Week 11: Dumas, Major, Chabon, Kamen Goldmark

“Bienvenidos a Newport Beach” by Firoozeh Dumas

“Bienvenidos a Newport Beach” is about a young boy from Iran who moved around a lot in his childhood. His family eventually settled in Newport Beach where everything was prim and proper. His family did not look or acts like anyone else in the neighborhood, but they mostly resembled the gardeners who took care of the landscaping in the neighborhood. It is made aware that many people took their luxuries for granted in the neighborhood because they had never been without in their life.

“My dad didn’t know what the words meant exactly, but sometimes you don’t need to know the meaning of words to understand the message.” (pg. 90)

Reading this story made me think of my old roommate from San Luis Obispo. Her family lived in Irvine and I would go visit with her occasionally to her Home Owners Association monitored housing development. The houses were cute, but definitely small and they all looked the same. Her family of four owned a two bedroom house, but they didn’t care because it “looked” like a nice neighborhood and they had access to the pool and tennis courts.

Prior to reading this story I did not know how Iranians celebrate. I learned that they are very formal with women wearing lots of jewelry and makeup while men where suits and talk to other men.

“Cotton Candy Mirrors” by Devorah Major

“Cotton Candy Mirrors” is about going to Playland at the Beach during the summertime and riding the rides and playing the arcade games. The story depicts the fascinating Fun House with its halls of mirrors, the cylinders you had to squeeze through, and then the gauntlet and the wooden tavern. The excitement of spinning equipment, barrel rides, and super slides got everyone amped up before they looked at themselves in the distorting Fun House mirrors. The mirrors are symbolic of the way people and situations can be distorted in life and that one should not take their image too seriously for it may not be real.

“It wasn’t a lot of money, not a lot of money to have, not a lot of money to get.” (pg. 96)

The story made me think about the last two years of my life where I lived in Santa Cruz and there was the Boardwalk along the oceanfront where I could go to play and feel like a kid again. The rides weren’t all that great, but you would still ride them anyways and the food and excitement that you had while there was priceless.

Prior to reading this story I did not know how cheap admission and food used to be to such amusement parks. I figured it was a lot cheaper than nowadays, but I didn’t know it only cost 35 cents.

“Berkeley” by Michael Chabon

“Berkeley” is about the eclectic mix of the city Berkeley in the bay area. There is an abundance of really intelligent people, transients, and artists. The town is known for it’s politically spoken citizens and its charm.

“Where passion is married to intelligence, you may find genius, neurosis, madness, or rapture.” (pg. 105)

Reading about Berkeley made me think of two weeks that I spent down there a few years ago when I was taking a phlebotomy training course. Everyday I would walk during my lunch hour to find a restaurant to eat at. There were so many choices and so much diversity on the streets that I felt a mix of excitement and anxiety.

I didn’t know that Berkeley was a refugee location for people who left San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake.

“California honkey-tonk” by Kathi Kamen Goldmark

“California honkey-tonk” is about four people who landed a gig to perform their singing set at a place, but soon found out it was a biker bar. There night was eventful with the makeover from a regular, the dancing of people who would have rather heard hard rock, and the memories that have lasted a lifetime.

“Thanks to my trusty glue gun, rhinestone-studded satin shirts were imminent; thanks to my bran-new credit card, so were bona fide cowboy hats that had most certainly never been anywhere near a cow.” (pg. 115)

In the story she spoke of the Hopland Brewery and I was reminded of when I went there with my parents a few years ago and had a couple of their beers. It is such a cute little bar with plenty of memorabilia from local people and places.

Prior to reading this story I did not know that performers may sometimes scope out the venue that their playing in prior to their performance. It is a good idea to get a feel for the crowd, environment, and music.

Classmates
1. Hector did not realize that the signs with the Caltrans helmets represented a worker who had lost their life.

2. Diana has traveled to El Salvador to visit her family before.

3. Gabriella did not know that in the early 1500's the Dutch were publishing 75% of all books in Europe.

4. Garin did not like the story “Ode to CalTrans” by Hector Tobar.

5. Jennifer was reminded of her favorite beach in Mendocino when reading “The Last Little Beach Town” by Edward Humes.

6. John learned that Portuguese whalers threw blubber in Half Moon Bay.

7. Karl wants to learn to surf.

8. Nicholas was reminded of Bodega Bay when reading “Surfacing” by Matt Warshaw.

9. Robert loves learning about myths in various geographies.

10. Wendy did not know that Iraq's Superhighways were similar to aspects of Santa Monica freeways and Sacramento freeways.