.Street Talk

Walk up to a total stranger on the street and ask them any question on a topic that sparks your curiosity. What would it be?

Would you do it? Could you do it?

That was the assignment I was offered in June of 2023 when I was the lucky journalist who visited the office of Brad Kava, the new editor of Good Times. One of Brad’s first decisions was to bring back Question of the Week, a popular feature that had not been seen in years, and I wisely (and impulsively) accepted his offer to make it my responsibility.

It was a daunting assignment for this fledgling journalist, asking random people on the street for their answers to questions that I happened to think might be fun or important to ponder for five minutes out of the day.

I almost gave up on day one. A few polite rejections and a case of cold feet were enough to awaken my long-dormant social anxiety. I said, “I don’t think I can do this.” But Brad wouldn’t let me back out, not without turning in my interviews at least once.

I have been grateful for that push ever since, for 58 consecutive weeks of Street Talk and meeting the most kind, thoughtful, surprising, and articulate people on the streets of Santa Cruz County.

I’ve made real friends and formed lasting memories—learned a lot, laughed a lot, and more than once cried. I’ve vicariously enjoyed the delight of visitors discovering Santa Cruz for the first time, heard stories of Santa Cruz past, and learned of the hardships of our street people.

I discovered that far from being the all-white enclave some may perceive Santa Cruz to be, our community is very much ethnically diverse—a beautiful reality that I strive to display with the neighbors who appear in Street Talk.

I shivered to hear stories of UFOs and the supernatural.

Lindsy Valdez recounted a bonfire gathering visited by an eerie hovering light, and Kamran Aghevli, 11, believed aliens are “thinking of a chance to strike soon, waiting for when we’re vulnerable.”

I laughed as Phillipe Cartin recalled Bruce Almighty, his favorite Jim Carrey movie.

I was amazed to learn that Leila Hakimi finds her inner peace in wrestling, as does Van Swanson in sword fighting.

I loved hearing Watsonvillers’ deep affection for their City Plaza, their pride in their many festivals and their connection to history and heritage.

I learned that composer Bela Bartok owned a curved piano, that we once had a downtown music venue called Palookaville, and that a woman, Bertha Benz, drove the first long-distance test of an automobile.

We weighed in on the Otter 841 Affair, on COVID, and we rethought the slogan “Keep Santa Cruz Weird.”

And our Street Talkers were prescient when they agreed across all demographics that Joe Biden had become too old to be President.

Thanks to all for the time to talk, and your time to read. Street Talk returns in its usual format next week.

Do you have a favorite question or answer from the past year of Street Talk?

Do you have a suggestion for a question in the year ahead?

Post to the Good Times Facebook page, or email us at [email protected].