"909"

by Percival Everett

"909" is a story about Riverside County, or the Desert Hills known as "Badlands." It begins with a description of how it used to be: filled with orange groves, wheat fields, horse ranches and cattle ranches, but it is filled with tracts of affordable housing and jobs. Sitting in the space between Los Angeles and Palm Springs, "909" was described by Everett as the place in-between where people live and where they want to be.

My favorite sentence in "909" was as follows:

"Trying to fit in with the big boys by accommodating their oversized
posteriors" (122).

The reading made me think of how there are places like the Badlands everywhere. In particular, it made me think of Petaluma. I feel like Petaluma is the in-between place for San Francisco and Santa Rosa. To tie in the quote I chose, I also feel like sometimes Petaluma is trying to hard to accomodate to a higher class lifestyle. An example would be how a lot of expensive boutiques are popping up all over town.

Before reading "909" I did not even know of the Badlands. I also did not know that it used to be known for meth labs and prisons. I vacation with my family in Palm Springs every summer and I never would have guessed that a place so close to Palm Springs would be known for drugs and prisons.

"The Line"

by Ruben Martinez

"The Line" is a description of the border at Tijuana and the events that take place. At night a whole migrant culture surfaces. As Martinez stated, a mini-economy of vendors exploits prices on last-minute items needed. Booze, magazines, food, music and even prostitutes were all part of the nighttime celebrations. It was an adventure to say the least. Sexual encounters were a huge part of these nights, though Martinez expands toward the end on how the Tijuana border has changed over the years.

Here are my favorite sentences:

"At night, it is lit a harsh amber. The glow that falls from the gigantic light towers straddles the line for several hundred yards in each direction, meaning that the gringo light actually falls on Mexican territory-illegal light as it were, but the Mexican government has never complained about it, or, the constant noise pollution from the helicopters on patrol" (130).

The reading made me think about how much the American economy's ups and downs effects cultures all over the world. The culture of immigrants at the Tijuana border was drastically changed by the downfall of the American economy.

Something I did not know before reading "The Line" was what I stated before. I knew things had changed at the border, but not to the extent that Martinez described.

"Flirting With Urbanismo"

by Patt Morrison

Patt Morrison begins by explaining that most people have in fact seen downtown L.A even if they haven't been there. He claims that the majority of movies set in Chicago or New York have clearly been filmed in L.A. He goes on to describe a few buildings and objects of interest (i.e towers etc) that are in either New York and Chicago but have appeared for the sake the filming in L.A. Later, he changes tone and goes into detail about how versatile and different the streets of L.A really are: Skid Row is squalor, Spring St. is Spanish, and across Broadway you find a "Latin American mercantile fest" (p.134). In the middle of his essay, Morrison compares downtown to ranchos, which he claims are like suburbs. He also claims that downtowns are made by "demography, not geography", meaning, L.A is prestigious due to the fact that its immigrants were all middle class women and men with money and education, whereas everywhere else has foreign immigrants. The activities associated with this kind of downtown include: working, shopping, walking dogs while sipping coffee, and dining out. Towards the end, he explains how real estate has created the unwritten law that land is precious only when you can sell it; hence resulting in a serious lack of city parks. If people want parks, they create their own private park at home. He finishes his essay by describing a few places that do in fact bring him joy, such as Union Station, the garment district, and the Triforium.

My favorite part of the entire essay is the line where he says

"...downtown is part circus, part museum-everywhere, something worth
looking at" (p. 139).
This is my favorite because it's totally true. Each time I have visited L.A I have found some new building or museum or part of town to explore.

This essay makes me think of all the different places I have seen in L.A. It also makes me think that if you really look for them, you can find interesting and intellectual places outside of the "typical Hollywood lifestyle".

Something I learned that I didn't know before reading this is that even though L.A is considerately plastic, underneath it all downtown really does have a rich, interesting, and historical culture in the form of museums, old buildings, and culturally-specific parts of town.

"Waters of Tranquility"

by Carolyn See

The waters Carolyn See thought of as tranquil were the waters of Lake Shrine. Tucked away half a mile behing Sunset Boulevard and the beach, Lake Shrine was a place of many different experiences. Several religions, romantic moments, families, tourists and emotions took place at Lake Shrine. For Carolyn, the most significant part of Lake Shrine was the grieving she was able to accomplish over the loss of her love. She would do many laps, each ridding her of different feelings.

My favorite paragraph:

"Every day, I'd swing on over to the Lake Shrine, right on the brink of murdering one well-meaning relative or another, and make the first circle, swearing, muttering oaths and imprecations, sneering at whoever got in my way. By the second time around, I'd remembered why I was there, how I was losing the man I loved most in the world. I'd lean against trees and weep, sit on those benches and sob. The third time around, I'd hear myself asking for courage, steadfastness, compassion! The fourth time around, I could walk, and watch" (145).

The reading made me think of my own very fresh experience with losing someone I love. I truly enjoyed reading this because it was a reminder to me that all the emotions involved with death are normal. It made me want to find a place like Lake Shrine to release the wide array of emotions I have bottled up.

One thing I learned was that grieving, though the loss may be different, is very much the same. It was really comforting to be able to relate to this author.