Great Contradiction, Number One: In early 1848, a man named James Marshall discovered gold flakes in the basin of the American River, west of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. His boss, John Sutter, took all the credit. There is a fort, a hospital, a street, and an elementary school named after John Sutter. There is a placard featuring a relief of James Marshall’s face next to a sign depicting how to check for tick bites beside the mill, which is also named for Sutter. This has always made me very sad.

         Great Contradiction, Number Two: The town where I live only exists because there’s a prison here. It is a town that predominately consists of white Christian Republicans, plus a fair amount of affluent Indian families on three-to-four year career transfers at the microchip company. In other words, it is a town of people who would be starkly offended if anywhere were to remind them that their houses were built, when you trace it back to the roots, thanks to a few scraggly gold rush men who pulled triggers too indiscriminately.

         Two things which make me sad:

Everyone in this house is the type of person who would congratulate a stranger on his or her “weight-loss journey” and feel good about it.


and


I just realized that I no longer have any desire to watch True Blood. Or speak to my best friend from high school. But, what is truly, pathetically, actually sad is that I’m more upset about not liking True Blood anymore.