Being half Armenian, I loved William Soroyan’s stories, though sometimes I think that his family has nothing on ours. Spending a weekend in Fresno, from which my family comes, made me think of a story about which my aunt reminded me when I visited before the holidays. I plan on sharing some others from time to time.
Much has been made of the San Joaquin Valley’s water problems. Too many farms did not get the water they needed, which destroyed their owners’ and workers’ livelihoods. Of course, there is plenty of water underground; the problem is that it has been poisoned with toxins such as selenium, boron, and other mineral salts. Much [...]
Drat! I meant for this to go out on Sunday, but I forgot to press “publish” . . . I’m in Fresno for a quick Easter getaway to catch up with relatives and my parents, who are driving down from the Bay Area. I thought it would be fitting to share my grandmother’s tabouli (tabbouleh) [...]
This is a great time to visit the San Joaquin Valley: the weather is still a little cool, the strawberries are starting its season, the Sierra Nevadas are still draped in snow, and it’s time to drive around the Blossom Trail. The Blossom Trail circles around the roads and highways southeast of Fresno. Trees boasting [...]
Years ago my brother wrote this poem for my father. Our grandmother passed away in 1990, but her hearty and giving spirit still stays with us. Her little house in Fresno has not really changed much since she moved out 24 years ago, but every time I visit Fresno, I have to drive by for [...]
Wow. Two weeks ago I posted a short film I did with Patrick Benson on LA’s tenuous relationship with water. And as I often do weekly, I posted the link to most of the LinkedIn groups to which I belong. From a bird’s eye view, the results were interesting: I think few actually watched the [...]
That line ended the 1974 film, Chinatown, one of the great psychodramas of all time. Inspired by the catastrophic disputes over land and water that embroiled Southern California politics in controversy during the early 1920s, Chinatown should be on your must-see list if you have yet to watch it. It’s funny how that term, [...]
I spent MLK weekend in Fresno visiting an old college friend. The drive to Fresno is about four hours, and takes you to a completely different world than to which we are accustomed in Southern California or the Bay Area. We tend to be dismissive of this part of the state, but there is much [...]