Week 4 due 7/9 Group 2

Ode to Caltrans - By Hector Tobar

When I first opened the book to read the title, I thought it would be about Caltrans and its employees, but it is in fact about the freeway system that they are responsible for in Southern California, and how all these roads helped shape Hector Tobar's dreams about traveling in his youth and early adulthood. He references much of Southern California, from Los Angeles to South Whittier, Santa Monica boulevard, to Grant Elementary School, where Tobar had attended as a youth. One of the things that caught my eye in the story was when he had talked about his parents, and how they were immigrants coming from Guatemala. During the early years of their arrival, his mother was pregnant with him, but had no form of transportation, did not believe that the bus system would let a woman in labor on. A helpful neighbor ended up driving his parents to the hospital, and that is how he came to be. Reading that part of the story reminded me of my mothers parents, coming from Colombia, to a new place, strange environment, having to come upon a steady living situation, transportation, it makes me appreciate what I have now.
My favorite quote was on page 54: 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?"
One of the things I learned about this was when he referenced the dead Caltrans workers, and how there were so many signs for them that they had to start being taken down. It must have been a very dangerous job, then and even now still.


Montalvo, myths and dreams of home - By Thomas Steinbeck

Steinbeck wrote about California, and it's origins, starting in Spain, the early visions of it being the western world's equivalent of "Atlantis". In the beginning, he had written about California, and I especially liked how he said he had not wrote of it prior because he had been lazy, but because he didn't want to share the wonders of California with outsiders. My favorite part was near the end, when he brought up the myths of California, the Sasquatch, and the Dark Watchers. It makes me think of stuff you hear about on television, or in science fiction, or from crazy neighbors you might have growing up. As we progress, these become more and more dismissed as false, but if so many people write of them in the past, can they really be so fake?
My favorite quote in this story was on page 67: "The high mountains, for instance, are the solitary habitat of the great Sasquatch, a giant man-like creature well known and respected by numberless generations of native peoples."
I never knew about the Spanish connection between California and its name. Maybe it was just something I never thought to research, or something that was taught to me, but lost over time.


The last little beach town - Edward Humes

This story tells us of Seal Beach, a very small, tight knit community in Southern California, near the city of Long Beach. He makes the town come to life with a vibrant description, making it sound like the ideal town to get away from the stresses of big city life in Southern California, i mean, he makes me want to go down and take a visit. It really does have that small town, everyone knows each other, grow up together, help each other out feeling. One of the story's that stood out to me was when the Meters were to be put up on Main Street, and how the town people were so against it, they protested, and city council decided against the idea. How many places can we think of that don't have Meters? None come to my mind. But his description does remind me of a town in Northern California, Bolinas. A very small town, if you hadn't been there, its easy to live your whole life around here and never know it exists. I had visited many times when I was younger, back then there was no fast food, there were 2 restaurants in the town, but the area was beautiful, and it was a very small, tight knit community. This place immediately came to my mind when reading.
My favorite quote, on page 70, from this reading, was based on the fact that he mentioned my workplace, Starbucks, and he is right, where is there not a Starbucks: "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 market or the playground."
What I learned through this reading was about Seal Beach itself. I had never heard of the area, a couple years ago I had spent 3 weeks in Southern California, I was within 10 minutes of this area, and never knew it was there. Sounds like a great place to stop on another trip.


Surfacing - Matt Warshaw

The story starts with what appears to be a tragedy, the death of a very young Northern California surfer by the name of Jay Moriarity. But he surfaced, surviving for over 20 seconds under the water, which is how the title came about. The Surf Culture in Northern California is depicted greatly in this story, and hot spots in the sport are mentioned including Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay, and San Francisco. He also writes of the history of Half Moon Bay, from when it was a hot spot for whalers in the early 20th century, to how it was a popular bootleggers spot during the prohibition era of the United States. I thougth of all the readings, this was my favorite. For one it talks about many areas of Northern California which I have been able to visit, so I can relate to it more then the others. Also, for the surfing culture, my father was into that scene, and pushed me into by the age of 13. I had lost interest quickly, but I found it always great to spectate.
This quote was chosen from page 83, because I have friends from Hawaii who will disagree with the sentence forever: Santa Cruz, meanwhile, fifty-eight miles south of Half Moon Bay, had a strong claim as the world's greatest surf city."
I learned in this article that many of the greatest athletes in the sports heyday did in fact all live in Northern California, and were regulars in the waters up here. Not many other sports stars in this area still live and play here.


The Similarities are all very easy to see, and not so easy to see. California, the obvious. All of there experiences growing up and living in this great state. But that is where the similarities of all these stories end. One writes of freeways, almost as an escape from the life he had. Another writes of a town he had lived in, his paradise, where he had wanted nothing to change. Thomas Steinback wrote of Spain, and the early foundations of California, and the final was about the surf culture in Northern California. Some in my opinion are more interesting then others, but reading them gives you more of a perspective on where we live, where it was, and where it is going.

10 items from students:

1. Danelle - She stated that she had trouble finding similarities between Freire and the movie, and I had just as much trouble.

2. Marylou - wrote of how the story can be felt no matter where you are, and I could not agree more, love will find a way. All have had some kind of feeling of love.

3. Nikki - I like how you wrote about communication between the 2: ". If Fermina and Florentino had used dialogue to express their feelings they may have had clearer views of what they truly wanted earlier on in their lives."

4. Tarissa - " You must always follow your heart and pursue happiness." The risk is always worth it for the reward of love, I agree with this statement.

5. Katherine - Great line about connecting Freire and the story: "In Love in the Time of Cholera, the differences between upper, middle, and lower classes are prevalent throughout the entire story. Freire longed for a world that transcended the boundaries of class, where all are equal and have the same opportunities.

6. Hilary - I like how she wrote that the doctor would never have loved Fermina like Florentino did and showed by cheating for 3 months.

7. Chris - ” It reminds us that other problems manifest in our lives because of our unfulfilled ambitions: “ Great line about Florentino and the book itself.

8. Vanessa - "“Love in the Time of Cholera is a novel by Nobel Prize winning Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez that was first published in Spanish in 1985". Yes, love this fact. I'm Colombian, so I have tool.

9. Kimmie - "it’s undeniable that they both dedicated their lives to being devoted to what they loved, Freire with his love of education, and Florentinothe with his love for Fermina." Very good point brought up, I did not think of this aspect.

10. Aloma - "How many people could love and wait for this person for over fifty plus years?" That's what I'm wondering, if I have to wait longer then 30 min for someone to get ready, I've already lost interest.