I was one of the lucky few chosen to lead the discussion from Dr. Hausladen's selection A Geographer looks at the San Joaquin Valley, by James J. Parsons.
I will begin by saying that I was not thrilled with this piece immediately after having read it, but I have taken some time to let it marinate while also having the fortune and good timing of making a trip to the Imperial Valley and adjacent Yuma, AZ for some field work and now I have gained a greater appreciation for the piece.
It was as I was driving from El Centro California in the Imperial Valley on my way towards good ol' Yuma, that I really understood and felt what it was that Parsons was relaying.
I was cruisin' on the I-8 with the windows down, my hair flying every-which-way and happy as a clam, when I went to turn on some music. First I went for the ipod, but then as I was looking around at my surroundings, yes I was still driving 80mph at this point, I realized that there is really no other way to cruise through the Imperial Valley than listening to the local fair of musica en espanol.
It was the only appropriate thing to do, and so I went.
It made the journey complete, the thoughts lucid, flowing from one topic to the next with ease as I drove towards my destination.
With each agricultural field that I passed seeing the myriad of workers, differant types of tractors used for each crop, and the variation of smells that accompanied each I felt more connected to Parsons.
Parsons stated that a cultural geographer seeks to know the personality of a geographical space (that right there screams smell to me after this last weekends experience) by examining its physical form, its inhabitants and their relationship with both the land they occupy and the world beyond, most profitably in a historical perspective.
Parsons gives an excellent dexcription of the natural landscape, how humans have influenced it, how the climate history and disease have helped shape the valleys production now, how cultures have contributed through time and how all of the above influences what grows there and who lives there today.
The whole time I was in the car, well for the whole trip really, I was thinking about all of the above. I don't want to give too much away as it will then be redundant when you hear it in my presentation and read it in my paper, but you probably get the jist of it.
One thing that I want to point out that is a re-appearing theme in the reading is the importance of looking beyond the obvious, and looking with all of your senses, to see as a geographer we need to see more that what is right in front of our noses and look deeper and ask questions, smell, listen even if it is not in our language (esspecially) and don't be afraid to ask an old timer what's been going on.
OK, now I really need to stop because I am really excited to tell about all the wonderful old charecters that I met this weekend while conducting research for my term paper : )
The book Coming Home to Eat has me enchanted. I am unable not to think about it. It is truly a topic that involves one of the most fulfilling and wholesome acts of ones day (not for all, but for me) I am a food lover! I love to eat, I love to cook, I have been a chef for over eight years in restaraunts ranging from Fine Dining to, well, The Deux Gros Nez, and of course my own home and kitchen. I am a member of the slow food movement and I believe in the importance and blessing of wholesome food.
This book is a wonderful testimony to the importance of local production not only in terms of food, but for the future now that we need to consider the cost of energy to get our food and all that is involved therein.
I am not really far in to the book yet, but far enough to be in love with this man's efforts, as well as his wife's. One of the restaraunts that I cooked in, we grew our own vegetables, herbs and edible flowers. We were not a big restaraunt, but our business was steady and the people loved our food. I would love to say that we grew all our own vegetables for what we made, but that is such a HUGE production. I also have been in a family with a little fairee for a mom who can and does grow anything. Although she always has a big garden and we give TONS of tomatoes and zucchini away each season, it would take sooo much more before she was eating only out of her garden for her, my dad, and what kids pop in raid the fridge.
I was thinking about the book today, yes like I said I think about it all the time because I eat all the time, and I am looking forward to seeing how or if he gets bread. Does he buy local wheat, or amaranth and grind it to make bread and bread products or does he eliminate this all together.
I was trying to figure out if there is a local, within 250 mile radius, producer of wheat, or in my case a gluten free grain ( I am allergic to gluten) that makes bread.
Alright I feel like I am babbling.
All I am trying to say is that I have really been feeling the readings lately.
The Cafe and Diner "Brownies"
This is one of the 3 remaining original places of business that Yuma has to offer today. All the other oldies have been crowded out and out-competed by the big box stores and chain restaurants.
Local Folk, Local hang-out, for the more seasoned crowd that is.
This is Bobby Brooks owner of the great cafe and diner that we spent many hours drinking coffee and charming older gentlemen
Agriculture field, one of many
Yuma got it's start as an ag-town, now it is a subject of sprawl and risks losing a lot of fertile land to development.
You don't see decks like this anymore, and sadly you may not in Yuma for much longer either.
Wood deck, the picture really should be rotated to the right, that is how I like to see it anyway, so go ahead and give it the ol' head tilt.
Yuma sunset, time for the bar, I mean more field work
"The Spot", Historic downtown Yuma
We really did get a lot of field work done here, I will prove it to you later.
3 comments:
I think that's the point of the Parsons piece. He isn't say you "have to" do something his way -- he's showing what it's supposed to be like "out there," and the sorts of things that a skilled observation CAN notice. There are also a lot of other details; he's all about going someplace repeatedly (though how often you might want to go to the Imperial Valley remains to be seen ... but some feel the same way about the San Joaquin Valley). Anyway, good remarks, and a nice job of putting 'em forward.
I too am really enjoying reading Coming Home to Eat, and it's revolutionizing my own habits. While shopping at the grocery store this week, I paused before buying many things, thinking about how I could replace it. I really don't know how to feed my children much differently than boxed cereal for breakfast, so I'm going to have to finish reading the book.
At what restaurant did you work that grew its own food? I want to eat there!
Stacie, in response to your question, if you read this agian, the restaurant was in Boulder City Utah. The middle of nowhere really. I was living in Escalante National Monument at the time, the name of the restaurant is Hell's Backbone Grill, it is "fine dining" despite the name. Great food!
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