Anthrow Circus

Tag: California

Land as the Canvas of Memory

BY HEATHER M. SURLS

Sitting in my parents’ yard on the foothills of the Tehachapi Mountains in California, I’m distracted. I haul my journal, a book, and a cup of tea to the splintering porch swing, intending to read or pray. But once I settle down and let my eyes pass over the 5 acres around me, I’m flooded by memories.
Before me stands the house my family built during an El-Niño year. I was approaching middle school and angry about leaving our suburban life two hours away in Ventura County. Alongside my parents, I tied intersections of rebar in the house’s foundation, picked up nails and swept sawdust during framing. My sisters and I recorded construction progress in composition books—homeschooling at its best.

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Monterey Dreamin’: Friendship on the California Coast During the Vietnam War

Ocean bays that face westward inspire a strong fascination. My European ancestors left such anchorages to travel to the New World, and as a youth I found my way across the U.S. from Gary, Indiana, to Monterey, California. This city and its bay remain the dream of my green years.

From January to April 1966, I lived in Monterey at taxpayer expense while I roamed the coastline, visited the coffee shops, and enjoyed the city’s ambiance. At that time I earned my living as a U.S. Army Special Forces soldier—enrolled in a three-month Spanish course in the Defense Language Institute (DLI) at the Spanish-built Presidio of Monterey. I was destined for the 8th Special Forces Group in the Canal Zone of Panama.

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