Author Archives: Austin Taylor

Legend

Nationality: White
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Pleasanton, CA
Performance Date: April 22, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Legend: Ridgerunner

“Early in the 1900s when they were cleaning out the trees in Yosemite, a group of lumberjacks got stuck in a snowstorm, real bad. They had to stay and survive off the land for a couple of weeks until the snow came out. The snow was so bad that no rescue team could go in after them. So, they decided we’re gonna try and make it on our own. So they went off, trying to make it back to somewhere they could find the rest of their team. Somehow, they got split up and one of the guys got lost. And, the rest of them ended up making it out. So, the one guy who was lost was never found. The legend goes that he hunts animals and even people. The way people have recognized him to even this day is they hear him walking in this very unique walking pattern. It sounds like ‘thump’ and then a ‘drag.’ ‘Thump’ and ‘drag.’ They say this is because he has been running on these ridges in Yosemite where it’s a very steep slant. So, his legs have adapted to running on a slant. So, one leg has kind of decreased in size. When he’s walking on an even surface, he’s got one leg to walk on and one to drag. There have been reports of random people gone missing and they haven’t found them and animals have been killed and looked like they’ve been eaten raw. So, these little things get related back to the Ridgerunner once in awhile.”

Steve said he learned this legend whenever he went on a backpacking trip to Yosemite the summer between fifth and sixth grade. He said that this was one of the stories the camp leaders told him and the other backpackers about the history of Yosemite. The leaders told them that there were many newspaper articles about the Ridgerunner that go way back to the early 1900s where the legend came from. He didn’t look up the article but he said the legend scared him at first because of how young he was. Steve said that many other children hear this legend as well as others whenever they go on these trips with backpacking leaders. It helps them really enjoy the experience by always being on the lookout for a man that walks with a thump and a drag.

Steve said that this legend is primarily performed around a campfire at night with a large group of people. At least, this is the way he heard it. His leaders played a trick on the rest of the kids. Whenever one camp leader finished performing the legend, another came up from behind the campers and made the thump and drag sound, frightening all of the children for the rest of the night. Steve even told himself that he was never going back to Yosemite. The reason he said he was scared was due to the context of how it was told. At night, with a bunch of children huddling around the campfire, his leader used a creepy whispering voice to perform the legend. Then, when it came to thump and drag part, he raised his voice to frighten all of the children. This fear only intensified as the other leader scared them at the end. Steve said that the performance kept most of the campers up for quite awhile as they all feared the Ridgerunner.

Whenever I asked Steve what this legend meant to him, he responded “it scared the living crapp out of me.” However, at his current age, he said it helped remind him of the trip as well as his childhood. I guess at the time, the leaders told the campers that the Ridgerunner had been a lumberjack seventy years ago. Therefore, he is probably around one hundred years old now. Steve said that after hearing that, he is pretty sure he could fight a hundred year old man. In Steve’s mind, this legend represents the way children react to stories. It scared him so much at the time that it has made an impact on his life. He never wanted to go back to Yosemite after he heard it. But, now that he is much older, he said that it was a great legend because it scared the kids in an exciting, adventurous way.

I think that this legend is performed in order to help excite children on camping trips to Yosemite. I’m sure that all camp leaders hear this story and perform it in the most enthusiastic ways possible so that it scares the children. At that age, kids will believe anything an elder role model tells them. Therefore, it impacts their life as they are consistently on the lookout for the Ridgerunner. Also, I think this legend represents other camp stories that are told throughout the country. I know that when I was kid, I went to camps just like the one Steve went to. And, just like the camp leaders in Yosemite told Steve a legend that would frighten him, my leaders told us about an old man who abducted children in the woods whenever they were sitting by a campfire roasting marshmallows. At that time, it scared me because I was doing that exact same thing. The rest of the night, I was looking around the woods just waiting for and old man to come get me. That’s why I think these legends are great because they make the camping experience exciting.

Rhyme – La Verne, California

Nationality: White
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: La Verne, CA
Performance Date: April 29, 2008
Primary Language: English

Children’s Rhyme-Boys and Girls

“Girls go to Jupiter to get more stupider; Boys go to Mars to get more Candy Bars!”

Steven said he learned this rhyme whenever he was in elementary school in La Verne, California. He went to Oak Mesa Elementary School and said he probably found out about it around the age of seven when he was in the second grade. He said that this rhyming game was common on the playground where many boys would all line up and sing this to the girls. At this time period, boys are not yet attracted to girls like they are in later years. Therefore, they come up with rhymes such as this to promote their status as the “cooler” sex. The boys are not the only ones that come up with little rhymes like this as many girls gang up on the boys as well. Steven said it is all fun and games and tempers are never flared.

Steven said that this rhyme is primarily said in order for boys to make fun of girls because they think they are better. It sounds childish now but then again, they were all children whenever they started saying all of this. Steven said that boys want to make fun of girls because they think that girls have the infamous “cooties” that every child believes in. Therefore, saying that girls go to Jupiter to get more stupider, the boys are implying that they are smarter than girls and that girls are just plain stupid. This does not make any sense because we all know that there is no scientific evidence proving that guys are smarter than girls. This is just children acting just as they should be with fun games and senseless rhymes.

When I asked Steven what this proverb meant to him, he responded like he was still in the second grade, saying that this proverb helps emphasize how boys are smarter than girls. He said that it reminded him of his childhood and the fun they had at their school recesses. Jokingly, he did add that he believes this proverb is correct because girls are not as smart as guys and the guys are the dominant sex. As ridiculous as that sounds, he did laugh and say that he misses his childhood and those continuous rivalries between boys and girls. He’s now over the whole girls have “cooties” thing and believes that all children should go through that phase.

When I read the proverb for the first time, I sat back and chuckled as it also reminded me of my childhood and the rivalries between boys and girls. Recess was a great time for children to poke fun at each other with little games and rhymes. I remember we used to do the exact same thing at our recesses. Overall, I think this proverb represents childhood in all the ways previously described. It obviously does not make any sense because children can not travel to different planets. However, it shows the creativity of children in the sense that they can come up with rhymes that relate to stuff they are learning in school. In this case, I’m sure that the children were studying planets so they found ways to connect planets with their rivalries with each other. Additionally, I think rhymes such as this are said throughout the country for all children to enjoy the intense rivalry with the opposite sex.

Holiday – Jewish

Nationality: Jewish
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Westlake, CA
Performance Date: April 28, 2008
Primary Language: English

Holiday-Passover

“Passover is basically the celebration of the Jews not being slaves anymore in Egypt. The pharaoh in Egypt was in charge of the slaves building the pyramids. Eventually, Moses is able to free the Jews from the pharaoh’s tyranny through the help from God. This is where the burning bush comes in as a symbol of God. Basically, ten plagues afflict the Pharaoh and the rest of the Egyptians. The last one is most important being the death of the firstborn son. Eventually, this convinces the pharaoh to let the Jews go. So the Jews begin their exits from Egypt. In the middle of getting away, the pharaoh decides to revoke their freedom because he still wants them to be his slaves. So, the Jews did not have the time to let the bread rise that they were cooking for their journey. So, they had to eat matza, which is bread that has not risen. This is why during Passover, for eight days, the Jews keep kosher by not eating anything with flower. If you’re Ashkenazi, you can’t eat rice or corn or anything like that. But if you’re Sephardic, you can have rice. But, all Jews cannot have flour. That’s why they eat matza. So, the pharaoh chased the Jews until God allowed Moses to part the Red Sea and escape. Jewish people celebrate all this by having a Passover satyr once a year, where you have four cups of wine throughout the meal and different types of food. There is a prayer that goes along with the satyr and you’re supposed to leave the door open for Elijah, a prophet, and also have a glass of wine left out for him. Also, you’re supposed to leave your door open so that anyone can come celebrate Passover with you.”

Matt said he learned the stories and traditions of Passover whenever he was a child. Passover is a Jewish holiday so his family has celebrated it every year since he was born. Plus, he went to a Hebrew school until he was in eighth grade so the story of the pharaoh was talked about every year in school. He said that all Jews celebrate the holiday as it lasts for eight days. When I asked him when Passover took place, he said that it varies from year to year because Jewish people follow the lunar calendar. This year, Passover began on April 20th and lasted until the 28th.

Matt said that Passover is a good time for the Jewish religion to remember their history and the struggles their ancestors went through. To honor them, they eat only kosher items throughout the eight days to respect the journey of Moses and the Jewish slaves. This means that they do not eat bread or rice but only matza. This discipline helps remind them that life was never easy for the Jewish religion, as they endured countless struggles to be where they are at today. Matt is proud of his ancestors and shows it by eating only kosher.

Passover to Matt means a dinner with family and an Atkins-like diet for a week. When I asked him about the importance of the holiday, he responded by talking about how the Jewish religion has gone through countless struggles in order to survive. From the slavery in Egypt to the Holocaust, the Jewish people have survived and prospered. Passover is a time for Matt to connect with and feel proud of his religion. Although he made the joke saying that it is a time for him to go on a diet, he really understands the importance of his religion’s history.

As a Christian, I do not understand that much about the Jewish religion because I grew up in a dominant Christian area. However, I agree that Passover is an important holiday for the Jewish religion with many traditions that cannot go unnoticed. For example, there are some variations to this holiday as different types of Jews eat different types of Kosher, as Matt mentioned. This means that different Jews celebrate Passover in different ways, following traditions that their separate ancestors laid out before them. Furthermore, Passover is meant to be a time for the Jewish religion to remember their struggles by going through a struggle themselves, which in this case, is a kosher diet. Although this is not a serious struggle like the Jews faced in history, it does show that Jewish people have discipline and honor.

Proverb – Seoul, Korea

Nationality: Korean
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Calabasas, CA
Performance Date: April 29, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Korean

Proverb-Barn

“? ?? ??? ???”

“Cow Losing, Barn Fixed”

“After Losing a Cow, One Repairs the Barn.”

Jon learned this proverb from his mom during his high school days. He thinks that she learned it in Seoul, Korea, where she was born. He said that she told it to him when he was in high school because she wanted to give him an important lesson. That lesson was to not make any big mistakes in life for they will only lead to even bigger mistakes. He said she told him this so that he would think critically about important life decisions. She did not want him to make decisions too quickly because they could lead to huge mistakes. Jon’s mother told him that she learned this from her parents as well when she was around his age. They wanted to teach the same lesson about life before their children grew up too fast.

Jon said this proverb is primarily used whenever an individual makes a mistake in life. It helps tell the person that he or she can make a few mistakes but don’t let them add up or it will end up causing even bigger mistakes. He said that this proverb can be used in all types of fields including telling it to children and businesses. For him, his mom told him when he was in high school whenever he got a bad grade on a test. She told him that he can make that mistake a few times but don’t let it add up because it will only further decrease his grade in the class. He said this proverb helped him because it showed him the importance of decision making.

When I asked Jon what this proverb meant to him, he said it taught him to never give up and always keep trying. Whenever he makes a mistake, he knows that he must work hard in order to overcome it. If not, he’ll only continue to fall down deeper into the hole and continue to make poor decisions. He uses this proverb in not only the classroom but in all of the decisions he makes. Decision making is an essential element to anyone’s success. This proverb represents those decisions and the results that occur afterwards.

I agree with Jon in the sense that life is about overcoming mistakes and not letting them accumulate. However, I also think there is an even deeper meaning to this proverb. Although it talks about preventing further mistakes, I think it also shows that an individual should never regret a mistake that has already been made. One should move on, forget about the mistake, and start focusing on ways to overcome it. It is senseless to get worked up about a mistake because it already happened. The important lesson is to forget about the small mistakes you do make, and start thinking about ways to prevent further mistakes from happening.

This proverb also comes up in China, Japan, Korea Culture and Customs, a book written by Ju Brown and John Brown. It can be found on page 65 as well as many other Korean proverbs.

Annotation: Brown, Ju, and John Brown. China, Japan, Korea Culture and Customs. North Charleston: Booksurge, 2006. 65.

Holiday – Jewish

Nationality: Jewish
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Westlake, CA
Performance Date: April 28, 2008
Primary Language: English

Holiday-Hanukkah

“Hanukkah, aka the Festival of Lights, celebrates yet another event the Jews escaped out of. The Romans had taken over the city where all the Jews were living in Israel. This is where the holy temple was where the western wall still remains today. So, the Romans come in and don’t let the Jews practice their religion, say any of their prayers, or read the Torah. These practices were essential to the Jews so they performed them in secret. So, a few of them got caught and were severely punished. Then the Maccabees, which were twelve kids, led by Judah, fought back against the Romans and defeated them. The true miracle of the story though was that after the battle, when they went to go pray in the synagogue, there was only a small amount of oil to keep the Holy Candle burning. The candle was supposed to be lit at all times so this little canister should have lasted only a day but instead, lasted eight days until new oil arrived. That is why there are eight days of Hanukkah and eight candles on the Menorah, to celebrate the miracle of the Holy Candle.”

Matt said he learned this story all throughout his childhood from his parents, the synagogue, and Hebrew school. Therefore, the story of the Maccabees and their miraculous oil has been passed down several generations in oral form. He said that all Jews know this story for they all celebrate Hanukkah as a holiday. He said that although it used to be different, Hanukkah has adopted some modern ideas such as presents. In ancient times, they did not used to celebrate Hanukkah by passing out presents to people. Now, however, they receive a present on each of the eight days as they light a new candle on the menorah.

Matt said that Hanukkah, like all other Jewish holidays, follows the lunar calendar. Therefore, the time it takes place varies from year to year. He said that most of the time, the Jewish religion celebrates Hanukkah from late November to mid-December. During this time, they receive presents just as Christians do, yet they celebrate something completely different. Matt likes Hanukkah because it is a good time to spend with family and other Jewish friends.            When I asked Matt what Hanukkah meant to him, he told me that it represented his culture. Matt is very proud of his ancestors for fighting the Romans in order to preserve their religion. He is even more amazed by the remarkable miracle of the oil burning for eight long days. He said that Hanukkah brings him closer to his family as they all go to the synagogue to remember the events that happened thousands of years ago. He also said that he enjoyed the Christianization of the holiday in the sense of presents. He said that children in Israel do not receive presents for Hanukkah but children in America do to compete with Christmas. With all the Christian children getting presents, some of the Jewish children got jealous. In order to make their children happy, Jewish parents opened up to the idea of presents so that their children can enjoy them as well.

I agree with Matt that this story is truly remarkable. For a small canister of oil to last seven days more than it typically would, it shows just how miracles can happen. Also, I think this celebration is a time for the Jewish religion to connect with each other. By lighting candles to celebrate the days the oil lasted, the Jews are showing their respect for those that fought the Romans. Hanukkah represents the Jewish religion well because it shows what they believe in. Additionally, I think that Hanukkah has changed since it first became a holiday. The Jewish religion has taken on a Christian approach with the presents but it has still maintained its traditions and morals.