This photo was taken this past Spring on our ranch in Boonville.
I took this photo through my wind-sheild early in the morning on my way from Cloverdale to Windsor.
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Big River Montage-Deaf West Theatre Clip:
In this clip are men and women that look like they are from all different statures and ethnic backgrounds. Through their movements and their acting, they are expressing that they can't wait for the light to shine, because they are tired of living in the darkness; tired of being suppressed and closed of from the rest of society.
Hector Tobar is a Los Angeles-born writer and journalist, and he is currently a columnist for the Los Angeles Times. Although he was born and educated in California, his parents were immigrants that came to California from Guatemala. Tobar attended the University of California, Santa Cruz and the University of California Irvine where he received a masters degree of fine arts in creative writing. Tobar won a Pulitzer Prize in 1992 for his work as a part of the team covering L.A. riots for the Los Angeles Times. 
Hollywood is the place where Tobar lived as a child, and is the setting for his story, "Ode to Cal Trans."
These are photos of the Hollywood and the Santa Ana freeways; two of the freeways that Tobar talks about in his story.
Thomas Steinbeck was born in Manhattan, New York in 1944. He began his career as a photographer in Vietnam in the 1960's. Steinbeck is not only a writer, but he is also a public speaker. In addition his novel, "Down to a soundless sea and the many screenplays that he has written, Steinbeck also gives lectures on American literature, creative writing, and communication arts. He serves as an honorary board member at the Stella Adler Theatre in Hollywood, and is a board member of the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, California and the Steinbeck Studies at San Jose State University.
This is a Photo of the coastline in Big Sur, California. Big Sur is a sparsely populated region of the central California coast. There is a population of about 1000 people. A coastal terrain of stunning beauty,Big Sur, is the location where Steinbeck lived, and was reluctant to share with his readers in the beginning of his story "Montalvo, Myths and Dreams of Home," in the book "My California."
This is a photo of Garcia Rodriguez de Montalvo, who Steinbeck referred to as the man to first create the myth of a paradise of wealth and fortune called California in a Spanish novel that he wrote.
This photo illustrates a dance that is being performed by the Rumsen tribal peole of Carmel; a people that Steinbeck briefly talks about in his story, "Montalvo, Myths and Dreams of Home."
Steinbeck also talks about the myth that there are humanoids that live in the mountain ranges of the Big Sur area. The two types of humanoids that he mentions: are Sasquatches, and the Dark Watchers. There are links below that give an insight into the myths of these humanoids and everything else talked about above.
Edward Humes is a Pulitzer Prize journalist that was born in Philadelphia, attended Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, and now lives in Southern California. He is an accomplish journalist and author of 7 non-fiction books. He received his Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the military. He also received a PEN center USA award for his book about the children of juvenile court.
This is a picture of the City Hall building in Seal Beach where Humes first stopped to obtain an information booklet about the history of Seal Beach; the quiet gem of a town that Humes discovered, and came to live in.
Seal Beach is the main focus of Edward Humes' story "The Last Little Beach Town." Seal Beach is a city located in Orange County, California, and has a population of about 24,200.
This is an Ariel photo of Half Moon Bay, the Northern California area where Maverick's point is located. Half Moon Bay is a coastal city in San Mateo County. It has a population of about 11,800, and is located about 25 miles South of San Francisco.
Edward Humes tells a story of how he came to find the last little unspoiled beach town, Seal Beach, and how he fell in love with this gem of Southern California. Humes came to California based on a mythical dream of a paradise. Upon reaching his destination though, his dream was quickly turned to reality with the sight of the think layer of smog that lined the sky, and the strings of fast food chains, gas stations, and cheap hotels that lined the highways. He reaches Crystal Cove and feels relieved that he found a place that he could be happy living, but he talks about how this paradise is quickly becoming modernized with it's strip mall, golf course, and mansions. During his drive, he had passed by Seal Beach without even noticing it because his view from the highway didn't offer anything remarkable enough to pull him in or make him want to stop. It wasn't until years later that he finally discovered Seal Beach and was drawn into it's quiet small town charm. He wanders into the towns city hall, and meets a trusting clerk named Joanne, that offers a book of information about the town. In his research of Seal Beach's history, he discovers that the town was once the talk of the coast; the place to go; the must stop destination from travel goers in the early 1900's, but the development and growth died and has been frozen since the 1960's. In the end of this story, the reality is that the town is broke and desperately need revenue. In attempt to accomplish this, the city hall approves development of homes, and tries to approve parking meters for the town as well, but towns people fought the proposal. The town people are afraid of their little gem of a town diminishing to modern development like Crystal Cove.
My favorite sentence of the story is on page 72. "I watched my plane enter a layer of air the color of an old teabag and I just wanted to cash in my ticket and go home."
This reading made me think about a trip to Los Angeles that I took back in 1995. The first thing I noticed when I neared and reached my destination, was the haze of smog that completely covered the sky. There were no crisp blue skies like here in Northern California. The sky was like this the entire time I was in Los Angeles. I felt like I was breathing thick, dirty air. I don't know if it was just my conscience, or if it was all in my head, but my lungs actually felt dirty. The scene in the area that I visited was very industrious: many buildings, a lot of roads, freeways, and traffic. It was so nice to return home to the "Clean air," blue skies, and beautiful landscape of Sonoma County after a week in Los Angeles.
One thing that I didn't know before reading this story, is that Seal Beach was the location of Cecil B. DeMille first filming of the Ten Commandments.
Surfacing by Matt Warshaw
This is a story about a Young man, Jay Moriarty, who makes his way to Maverick's point seeking the thrill of riding the "Huge and perfect" waves that were in the storms forecast that day. Moriarty catches a ride on a fishing boat, 'The Lizzie-Lynn," to the place in the water from where he wanted to begin his thrill ride. To his excitement, the waves were enormous, but he noted to himself that there was too much wind. Before exiting the Lizzy-Lynn, he watched a fellow surfer, Evan Slater, get swept sideways by the wind and disappear into the waves. Maverick's Point is a hidden beach in Half Moon Bay, that was once a shared secret among a small group of surfers. It had been making recent headlines though, for having the biggest waves apart from Hawaii. Once Moriarty was in the water and in position, a huge wave began to swell, and he was standing up on his board. A strong gust of wind carried him high into the air, and he crash down into the water. He was pushed by the force of the wave into an underwater loop, and to the oceans floor. He had to fight his way up to the surface, and wait out the second wave that was about to crash over him. He discovered that his board was broke in half. He boarded the Lizzy-Lynn to catch a break and wax up his reserve board. He was soon out in the surf again; where he successfully surfed 9 more waves.
My Favorite sentence of the reading was a quote that Warshaw used written by Buzzy Trent in 1965. You can find this quote on pages 85-86. "You hear that crack and thunder, you feel the wet spray...you just power through, hoping you won't get the ax. And then if you do make it, you get a wonderful feeling inside."
The reading made me think of how my sister and I used to risk being swept away by the oceans waves for the thrill of them crashing over our bodies. My dad and mom used to take us to the coast often, west of Sonoma county. Some of our favorite beaches that we'd visit regularly were: School House beach and Glass beach. My sister and I would follow the wave out as far as we could as it reascended from the beach, and we'd sit down and wait for the wave to come crashing back over our bodies. We didn't realize how dangerous this practice was, until one time the wave started to pull me out into the ocean with it. I wasn't strong enough to fight it, I was screaming for help, but before I knew it, my dad was in the water pulling me to the shore. You would think that the whole experience would have deterred me from doing that again, but it didn't.
One thing that I didn't know before reading this story, is that Half Moon Bay is in Northern California. I have never been there, and I didn't realize that it is only a 25 mile drive from San Fransisco.
Similarities & Differences
All three of the authors talk about places that they have a reguard for; places that hold a special place in their memories and hearts. Tobar shares his early fascination for the Southern California freeways that he grew up around as a child. He shares how he has learned and grown from the many experiences that he has had travelling these highways. Steinbeck speaks of the little place in California that he treasures the most, Big Sur, and the myths that surround his treasured place on earth. Humes talks about a quiet little town called Seal Beach; a place that he discovers and grows to cherish, years after coming to California. Finally Warshaw, who gives his readers a glimpse into the thrill and passion a young man named Jay Moriarty has for riding waves at a then unknown and hidden beach named Maverick Point. The three authors also describe in their stories the changes that each area has been through over the years. They describe how the areas have progressed, become more modernized, and have in some ways have abandoned their roots over the years. The authors share the history of these places and the myths that surround them. One of the differences that I noticed was that the first three stories were centered in areas of Southern California, whereas, the last story by Warshaw was about a place in Northern California.
My Comments on the Work of 10 Classmates
1. Andrea: In her summary of 'Love in the Time of Cholera,' Andrea said "That all of the dialogue that went on between Florentino and Fermina in their letters was the basis of the love story." I watched the movie version of this story. In this version, the acting makes you feel that Florentino's love was much stronger for Fermina than her love was for him. It focuses mostly on his love for her and less on her love for him. It is known in the movie that they exchanged many letters, but the actual content of those letters was not known. It would have been interesting to have read the words that Fermina wrote to Florentino; to see if her love for him was stronger than portrayed in the movie.
2. Terrie: When comparing Freire with Florentino, Terrie acknowledges how the dedication that each has towards their passions in life can transcend across borders. The stories of these two men; their obstacles and triumphs, have reached many different people in many different places.
The movie 'Love in the Time of Cholera,' is a captivating and haunting tale of an undying love that a man held for the woman of his dreams for over 50 years. The tale set in the late 1800's-1900's in the Caribbean during times of 
war and disease, paints an illusion of a love so pure that it could outlast adversity and prevail throughout time. A young telegraph boy, Florentino Ariza, falls in love at first sight with Fermina Daza on his way to deliver a telegram to her father. They send letters back and forth secretly through a messenger for two years, and after finally winning her approval to marry him, his love was whisked away by her angry father after learning of their love affair. Florentino vows to forever save his love for her. Florentino and Fermina continue to send letters back and forth to each other for the time that she is away. Upon her return though, Florentino finds and confronts her in the market, but it is at that moment that she realizes that she wishes to have nothing more to do with him, and declares their love affair as an illusion. Florentino is devastated and sick from Ferminas announcement, but his heart remained devoted to her. Fermina became sick and was feared to have cholera. A prominent doctor and figure in society (A cholera expert,) Juvenal Urbino declares her free of the disease, but finds her beauty captivating, and pursues her hand in marriage. Florentino soon learns that Fermina has married the prominent doctor and is expecting their first child. Even then, Ariza can't shake his sickness (His undying love for Fermina.) He vows that he will become an important figure in society 
to win her love back, and that he'd wait until her husband dies to re-claim his love for her. His mother sends her ailing son away to work, and to his surprise, he has a sexual encounter with a women on a train. He discovers that the pleasures of sex could help subdue the pain that he felt in his heart for Fermina. Ariza returned home after the encounter, and secured a job on his uncles river boat (Of which he later became president.) He continued to have sexual encounters with women throughout the years (Over 600 women,) recording information about each one in a book. Though these women proved to be an outlet for his romantic side, he never gave any of those women his love, because his love remained forever only for Fermina. After 50 years, Fermina's husband, Juvenal Urbino falls from a tree to his death. To her disgust, Florentino quickly courts Fermina at her home on the day of her husbands death. She angrily sends him away. He remains persistent and writes her letters, until she finally replies. After her grieving had passed, she realized that although she had felt happiness and stability in her marriage to Juvenal, she didn't know if she had experienced true love. She wondered if she would have been more happy, and felt more loved if she had married Florentino. Fermina began to spend many afternoons with Florentino, and eventually accompanied him for a trip on the riverboat; where they made love to each other for the first time. Upon their arrival to the last port of the boat trip, Fermina sees people she knows and fears a scandal, so Florentino orders the captain not to board anyone on to the ship. He told the captain to raise the yellow cholera flag, and the three of them sailed off into the sunset. Wow, n
ow that's a crazy love story! In the beginning of my adventure of watching 'Love in the Time of Cholera,' I was captivated by the romance of the story, but as the story continued, I began to feel like the love that Florentino upheld for Fermina was a bit too fairytale like and a bit crazy. When comparing Florentino Ariza to Paulo Freire, one similarly between the character and Freire I see is the undying devotions to their causes and beliefs, even in the face of adversity. Freire's concepts were scrutinized by many, and he was even exiled from two countries and jailed, yet he never gave up on his passion for helping others through applying his theories. Similarly, even though Florentino's love was rejected by Fermina, and many of the town folk believed him to be gay, he never gave up his love for her. His love remained devoted to her all of his life just as Freire remained devoted to his work. Paulo Freire's quote of "Reading the world before reading the word," would be an important message in how this love story is a human story that transcends borders. Freire didn't believe in shaping his opinions about people, relationships, and the world by the words and belief's written by others. He believed in drawing his own conclusions about the world based on what he saw in the landscape around him, and based on his own experiences in life. If Florentino would have listened to the words of his mother and of Fermina herself, he would have never pursued his love for Fermina all of those years. Their love would have never come full circle in the end. Only the passion and devotion in Florentino's heart could determine the boundaries and borders of his love for Fermina. Only the passion and devotion is Freire's heart could determine the boundaries of his success in helping others. There are no written words or opinions of others that can determine a persons success. What a person accomplishes in life is up to themselves, and the amount of effort they are willing to put into their work.
