4a: Group #2

1. Write the story title and author name. .25 point
Ode to CalTrans by Hector Tobar
2. Summarize the reading in one brief paragraph; be specific in your summary. Remember that your classmates will rely on you for this information. 2 percent
The story is about Tobar's experience of traveling along LA's roadways when he was young before they were the hectic, polluting, dangerous freeways they've become as Tobar also mentions in the story. He talks about his appreciation for the idea behind constructing freeways, making a more direct path to get from pt A to pt B and cutting travel time but sometimes what was made to make our lives easier, makes it more complicated. With construction of the freeways came a lot of cars and caused major traffic congestion and a lot of accidents as the author so vividly depicts the scenes. The cars also caused major pollution as seen in the science experiment the author's teacher did in elementary school where a piece of Vaseline covered paper collected enough dust that it was black in a few days. The author's story of these freeways almost makes a reader think twice about driving on them because it seems like the driver would be taking a risk of hitting some other car or getting hit every time.

3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)? 1 percent
I found many tidbits of this story that really drew me in to read further but the most profound details that really made me ponder what the author was trying to portray was the introduction, particularly the first three sentences. He has this dream of "standing over the Hollywood Freeway and the traffic runs backwards. The Suburbans race in the direction of their taillights, young men cling from the overpasses and swallow up the scribbles on the road signs into the graffiti-erasing cans...teams of skilled technicians slowly dismantle the Cathedral overlooking the freeway, covering the site with an asphalt parking lot...The cars begin to shrink in size, as do their drivers, until man and woman and machine fit inside the lanes better." (Pg.51)
As I read this passage, I felt like I could see exactly what Tobar was describing(I've never really been there in real life) but in my mind, everything was in slow motion as if we were in some kind of time-warp and someone had pressed the rewind button. Visualizing the depiction really helps me make sense of what I'm reading, and this illustration was very amusing to me. I also found it unusual that the author chose to open the story this way because usually stories of the past don't describe this sort of transition stage or in the manner that Tobar depicted it. It was such an interesting opening that I had to read more!

4. What did the reading make you think of? (be specific eg "There is a bridge in SF that spans 4 miles from SF to Oakland and in the middle of the bridge it crosses an island called Treasure Island. This story makes me think of that specific little island where I can see the entire city and bay area. That city was also in the news recently where .... ) .75 percent
Tobar's memories on the traffic roads of other countries like Uruguay or Iraq, brought back memories of when I travelled on the roads of other countries as well, particularly Vietnam. I can remember seeing cars playing this same game of trying to pass the slow driver in front by crossing into oncoming traffic, and because there aren't really any traffic lights in the villages, pedestrians, cars, scooters, bikes travel together which basically causes a lot of chaos. I saw accidents everytime we were on the road, it was horrible. I don't think what I saw was as bad compared to the author's depiction of the crashes he witnessed like the sports car flipping in the air or the "...accordion-pressed pickup truck." (pg.54)
The author also explains his parents' lack of an automobile when they first arrived to the US and how "in early twenty-first century Los Angeles, this was an especially helpless and pitiful state." (pg.58) I think many of us get into our cars each day and drive off to whatever destination we need to go on these endless roadways with no thought as to what we'd do without these commodities. We're so dependent on certain things that sometimes we don't appreciate them as much as we should.

5. What is one thing you did not know before you started the reading that you now know (again, be specific using concrete examples)? 1 percent
If it is true, I didn't know CalTrans "placed signs with a picture of a white CalTrans helmet on the roadside..."(pg.54) as memorial for the workers that were killed while trying to build the LA freeways. "...then there were too many signs and CalTrans took them down because a highway shouldn't look like a cemetery."(pg.54) This illustration drives the fear of travelling along these LA freeways deeper into the mind and heart. Was it these tragedies that started the lower speed limit in construction zones and double fines for lawbreakers?
Another tidbit I did not know which the author also describes is the rules of the road, or shall I say lack of road rules in other countries he's travelled in, ie "Iraqis often will take a one-hundred-kilometer-per-hour southbound detour on the northbound lanes to avoid the craters cut into the roadway by American ordinance, plunging into the oncoming traffic as if that were a perfectly normal thing to do." (pg. 53) Although California does have rules that drivers must follow or risk being pulled over by the Highway Patrol, every day many drivers disobey the rules and pull the same tricks as the Iraqi drivers and unfortunately some don't make it back on the other side alive, yet many others don't heed the warning.

1. Write the story title and author name. .25 point
Montalvo, Myths and Dreams of Home by Thomas Steinbeck
2. Summarize the reading in one brief paragraph; be specific in your summary. Remember that your classmates will rely on you for this information. 2 percent
Steinbeck was reluctant at first to share what he calls his "California treasures" for fear that it will just become one of those places "suddenly crowded with ecologically insensitive tourists.."(pg.61) but as time went on he changed his mind. He starts by giving the reader some Spanish literary history which eventually leads to Montalvo's vision of this "utopian island set in the western sea."(pg.64) which he named California. And due to this myth, many explorers wanted to find this precious land including Cortez and Thomas Jefferson. Steinbeck believes that many people are still eager to visit California because they are so intrigued by this supposed magical paradise as influenced by the old myth. He also believes that some California natives try to chase the same illusive dream. Steinbeck illustrates his paradise, the Big Sur, and his memories there as well as the tales of his grandmother's experience at the same locale.
3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)? 1 percent
"Of course, we hard-strung old natives know better, or at least think we do, but that's an illusion of no lesser dimensions than the original myth. For it's a reality that those of us who can remember the California of forty or fifty years ago cling to our own memory-myths more tenaciously than anyone else." (pg.65) I still have my own memories of where I grew up before it became more commercialized as it is now and I don't think they're any less significant because they don't date back 4-5 decades ago. I cherish these memories more and more as new shops and businesses pop up everywhere every few months. I agree with Steinbeck that our memories are better than these illusions people have of California, some of which I don't understand but those stories are probably variations of the old California myth, "lush and fruitful paradise, a utopian island.."(pg.64) I guess the best thing is that some of us got to experience the real beauty of a town and its uniqueness before they all begin to blend together into the mix of modernization, skyscrapers, major chain shops, crowded streets and bustling nightlife.
4. What did the reading make you think of? (be specific eg "There is a bridge in SF that spans 4 miles from SF to Oakland and in the middle of the bridge it crosses an island called Treasure Island. This story makes me think of that specific little island where I can see the entire city and bay area. That city was also in the news recently where .... ) .75 percent
"It's akin to traveling a familiar road, only to find that what had been a lovely pasture last month has been transformed into a full-blown mega-shopping center in an instant. What happened? Where was I when they pulled off that one?" (pg.66) I could relate to this scene very well, as I mentioned earlier I may not have been on this Earth for that long but it is enough time where I have seen numerous changes right before my eyes. I can remember when the city of Windsor was just a piece of land, it hadn't even been declared a city yet and now it has its own high school, numerous restaurants, large shopping centers, etc. I can also remember Downtown Santa Rosa before the nightclubs and the bars, when my mom trusted that I'd be safe walking around 4th street to different shops when I was a teenager. I used to like going downtown when I was younger, now I don't go as much because there's too many crazy drunk people.

5. What is one thing you did not know before you started the reading that you now know (again, be specific using concrete examples)? 1 percent
I didn't know there was a myth about California nor did I know this myth came about from romance novel and California was just this imaginary place of utopia but somehow people made this particular place seem real and went in search of it. Even Thomas Jefferson was so intrigued by this hypothetical utopia that he sent Lewis and Clark in search of this precious land. I think it's quite remarkable that such a small detail in an entire novel can make quite a stir and end up being the beginning of a beautiful history. I wonder what would have happened if Montalvo had never written about this "paradise", how would the discovery of California be different?

1. Write the story title and author name. .25 point
The Last Little Beach Town by Edward Humes
2. Summarize the reading in one brief paragraph; be specific in your summary. Remember that your classmates will rely on you for this information. 2 percent
According to Edward Humes, Seal Beach is the last town that has not been succumbed to commercialization and large corporations despite its past. He's glad to see that Seal Beach still has that quaint, small town feeling where people are friendly to each other and people can find a peaceful place on the beach where there's no cellphones ringing. Seal Beach has managed to somewhat fend off the commercialization for now but due to the city's need for additional revenue, this town may be forced to turn it back into a tourist attraction like the old days and what the town's sister cities like Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach have become.

3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)? 1 percent
"...I had on some old jeans and a sweatshirt and I'm not even sure I had shaved...I had run out without my wallet and didn't have the five-dollar-purchase price on me, and I started to slide the little book back across the counter, she just waved me off and said, 'Take it. Come back and pay whenever you get a chance.'
Imagine walking into City Hall in LA or Santa Monica or Santa Ana or anywhere else this side of Mayberry and having a clerk(once one finally deigns to saunter over and acknowledge your existence)...this just does not happen in this century in this part of the world-except, in Seal Beach, it does." (pg.69-70) I have to agree with Humes, I think that being able to have this kind of trust amongst people or even being friendly is such a great relief, even a surprise because I can relate to Humes' saying that in other cities, metropolitan cities particularly, it's rare to get such kind service. Usually these people, many of whom work in customer service act like helping you is a waste of time in their precious lives. Seriously seems chivalry and whatnot is a thing of the distant past, nobody remembers what its like to be kind and friendly. I think about stories of the milkman going into people's homes and putting the milk in the fridge; nowadays we wouldn't dare let people we didn't know in our homes, especially when we're not present. The past seemed so simple and it seems that everything has been complicated as time went on or maybe it's just perceptions of a good life have changed.

4. What did the reading make you think of? (be specific eg "There is a bridge in SF that spans 4 miles from SF to Oakland and in the middle of the bridge it crosses an island called Treasure Island. This story makes me think of that specific little island where I can see the entire city and bay area. That city was also in the news recently where .... ) .75 percent
"People actually walk here. We leave our cars at home and stroll to the non-Starbucks coffee shop, amble to the Gap-less and Banana Republic-free Main Street, walk our kids to school..." (pg.70) I can remember that time before the Starbucks invasion and I remember when I was in pre-school our class went downtown 4th street to trick or treat but I don't think they do that anymore. Seems like Seal Beach was such a serene place to live, it's a wonder why the place would change.
Another piece I found interesting to comment on was "The city is hard up for cash-there are million dollar homes, but no money to pick up beach litter or to keep City Hall open a full five days-and so the push for progress...is rearing up...in its haste to expand the tax base." (pg.76) I think it's such a tragedy when a place needs money they're so eager to say out with old and in with the new with little or no regard to the preservation of history. I understand the importance of revenue but what difference is it going to make if every city has the same personality? What is going to set them apart from each other? As Humes says, it's only a matter of time.

5. What is one thing you did not know before you started the reading that you now know (again, be specific using concrete examples)? 1 percent
I didn't know that Seal Beach "started where its sister beach towns have ended up, the first town served by the Red Car Line, bringing in the beach-bound hordes beginning in 1904...By 1920...a must-stop for weekend beach goers with a quarter to burn on the trolley, as well as for the stars of the silent screen arriving in their roadsters and limos." (pg.74-75) I think it's interesting to think about how Seal Beach isn't what it was, a popular vacation destination but its trying to revive it by modernizing it with cell phone shops and chain stores. For the most part, before we started researching California and its culture, I thought most beaches in SoCal were filled with strip malls and popular restaurants, places where the trendiest people hung out; I didn't think there was a beach left that still had its original roots.

1. Write the story title and author name. .25 point
Surfacing by Matt Warshaw
2. Summarize the reading in one brief paragraph; be specific in your summary. Remember that your classmates will rely on you for this information. 2 percent
The story is about a surfer who wants to take on this major wave that supposed to be one of the biggest waves outside of Hawaii. His name is Jay Moriarity and he's part of a group of well known surfers from Santa Cruz called the Vermin. These waves produced international headlines and would bring a lot of publicity to surfing at Half Moon Bay, which up until 1994, wasn't on the surfing map. On the other hand Santa Cruz claimed it was the world's greatest surf city. In fact, in 1885, three Hawaiian teens crafted their own surfboards and became the first surfers in Santa Cruz and in America. Warshaw goes on to explain the history of Half Moon Bay up until surf culture became part of what it is today. He notes that Pillar Point got its nickname Maverick's from a local surfer's dog who also liked to surf. Warshaw continues the story of Moriarity preparing to ride the wave even after seeing another surfer go down and he ends up going down himself, his surfboard broken into two pieces, he's at the ocean floor but he manages to swim up to the surface and to the shore. He has no serious injuries and after a short break, he decides to go back in the water. The story ends with Moriarity catching eight more waves and making them all.

3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)? 1 percent
"After tossing the pieces of his broken board onto the deck of Lizzie-Lynn, he took a short breather, grabbed his reserve board, ran a bar of sticky wax across the top for traction, and paddled back into the lineup.
Forty-five minutes later he caught another wave, nearly as big as the first one, and made it. In the next five hours he caught eight more waves and made them all."(pg.88) That is what I call courage and what some might call stupidity because who would want to repeat a near-death experience? Moriarity seems like one of those people who live by the belief that we only live once so we might as well enjoy it to the fullest every day we can so we have no regrets when it's over. Sometimes I wish I could be that person, I think too much about the future and how I should save up and build for a better future but sometimes I think about what happens if I don't make it to the future, will I have regrets because there were things I didn't accomplish yet?
Anyway I picked the passage as my favorite because Moriarity didn't let anything get in the way of what he wanted to accomplish and when fear challenged him, he faced it with a lot of courage and he wasn't easily defeated. He knew he could face that wave and he proved it.

4. What did the reading make you think of? (be specific eg "There is a bridge in SF that spans 4 miles from SF to Oakland and in the middle of the bridge it crosses an island called Treasure Island. This story makes me think of that specific little island where I can see the entire city and bay area. That city was also in the news recently where .... ) .75 percent
"What Half Moon Bay locals were not doing was paying any attention to the fact that Moriarity, Slater and the rest were at that moment tilting against waves bigger than anything surfers had ever faced anywhere in the world outside of Hawaii. Maverick's would in the days ahead produce international headlines..." (pg.83) I can't remember if it was Half Moon Bay but I remember vaguely in the last few years there was a surf competition in the Bay Area that drew such a crowd people were selling tickets to see it and they showed it on the big screen in the SF Giants stadium(AT&T ballpark). I think it was then when I thought "Wow, northern California, the Bay Area is getting attention for surfing??!!?? that's so cool!" Usually surfing is a SoCal trend so hearing about surfing drawing a crowd in the Bay Area was really exciting. Other than that the only stories we hear about surfing is when surfers get bit by sharks.

5. What is one thing you did not know before you started the reading that you now know (again, be specific using concrete examples)? 1 percent
I didn't know that Half Moon Bay was a place for surfers or that Santa Cruz had a special history with surfing or that Maverick's got the nickname from a dog that loved surfing. I never heard of Pillar Point Harbor, let alone the nickname Maverick's but I thought it was really cute. I've seen dogs surf on television but not in real life, I think it'd be pretty amazing to watch. I usually don't hear surfing as a major spectator sport in the Bay Area. I didn't know Half Moon Bay had such a long history that dates so far back. I figured it was somewhat newer like Daly City or Colma.