Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe Carousel Chevrolet Pickup

Transcription

1 Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe Carousel 1957 Chevrolet Pickup No, wait, guess what? I got a 1957 Chevy pickup for my birthday! Lots of chrome. I love the truck. A real Mexican truck, Dante! All I need are hydraulics to bounce around in (193). I went out at night and drove into the desert and parked. I listened to the radio and lay down in the back of my pickup and looked out at the stars (203).

2 Nighthawks by Edward Hopper 1942, oil on canvas There is a famous painting, Nighthawks, by Edward Hopper. I am in love with that painting. Sometimes, I think everyone is like the people in that painting, everyone lost in their own private universes of pain or sorrow or guilt, everyone remote and unknowable. The painting reminds me of you. It breaks my heart (185).

3 Artifact # 3: Song "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" U2 I have climbed the highest mountains I have run through the fields Only to be with you Only to be with you I have run, I have crawled I have scaled these city walls These city walls Only to be with you But I still haven't found What I'm looking for But I still haven't found What I'm looking for I have kissed honey lips Felt the healing in her finger tips It burned like fire (I was) Burning desire I have spoken with the tongue of angels I have held the hand of a devil It was warm in the night I was cold as a stone But I still haven't found What I'm looking for

4 But I still haven't found What I'm looking for I believe in the Kingdom Come Then all the colors will bleed into one Bleed into one But, yes, I'm still running You broke the bonds And you loosed the chains Carried the cross of my shame Oh, my shame, you know I believe it But I still haven't found What I'm looking for

5 Story excerpt from Being Mexican-American: Caught Between Two Worlds-Nepantla Listen to story excerpts # 2, 5

6 Identity Quote The problem with my life was that it was somebody else s idea (8).

7 Vietnam Quote and Photos

8 War did something to us. To me. To all of us. But the men we left behind. Those are the ones who are in my dreams (347). Letter Dear Dante, Dad gave me my first driving lesson. We went out on some deserted farm road in the upper valley. I did pretty well. I have to get the gear thing down. I m not very smooth about shifting and I killed the truck a couple of times trying to shift into second. It s all timing. Push the clutch, shift, gas, clutch, shift, gas, drive. Someday soon I m going to learn to do all of those things in one smooth motion. After the first lesson, we parked the truck and my dad smoked a cigarette. He smokes sometimes. But never in the house. Sometimes, he smokes in the backyard, but not very often. I asked him if he was ever going to quit. It helps with the dreams. I know his dreams are about the war. I sometimes try to picture him in the jungles of Vietnam. I never ask him anything about the war. I guess it s something he has to keep to himself. Maybe it s a terrible thing, to keep a war to yourself. But maybe that s the way it has to be. So, instead of asking him about the war, I asked him if he ever dreamed about Bernardo. My brother. Sometimes. That s all he said. He drove my truck back home and didn t say another word. I think I upset him by bringing up my brother. I don t want to upset him, but I do. I always upset him. And other people too. I guess that s what I do. And I upset you too. I know that. And I m sorry. I m doing the best I can, okay? So if I don t write as many letters as you do, don t be upset. I m not doing it to upset you, okay? This is my problem. I want other people to tell me how they feel. But I m not so sure I want to return the favor. I think I ll go sit in my truck and think about that. Ari ( )

9 Dream Quote I have this idea that the reason we have dreams is that we re thinking about things that we don t know we re thinking about--and those things, well, they sneak out of us in our dreams. Maybe we re like tires with too much air in them. The air has to leak out. That s what dreams are (178).

10 Love Quote The funny thing is, I sometimes think my mother loves my father more than he loves her. Does that make sense? Yeah I guess so. Maybe. Is love a contest? What does that mean? Maybe everyone loves differently. Maybe that s all that matters (247).

11