Train Go Sorry Essay

"I am a hearing student assigned the book Train Go Sorry in my Introduction to Humanities Class. Other readings assigned in this class include several essays from the book My California. In both books, we examined the cultures of California that form a microcosm of the U.S. In this essay, I will incorporate 4 required questions.

1. What does Train Go Sorry mean (who in the book is this referring to; there is a specific person, include his name and his outcome. Remember that good college writing assumes no one has read the information and you must present it or 'teach' it by giving us details.)?

"Train Go Sorry” is an expression used by the deaf community to mean that someone has “missed the boat.” We learn of this expression in the chapter where James Taylor goes to visit his brother in prison. James and his brother grew up in a tough neighborhood. James had an opportunity to attend Lexington because he was deaf. At first he didn’t take advantage of the opportunity at the school to improve his prospects in life, but eventually, he started going to school more regularly and even was on the honor roll and eventually graduated to go to college. James in a way was able to leave behind his impoverished beginnings and move on with his life. His brother on the other hand got stuck and was eventually arrested and sent to prison. James felt like his brother had “missed the boat,” while James himself was able to move on.


2. What pair of 'shoes' do you think the main person in the book is walking in and what did she learn? In other words, who or what culture does she want to belong to and why?

The author is the narrator of the stories. She walks in two sets of shoes. She is hearing, but identifies more closely with Deaf culture because she grew up at Lexington School for the deaf. Growing up, she wanted to be deaf. Her grandparents were deaf and she identifies most closely with Deaf culture because she grew up among deaf children. She felt that when she moved away from the school and was part of the Hearing culture, that she didn’t have the same sense of community. She kind of lingered in between both worlds, but she kind of felt she didn’t belong there either. At one point she even put stones in her ears so that it looked like she had hearing aids. She eventually became fluent in ASL.


3. What is one image you won't ever forget? Draw us a picture in words to explain this. What chapter is it in?

The image that I won't ever forget is the image of Sonia doing her bat mitzvah. That part actually made me cry. Sonia is such an amazing character. What I liked about this story is that Sonia overcame so many different cultural taboos and ended up having her parents support her. Sonia was a Jewish girl from Russia. She was not allowed to practice her religion in her country. When her family immigrated to the United States, they were allowed to finally practice their religion. Sonia had to surmount amazing obstacles to be able to have her bat mitzvah. She first of all had to learn English. She started attending Lexington School before she could speak English. She learned English and ASL. She then started studying Hebrew so that she could do her bat mitzvah. Her parents were concerned and embarrassed that she was going to be a deaf person doing a bat mitzvah and felt that she shouldn’t be out in the public with her deafness. She had to not only learn two brand new languages to be able to perform her bat mitzvah, but she also had to overcome biases of being deaf. She was able to do her bat mitzvah and a large number of people from the synagogue came and supported her. In the end, her family supported her and they were very proud of her. She was able to overcome discrimination and language barriers to perform this important religious rite.


4. What are 5 facts about ASL or Deaf culture you think everyone should know after your reading of this book?

1. ASL is considered a foreign language and sign language varies by country.
2. 
   There has traditionally been a large degree of discrimination against deaf people, so much so, that in many educational situations, ASL was completely banned and deaf people were forced to try to participate in verbal communication.
3. 
   In 1975, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was written requiring “public schools to make available to all eligible children with disabilities a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment appropriate to their individual means.” This act made it so that children with disabilities are given the same opportunities to have an education as people without any disabilities.
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americans_with_Disabilities_Act_of_1990
4. 
   ASL wasn’t considered an official language until the 1950’s.
5. 
   ASL and finger spelling are not the same thing. ASL is a language with different gestures with different meanings. Finger spelling is the use of the ASL alphabet to spell out English words.

Assignment 4c Response to Katie Swang

1. Who is your classmate, what is the component category, what is the name of the choice?

I chose to concentrate on Katie Swang’s assignment 3a blog. Her (and my) topics that were the same were World Cities: San Francisco and Los Angeles.

2. What is something similar this classmate said about the choice?

One of the things that was similar between our choices is that we focused on how the history of the two cities has shaped what the cities are like now. We also both discussed how the two cities are centers of tourism and of culture.

3. What is something different this classmate said about the choice?

I think we didn’t so much have different opinion as we did have different perspectives. Katie’s perspective focused more on the art and culture and fashion of the two cities whereas mine felt more linear and fact driven. It was interesting to see how the two of us had similar things to say, but different ways to express them.

4. How would you relate this to Freire's ideas regarding dialogue? For example, you went in thinking one idea, your classmate had a different idea. What new idea emerged from this process?

This relates to Freire’s ideas regarding dialogue because we learned, not from being talked at, but we worked our brains around the puzzle together. The neat thing is that we didn’t really come to different conclusions, but rather, we explored the questions differently. It helped to remind me to “think outside the box.” It reminded me of something that I watched on PBS about the plasticity of the human brain. The concept of the plastic brain is that different neurons get fired and we have to continue to think about things in a different way so that we can fire different neurons and deveolp different parts of our brains. I tend to be very linear and Katie seemed to have a more artistic way of approaching the topic, so it seems that we can each learn to think in different ways from one another.

4b REFLECTION ASSIGNMENT OF My California

REFLECTION ASSIGNMENT OF My California:

1. Choose any 1 classmate that wrote about your same essays and briefly compare/contrast their choices and ideas versus what you

I chose to respond to Anthony Musetti’s post from last week. The first response, “ Ode To Caltrans,” by Hector Tobar did have a very nostalgic feel to it. Like Anthony, it made me pine for the lands of mega freeways and palm trees. His view was that the story is going backward. That was what was different from mine. I saw it more as a slow trudge toward the future and whatever kind of degradation that brings. I like that I read this response though because I like Anthony’s interpretation better.

His response to the second piece, “Montalvo, Myths, and Dreams of Home,” by Thomas Steinbeck, has much of the same things to say as mine. He talks about how the land of California is mythic and possibly even epic and it morphs to fit the imaginations of whoever is dreaming of it. The one thing that I think was different about mine is that he says, “It can meet anyone’s ideals of a home.” I don’t know if I agree with that totally. I think I may have said something similar in my piece, but I don’t think that the myth can live without sacrifice. Steinbeck addresses that theme a couple of times. California it seems is for dreamers who are willing to sacrifice something ie comfort, affordable housing costs, etc in order to enjoy the magic of the myth.

Like Anthony, I had no idea that Seal Beach existed either. I guess that’s a good thing. If everybody knew about it, we’d all be there and then it wouldn’t be Seal Beach anymore. My response is similar in that it draws a comparison between Seal Beach and Sonoma County. I think it’s almost impossible not to make that connection. Where my response differs is that I see the situation with Seal Beach, not as flourishing as Anthony does, but rather, as a last ditch effort to hang on that’s about to fall apart.

Finally, Anthony’s response to “Surfacing,” by Matt Warshaw had a similar effect on me. I really got a sense of Jake’s courage from this. I think that fortitude and sense of adventure is what brought many of us, or our families to California. That sense of admiration of his determination is similar between the two entries, but we differ in that he relates the story to the current competition that was called off, whereas I don’t.


2. Choose any 1 classmate that wrote about a different set of essays and tell us one thing you learned per author presented.

I decided to respond to Cayleb Tran’s posts. The firs post that Cayleb responded to, “Bienvenidos a Newport Beach, “ by Firoozeh Dumas describes the family’s move to Newport Beach. I didn’t realize that there was zoning in Newport Beach regarding how houses are to look. I knew it was an expensive area I used to have a roommate from Newport Beach, but I didn’t realize how Stepford like it is.

The second story that Cayleb responded to was “Cotton Candy Mirror,” by Devorah Major. What I learned from his response is that there used to be a fun house in San Francisco. I didn’t realize that. I wonder if it was a specific place called “The Fun House,” or if it was just an amusement park that used to be in the city. It’s interesting. I love finding out about all the neat old things that used to be in the city. It makes me sad at the same time though to realize all the wonderful things that are no more.

Cayleb responded to the third story, “Berkeley,” by Michael Chabon, by writing about the demographics of the city and how the groups interact. I’ve experienced that myself in Berkeley. It is a wonderful mix of all kinds of people who would normally not have any interaction with one another. The one thing that I found out was the vast number of people in the town who are students. I always knew Cal is huge, but I never realized just how huge. Thirty thousand people can be considered a small town. That is absolutely amazing to me.

Cayleb’s fourth response to “California Honky-Tonk,” by Kathi Kamen Goldmark, describes a band’s first big gig at a biker bar. I wasn’t aware that there was a big biker scene in San Pedro, but I guess there are biker bars in a lot of towns. I think California has a particularly rich biker heritage because it is the home of the Hell’s Angels.

3. Like number 2, choose any 1 classmate that wrote about a set of essays that you didn't read.

I decided to read Sierra Baxter’s responses to the readings for group one. Sierra writes about Mark Arax’s “Big Valley,” that she didn’t know that tractor tires could damage crops. I didn’t realize that either. I guess it makes sense, but it’s not something I ever thought of. I’ve just always seen farmers driving through their fields on tractors. I also didn’t realize that they use tank tracks instead of tires. I always just imagined tractors like my grandpa’s old tractor.

According to Sierra, in the second story, the author talks about how Beverly Hills has no cemetery, dump, or hospital. I had no idea. I don’t understand it. If I had all the money in the world, I would want a hospital as close to me as possible, just in case. It also seems kind of symbolic. The town is completely sterile. It reminds me of the Brahmans in India who aren’t allowed around death or disease or any kind of putrescence. They relegate that to lower castes. It seems almost as if the plastic world of Beverly Hills can’t be in contact with that because not only would it become “contaminated,” but because it would destroy the illusion of other worldliness.

Regarding the third story, “Showing Off the Owens,” by T. Jefferson Parker, Sierra talks about how she didn’t know that there were professional fishermen who are hired to catch trophies for others to hang on their walls. I also didn’t know that. It seems to kind of defeat the purpose. It would be like cheating at solitaire. There seems something terribly wrong about that.

In the fourth story, “The Distant Cataract About Which We Do Not Speak” by Mary Mackey, she talks about the story where a couple works on the American River just twenty minutes from the campus of Sacramento State and how they had witnessed different things like religious baptismal and the workings of beavers. I lived in Sacramento for five years and I never saw anything like that on the American River. It always was so dirty looking to me. I had no idea that there were neat things happening on the river. It goes to show that two people can be experiencing the same thing and be experiencing something completely different at the same time.

4a Group #2

"4a Group #2”

1. Write the story title and author name.

“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

This short story was basically a piece about the history of the world’s love affair with California. He writes about how the Spaniard’s originally fell in love with the myth of California and that as time went on, the mystery and mythology associated with that infatuation carried on to modern times. He talks about how the myth has evolved and is different things to different people.

3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)? 1 percent

My favorite quote from this story is,“In my youth and in the company of reverent comrades of like mind, I have ridden horse and mule over its rocky passes, and camped by mountain streams rich in cress and evening doves. And the, struggling over that last scrabble buttress of the western mountains, I have been abundantly rewarded by the sight of the great Pacific, beating foam-crested fists against every rocky intrusion into its realm. There is nothing I know that compares with the magnificence of a sunset seen from high in The Big Sur, and nothing as mysterious and enchanting as riding through the fingerlings of fog as they trace through the scrub oak up the canyons. If it can truly be said that one’s spirit may be stimulated to accept the sublime by one location as opposed to another, then for me that place exists high on the crests and along the rugged cliffs of The Big Sur. Even though I cannot now call those secluded canyons and cliffs home, my abiding memories of this lonely span of California coastline holds my should in thrall and delights the imagination beyond all else I know.” pg67

4. What did the reading make you think of? .75 percent

This reading made me think of many different things. One of the things that it most reminded me of was the discussion that we had in my Religious Studies class regarding sacrifice. We talked about how one of the reasons that people perform sacrifices is to show gratitude and another is to try to gain some kind of favor with the gods. The reason this story reminded me of that class is because it seems that this story personifies California by comparing the state to muses and by personifying the area of Big Sur with metaphor. The grandmother leaves offerings to the Dark Watchers and gets gifts in return. It seems that we all do sacrifice some, as the author suggests for the chance to enjoy the myth of California.

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

On pages 67 and 68, the author describes the myth of the Dark Watchers. I wasn’t aware that such mythical beings were described in the lore of the Rumsen. It was interesting to learn about their mysterious nature.

1. Write the story title and author name.

“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

This story was about the relationship that this author has with the freeway systems of Southern California. He talks about how the freeway represnts different parts of his life and how it seems to reflect how his views about the world have changed.

3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)? 1 percent

My favorite quote is, “When you live far away from California, as I have for the past three years, you begin to appreciate the freeway for the essential idea behind its construction-that automobiles should inhabit their own universe, segregated from the slower forms of locomotion.” pg 52

4. What did the reading make you think of? .75 percent

This reading reminded me of the first time I went with my husband to Sacramento to go check out potential apartments. We were going down the 5 and the traffic was going 80-90 mph. I was thrilled. We of course don't see a lot of that in Sonoma County. While the mega freeways remind us of the pollution and degredation and the overcrowding of California, they are a symbol as well. They're a symbol of the freedom and promise of the new adventures that you find while travelling them. That first day in Sacramento, the freeways looked beautiful and pristine to me.

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 learned that Iraq has a super highway system. I didn't know that. My bias about Iraq has been that it was underdeveloped.
1. Write the story title and author name.
“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
This story is about the evolution of Seal Beach. It has remained last small town beach in the greater Los Angeles area. The author, after having moved out to California had started to become disappointed in the towns of California. They weren’t at all what he had imagined….until he reached Seal Beach. The town has maintained its integrity and is still struggling to hang on to that despite changing times.
3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)? 1 percent
My favorite sentence from the story is, “I can’t help but remember, Crystal Cove and its vanished paradise, and just how fragile our dreams and myths truly are, at least the ones that count.” pg78
4. What did the reading make you think of? .75 percent
The reading made me think of the first time I saw the ocean. We had just driven into town. We were moving to California from Arizona. I rode all the way in the back of a cab over camper with my sister and our two dogs in the back and my parents in the front. At the very end of our long trip, we got to the beach. For the first time, I saw the Pacific Ocean. I was four years old and I was so excited. I had heard so much about California and I thought about all the time I would get to play at the beach in the sand it was one of the happiest days of my life. That first experience was at Bodega Bay and it is really nice to be able to say that to this day, it’s stayed pretty much exactly the same. The world around it is changing, but it has stayed the same.
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 did Seal Beach as one of my beaches, so a lot of the information in the story is the same. What I didn’t know though is that that’s where the filming of the parting of the Red Sea took place in The Ten Commandments.
1. Write the story title and author name.
“Surfacing,” by Matt Warsaw
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 talks about the surf culture of Half Moon Bay. It’s a story about a sixteen year old boy named Jay Moriarity who went out to ride some of the biggest waves in history and wiped out. He got back on the boat, grabbed his reserve board, and went back out to ride more waves.
3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)? 1 percent
My favorite sentence is, “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.” pg 88
4. What did the reading make you think of? .75 percent
The reading reminded me of my friend Kirk that I worked with when I worked for Marin County Parks. Kirk was a student at UC Santa Cruz. He went surfing all the time and he told me that because he was a skinny young kid and nobody knew who he was, he would get chased out of surf “territories” in Santa Cruz, so when he would get the time to do so, he would go up to Half Moon Bay to surf because it wasn’t as well know for its surfing.
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 whaling town. My parents will sometimes go there for their summer vacation, but they never really told me about the history of it. I’ve always thought of Half Moon Bay as the place with the giant pumpkins.