Monthly Archives: May 2016

Soakers

Nationality: African-American
Age: 40's
Occupation: Flight Attendant
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/26/2016
Primary Language: English

Informant: “People that don’t wear their shoes, and only socks or barefoot into the bathrooms, the lavatories, we call them soakers…cause they soak up all the shit that’s on the floor.”

My informant is a flight attendant. He has worked in the industry for since his early 20’s, and learned this term from other flight attendants upon entering the industry. In private, they would call a customer they noticed entering a bathroom without shoes or socks a “soaker. My informant has seen “soakers” on many flights, and regards it as an especially disgusting phenomenon because, as he put it:

“People, you know, people just can’t see. So they’re walking on everyone’s splatter or whatever…You get turbulence, when they’re in there, you’ve got shit, you know, splattering!…Now let alone just the people that are physically ill.”

My informant laments the size of airplane lavatories as it forces passengers, both men and women, to as he put it, “splatter” all over the floor. And according to him, the “soakers” only make it worse, because they take that “splatter” and drag it all around the cabin. This folk term speaks to his, and other flight attendants’ larger frustration with the inconsiderate and unhygienic behaviors that so many passengers adopt on planes. It also speaks to their frustration with the airline companies for making bathrooms so small as to almost guarantee uncleanliness.

I think my informant marvels at soakers because they are foreign and exotic to him, as he himself is such a dignified and well-put-together person. I also think this phenomenon is a great example of how frighteningly comfortable we have gotten on airplanes. People all around the world are so used to flying that they feel at home enough to take off their shoes and socks, without even thinking about the hygienic implication.

Never touch another man’s dice

Informant: “There’s minor traditions that lots of gamblers have and stuff, like you never touch another man’s dice.”

Collector: Is that observed in D&D [Dungeons and Dragons]?

Informant: Yeah, in general, it is. And you almost never reach over for somebody else’s dice. You know, you have your little pile in front of you. If someone needs to borrow one, it’s ok if someone hands you one, ya know, but you don’t go grabbing at other people’s things like that.”

Collector: Is that something you observe?

Informant: “Yeah, yeah, I would say 99% of people that play it…”

Collector: Did you ever make that mistake and then learn not to?

Informant: “[laughs] You know, most people do because of a perceived unluckiness in that if you do that, it, it, it is…I want to say it almost always ends up being a horrible role, you know, somebody else’s dice, especially without permission. [laughs] It always ends up with the worst possible thing that could happen. [laughs] And I don’t know if that’s actually what happens or just everybody notices it, you know what I’m saying? [laughs] But I’ve seen it many a time from some newb that steps up on the mound.”

My informant is a 44 year old male who often plays board games and role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons. I imagine he observes this superstition not only because he believes it has an effect on luck but also because it shows respect for other gamers. It speaks to a larger culture of mutual respect and commonly accepted ground rules that exists within gamer culture, one which allows game-playing among lots of people to function smoothly. I find it really interesting that those who take another’s dice are the ones punished with bad luck. In this way, this superstition serves as a warning to keep everyone in check.

Haunted Guard Post

Nationality: Israeli
Age: 25
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/24/2016
Primary Language: English
Language: Hebrew

Informant: “The story goes that there’s one guard post nobody wants to guard in because it got blown up a couple years before. And the guy that was blown up in it supposedly…they never found his legs. And to this day you can still hear him tip toeing about in the darkness.”

After telling me this legend, my informant followed up with this personal anecdote:

“Listen. I’m not a superstitious guy. I don’t believe…I didn’t…didn’t buy it when I first heard the story. I thought they were just trying to scare me, ya know? And yet when I was up there and I was sitting—standing there, I was staring out at the fog. It was dark. I heard footsteps and I opened up the door and no one was there. And it fuckin’ freaked me out!”

My informant is a 25-year old man who spent four years in the Israeli army. This story was passed around between Israeli soldiers stationed in Lebanon. It was often recounted by someone visiting the guard post to the guard on duty. He gave this background to describe what he imagined to be the reason for the legend’s existence:

“We were up in Lebanon. There was this guard post that nobody liked to guard in. Now, first of all, Lebanon is a very spooky place. It’s not what you think of when you think of the Middle East. It’s not sandy and desert. It’s a forest. And it’s foresty and covered in fog, high up in the mountains, there’s snow there. And so, there’s this fog, almost every day, this thick fog. And there’s enemies just a couple kilometers away that want to kill you. It’s a spooky place to be guarding anyway. I think that’s probably where the superstition came from.”

My informant is a screenwriter and is currently working on a screenplay based around this legend. I believe he enjoys this particular piece of folklore because it is so cinematically spooky, but also because it collided with his reality in such a memorable way. The army demands soldiers to maintain self-composure, but as they are human beings, cannot help but fear being hurt by the enemy. I imagine it was a popular story in the army as it was a way for soldiers to express their fear of death and mutilation without talking about it directly.

Never Coming Back Twice

Age: 18

Superstition

 

Primary Language- English

Name- Quinn Blades

Occupation- USC Student

Residence- Kansas City, Missouri

Date of Performance- 4/25/16

In my family, every time we leave the house, we never come back the same way twice. So if I leave the house, come back, leave again, there is no way in hell I can come back the same way if I forget another thing. If I ever do, it’s automatic bad luck and no one to reverse it. I saw my dad start this superstition ever since I could remember and it has stuck with me since.

Quinn is from Kansas City and his father is also born there, but the superstition was created from his own father. Quinn does not know why his father does it or why, but he does not that he will receive bad luck if he comes back the same way twice. He does not follow the tradition at USC but when ge gets home, the superstition sets in. It is also a nice way to think of his father who is many states away from him.

Once you leave your home, you can never come back the same way twice or else it is bad luck. It is very simple and serious to Quinn’s father.

I believe that the superstitions that people follow without knowing the reason are some of the most interesting. It can start a whole chain of followers simply because one person is doing it and others begin to follow due to family ties or friendship. Except some of these superstitions are followed in certain places because how else would you get into a place with one entrance. Of course some people follow the superstition no matter what such as Quinn’s father. He would rather just leave what he left than to go back twice.

 

The fallen god that came

Age: 19

Myth

 

Primary Language- English

Secondary Language- Spanish

Occupation- UC Merced Student

Residence- Los Angeles, CA

Date of Performance- 4/23/16

 

In UC Merced, we live a few miles away from Central Valley that has an interesting myth. The myth of the fallen god that came. The fallen god came to the people of Merced saw that their agricultural skills were not great and decided to help them. He told them where to plant raisins and how. He said that if they would listen to him, the agriculture on the land would be magnificent by years end. After the people planted the raisins and waited for them to grow, the Central Valley became a rich land known for its amazing agriculture. No one knows why or how the raisins made the ground fertile for plantation but a lot of them seem to believe it was because of the fallen god that came.

Lucy is from Los Angeles, California but currently resides in UC Merced which is still in California but different from Los Angeles because of the community. She learned this myth while living in a new community and engaging with the traditions, legends, and myths around Merced. Most freshman students have learned the myth by living on campus or through their professors. The myth is special to her because it is a significant part of UC Merced history. She herself thought the myth was silly but it is what makes her a unique bobcat, which is a mascot of UC Merced.

The story is a deep and central part to UC Merced’s history. Many professors and room advisors get the students together, sometimes in a camp fire, and reminisce on the story. It is a great way to pass time and embrace the kids with some native folklore.

These types of myths are what can bring a community together. True or not, the myth may have served as a placebo effect for the community because when they believed their agriculture was definitely going to grow with flying colors, they worked harder and planted more than usual. This may have been the actual reason their agriculture improved. A promising community could have been laid through folklore. The belief created has been passed down for many years and fermented communities and students even today. Myths, the supposed reason for the start of the universe or planet, whether it is believed or not, there have been many instances such as the fallen god that are responsible for some communities we have today.