4a Group #2

Ode To Caltrans
By: Hector Tobar

This essay is about fond memories of the LA freeway. At first he talks about how the whole freeway is going backwards, and i didn't quite get a meaning, but after a closer reading i got that this piece was a piece of great reflection, and thought about the change in time of something so massive and great as the freeway system in Los Angeles.

"the suburbans race in the direction of their tail-lights" (pg 51)
The reason I chose this quote, was I thought it was a GREAT metaphor for going back in time, and showing the fast, yet subtle regression of time.

Honestly reading this piece made me remember how much I love Southern California, and how much I miss the hustle and bustle of life in the big city.

I didn't know that the LA freeway used to be so small.

Montalvo, Myths, and Dreams of Home
By: Thomas Stienbeck

The way that I interpreted this piece, may differ from the rest. I believe that this is a creative piece. It portrays California as a Mythical Utopian land, that is everything anyone could ever want, because it is what you make it. There are such big things going on here, and its just how you choose to interpret them and how you choose to use them to your benefit. This essay is about a man describing his dream land, and to me from the way he describes it; It can meet any ones ideals of a home.

"What remains so remarkable about the origin myth of California is that, for a great many people at home and abroad, this romantic indulgence still holds water."(pg 64)

This essay opened my eyes. It really teaches you that everything is what it is, only in the way that you perceive it.

The Last Little Beach Town
By: Edward Humes
This is a story about Seal Beach. I would say it is one of the most interesting pieces I have read thus far in this assignment. It has a sort of draw to it, it just makes you want to read more about it. It is about a beach town that has things going on all around it. New things construction, things that aren't good for a beach, or the beach goers. While the beach failed to become a tourist attraction, it still flourished today with it's bungalows all the way up to it's million dollar mansions.

"Confusion about Seal Beach's identity, and location, is key to its survival" (pg 71)

Reading this makes me want to go to a certain spot on the Russian River up in Healdsburg, and just relax in the sun. I miss small beaches. they are becoming fewer, and further between these days. I'm glad to read about one that is still keeping its "small town charm", if you will.

I didnt know Seal Beach Existed.

Surfacing
By: Matt Warshaw

This piece is about a small group of determined surfers from Santa Cruz that surf pillars point, or Mavericks in Half moon Bay. It's a story about a kid, Jay, of 16, who tells his story about almost dying at Mavericks when the surf pulls him under, and his board snaps, And his level of determination to get right back up grab another board and go right back out surfing the waves.

"Moriarity watched the first wake track across the distant part of the reed, which swerved as a kind of anteroom from maverick's-bound swells" (pg 81)

It's kind of funny that I am reading an essay about mavericks when only this week the official maverick surf contest was called off due to not big enough swells. I think the writer was trying to demonstrate Jay's boundless courage by getting right back up and going right back out to surf, after he almost drowned in the very waters he was just having fun in.

I didnt know that mavericks had such big waves.