Finished "The Boy With the Thorn in His Side" by Keith Fleming
For all the tales of trauma embedded in this book, as I was finishing it off, my strongest impression was of sweetness... Keith's openly gay "Uncle Ed" (a relatively young Edumnd White) was a profoundly generous, kind, and thoughtful person. Really, the kind of person any young person could use as a mentor and guide. How to dress properly, for example, is something I never really learned.
Other impressions: my God, the 1970s were so profoundly different, open, and unregulated. Teenagers could get real jobs, rent apartments, go places, do things, on their own without adults noticing or caring (and the economy allowed that). So many aspects of life were so profoundly different from today that it's hard to even know where to begin detailing them. Profoundly different even from my own youth only a decade later in the 1980s (but after the AIDS epidemic, which I think is not given enough credit for it's cultural impact, also Reagan, of course, had a huge cultural impact). Most obviously, the open and casual sexuality that the AIDS epidemic killed. Also, yikes, the sexual exploitation of teenagers, particularly young women, by older men. Eww. Ugh.
The book itself is a literary tour de force, full of brilliantly written, keenly observant prose. Honestly, it leaves me a bit green with envy as a so-called writer. If you can find a copy (there'll be one available at the Santa Monica Public Library in a day or so, and memoir, history, and queerness are all things you can deal with, or enjoy reading about, grab it. Be warned, however, if this squicks you: semi-graphically (but not pornographically) described teenage sexual adventures on the part of the boy and his girlfriend and their friends and associates, with each other, and others, is part of the package. Also, the whole book is one giant trigger warning for teenage trauma, abuse (mental, physical, sexual), and mental illness (and systems that deal badly with all of these things).
The Boy With the Thorn in His Side by Keith Fleming
Tags: reading, smpl, library-books, history, memoir, lgbtqia, queer, finished-reading
Santa Cruz County Place Name: Folger Canyon (May 3, 2026)
According to Jerome Alexander, that canyon shown as unnamed on Watsonville East Quadrangle (USGS:17) as trending from the summit of the Santa Cruz Mountains in a southwesterly direction immediately to the west of and parallel to Casserly Ridge is known locally as Folger Canyon. Origin undetermined; however, Ed Martin in his 1873 Directory of the Town of Watsonville mentions “Peter Folger [who ran a skating rink at that time] has a snug little farm well improved of 200 acres on the former Rancho Salsipuedes” and the map listed below shows the lands encompassing the gulch were owned in 1908 by Clara Folger.
What I'm Currently Reading (August 2026)
My current focus is finishing two physical books I picked up from the Santa Monica Public Library in June, for Pride Month, via the corresponding display in the Main Library:
- We Set the Night on Fire: Igniting the Gay Revolution by Martha Shelley
- The Boy With the Thorn in His Side: A Memoir by Keith Fleming
They're both fascinating first hand accounts of growing up in 1960s (Shelley) and 1970s (Fleming) America and how the changing social mores and customs of the era impacted children and young adults. Memoir is not my typical fare, but I make an exception for first person queer history. Both of these are definitely recommended reads.
Shelley is one of the founders of the modern queer rights movement, co-founder of the Gay Liberation Front. The book extends from her childhood to her young adulthood as a queer rights activist in late 1960s, early 1970s New York and California. I'm in Chapter 19, where we're introduced to the Gay Liberation Front (about halfway through). The book (so far) details her youth as the child of immigrants and young adult life, how she explored being lesbian (and what that looked like back then). She was intersected all sorts of interesting people and events (Stonewall, the Sullivan Institute cult, worked for Robert De Niro's mother before he became famous). She had a relationship with famous bi+ activist Stephen Donaldson aka "Donny The Punk" which caused quite a bit of stir, as they were each spokespeople for lesbian and gay rights groups, respectively (identities != behavior, as this makes clear).
Fleming's book intersects with the queer world primarily through his account of his life with his uncle, Ed White, a famous author (whose works were also on display), who was, per the book flap, "completely caught up in the beehive of social and sexual activity of 1970s gay Manhattan." Fleming's lucid prose provides a fascinating first hand glimpse into the life of a portion of the city's queer community in that era. I'm about three-quarters of the way through the book, where Fleming has been living with his uncle for a bit, and his girlfriend Laura has just managed to escape captivity in a convent (not kidding). I think she is about to come live with them (haven't gotten to that part yet). The book also documents Fleming's experience in various psychiatric facilities, and is a damning account of the often abusive and exploitative nature of psychiatry / psychology (used as a tool for social control of otherwise rational people). Fleming's ability to turn a phrase, to recall the details of events and paint a verbal picture, is marvelous. His prose is luminous and lush, a pleasure to read on its own.
I'll post about the other stuff I'm reading / have been reading once I finish these two off (hopefully tonight).
Tags: reading, smpl, library-books, history, memoir, lgbtqia, queer
Santa Cruz County Place Name: Moreland Notre Dame Academy (June 3, 2026)
A Catholic school for girls on Brennan Street in Watsonville, operated by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur; opened October 1899.
The situation of the school, in the beautiful Valley of the Birds, in the quiet suburbs of the pretty little city of Watsonville, beside the sea, beneath the bounding hills, was unsurpassed.–In Harvest Fields (1926, p.234).
Named for the order [Notre Dame, “Our Lady,” for the Virgin Mary] and to honor Josephine Moreland, the daughter of Mrs. Margaret S. Moreland who founded the school in her memory. Josephine died in 1888 at the age of nineteen. Margaret S.
Loftus [Moreland] was born in Ireland in 1829; arrived in the United States in 1852 and in California in 1862. “When a young lady, Miss Loftus learned of the beautiful climate of California and having friends in Santa Cruz decided to join them.”–Guinn (1903, p.392). She married Samuel Moreland, a prominent Pajaro Valley rancher in 1866. Mrs. Moreland died in 1919. The school is located at 133 Brennan Street, Watsonville. Also known as College of Notre Dame.
Santa Cruz County Place Name: Woods Lagoon (June 13, 2026)
The lagoon that today forms the base for the Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor. The lagoon was a favorite picnic spot, swimming hole, and duck hunting area during the 1880s and 1890s. Named for the landowner, John Woods, whose property abutted the lagoon. Volume One of the Santa Cruz County Books of Deeds includes a petition, November 14, 1849, by John Woods for this land. Woods, a charter member of the Santa Cruz County Society of California Pioneers, was born in Georgetown, Ohio, on December 30, 1818; he migrated to Missouri, served in the Mexican war, back to Missouri, married, then left for California on April 20, 1848. After a very short period in the mines, he settled in Santa Cruz county, worked at the Bennett Sawmill on Love Creek, but settled shortly thereafter in the area now known as Seabright in Santa Cruz. Woods died October 11, 1887. See also Lake Marina and Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor.
Santa Cruz County Place Name: Winkles Bridge (July 15, 2026)
A bridge that crossed Rodeo Creek along what is now known as Soquel Drive. It existed at least some time before 1888 when the following notice appeared in the Santa Cruz Surf, June 2, 1888:
…a subscription is being circulated to raise funds to defray the expenses of sprinkling Soquel Road from the covered bridge at Santa Cruz to Winkle’s bridge near Soquel.
Named for a land owner. Hatch’s county map of 1889 shows lands in Section 9, T11S, R1W, bordering both the road and the creek which were owned by one H. W. Inkel, obviously a mistake for H. Winkel. On the south side of the road the map shows property of Winkel. H. Winkel is listed in the roster of members of the Santa Cruz Society of California Pioneers as a native of Germany born February 22, 1822, who arrived in California in September 1850. His name is given as Henry Winkle in Guinn (1903, p.636) where the author writes:
Landing in New Orleans, Mr. Winkle subsequently went to St. Louis, where he lived for four years, and during the latter part of that time was disturbed by the rumors of gold that came from ship passengers and overland travelers. He therefore joined a caravan bound for the great plains, and upon arriving at this destination on the coast, located at Placerville, where for seventeen years he tempted fate in the surrounding mines. He experienced the average number of disappointments and failures, but he was successful to the extent that he was able to purchase his present ranch of two hundred acres upon his removal to Santa Cruz] county in 1866.
He is listed as Henry Wenkle, farmer from Prussia, Soquel, in The Great Register of Santa Cruz County, 1867. He became a naturalized citizen on August 14, 1867. The Soquel Cemetery records show the name as Henry Winkle, died February 20, 1903, aged 81.
Santa Cruz County Place Name: Mary Easton Picnia Area (July 29, 2026)
A picnic spot in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park. Named for Mary Easton Porter, wife of Warren R. Porter. Porter, born in Santa Cruz, March 30, 1861, was the son of John T. Porter, one of the founders of the Loma Prieta Lumber Company incorporated in 1883 to log much of the area encompassed by today’s state park. Warren R. Porter was bookkeeper (1884), then secretary (1886-1902) of the lumber company. He was incorporator (1888), director and (1900-1922) president of the Pajaro Valley National Bank, Watsonville. From 1907 to 1911 he was lieutenant-governor of California. Mary Easton was the daughter of Rev. G. A. Easton, rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Berkeley. They were married August 23, 1893, and built their residence at the company town, Loma Prieta. See also Porter Family Picnic Area, and Porter Gulch [3].
Santa Cruz County Place Name: Vue de L'Eau (July 22, 2026)
One of the very few French place names in the county. This was a gazebo type structure with a pagoda style roof that was built along the cliff above Monterey Bay in 1892 as part of a promotion scheme of the Santa Cruz, Garfield Park & Beach trolley line. It was advertised as an “observatory, cliff house, waiting station, and depot.” Nearby was the Casino at the junction of Cliff Drive and Garfield Avenue (now West Cliff Drive and Woodrow Avenue). Vue de L’Eau, with its spectacular view of the ocean (hence, the name), became a popular attraction, but it slowly faded in interest and in 1905 Vue de L’Eau and six surrounding acres were bought for the winter quarters of the Norris and Rowe circus. The building burned in 1925.