The refugees began streaming to Southern California, seduced by the sun and block after block of buildable land.

4. This story made me think of this particular area in Orange County, I actually drove through this area a few times while visiting Disneyland and getting lost driving in the area trying to find other places such as Knott's Berry Farm. I do remember seeing quite a few of the mom and pop stores that Anh mentions and thinking that this area was predominantly Vietnamese but I wasn't too sure. I am not very good with guessing what nationality people are.

5. I didn't realize that the generation gap in this particular area has issues with ESL. The younger generations have better opportunities than the older workers due to the language barrier. This is a great opportunity for the younger generation to teach and get the older generation accustomed to living in an area that has predominately English speaking people.

THE NICEST PERSON IN SAN FRANCISCO by Derek M. Powazek

2. This story that Derek wrote about his first visit to San Francisco and the Bay Area was quite amusing. He tells how his first trip to the bay area while in high school was quite the adventure and was partly there to check out UC Berkeley which he visited for a few hours. He bravely drove his father's car across the Bay Bridge back into San Francisco which his father didn't want him to do. Some very interesting people came into his path like a drug dealer, a police officer, a ticketing agent, etc. He sure learned some valuable lessons that day and made it back to his hotel in Berkeley right before his father did.

3. My favorite part of the story: Page 172/173 --- And in a flash I was back on the Bay Bridge, through the tunnel, into Berkeley, and into the hotel. I made the drive in thirty minutes. I don't think anyone has ever made it faster, especially in rush-hour traffic. I ran down the hall and into the room. I collapsed on the bed and let out a sigh. Just then I heard my dad's keys at the door. "Hi," he said as he came in. "How was Berkeley?" I rolled over on the bed. "Berkeley? Berkeley was fine, Dad."

4. This story made me think of my first time driving into San Francisco when I was 20 years old in my new truck that was a stick shift. I had just bought my truck a week prior and never drove a stick shift before that week. It was quite the experience to drive into San Francisco because there are so many things to look at, so many cars and people, and trying not to stall my truck with so many distractions. The parking situation in San Francisco is a whole other situation when you are driving a stick shift in the city and don't want to park on a hill.

5. Due to my lack of experiences in San Francisco, I never knew that people would just offer to sell you drugs in the Haight-Ashbury area. There are so many risks with undercover cops around, I didn't think people would be that ignorant and do that. I just can't believe that Derek would buy marijuana from anyone he didn't know. That scares me!