California – Page 3

thumbs up for 1960s architecture

A hallway at Cal State East Bay in Hayward, Calif. The unexpected fuchsia makes me happy every time.

one brave little girl

I heard a story today about a five-year-old girl (the mom of one of my students) who had hid her little sister for three days because the sister was going to be sold to another family to be raised by them, and later marry one of their sons. Some people make bigger decisions at five than others will make in their lifetime.

subway karma

Thanks to jury duty I’ve been spending more time than usual in downtown San Jose lately. This is South First Street, smack in the middle of downtown, with typical Bay Area contrasts between cultures and lifestyle choices.

inside those doors: metal detectors

I got picked for jury duty this week. That’s the coolest part of American democracy, if you ask me, right now. This is the Superior Court of California, Santa Clara County, in downtown San Jose. Despite endless googling I can’t confirm what looks like a late 1960s vibe to the architecture.

like an angel’s whisper

This is some kind of huge weed that grows along the trail where I walk. The flowers smell like roses, and look like fried eggs.

Edit: A little googling later I know these flowers are called Matilija poppies. More info here, using the trusty old wikipedia link.