Reid Hillview Airport
Part of the SJ Sounds Series
Written by Javier Mendoza
Audio design by Mark Thompson
[SOUND DESCRIPTION: People can share the same space and live in two different worlds. Some people get to fly around, other people get to eat the pollution. Working with field recordings of playgrounds and airports, this soundscape tracks the identification and admission of an ugly reality, resistance to obvious solutions, and a damaged community pulling together to fight.]
The Present
It’s day time, sometime in the afternoon, post breakfast on a Sunday. It’s a sunny day with a picturesque sky filled with clouds - the view that Camila, a nine year old third grader, observes as she lays down on her green backyard. She’s really accommodated herself because she lays down on a white blanket with her arms behind her head. She starts to make shapes and figures out of the clouds that come into her eyesight. One second, the clouds form a gigantic tortoise with a king crown on its head. Next, the face of an old beardy man - reminds her of Zeus or Poseidon, one of those old Greek Gods. And now, a two headed Greyhound dog. However, one of her favorite sky watching activities is about to happen. In the far distance, a motor echoes from the skies - it's a small plane or more professionally known as a light aircraft. The plane comes into sight and she sees it gloss across the sky leaving a trail of a string of clouds looking like the string cheese you bite off a warm pizza. One of her little challenges is to observe the mini planes for as far as her eyes can see without turning her neck. The plane leaves her line of sight.
Back to the clouds.
Meanwhile, at the dinner table, Camila’s parents, Jorge and Debby, both in their mid to late 30s, talk about Camila’s recent IEP -her Individual Education Plan - kids with special needs need this special individualized attention in order to thrive in an academic setting.
Debby: Inattentive and irritable - those were the notes from the counselor.
Jorge: Look at her right now, she’s attentive and calmed.
Debby: But this is in an academic setting Jorge.
Jorge: I know, I can’t help but get a little defensive.
Debby: The counselor suggests we should talk to a Psychiatrist and look into meds.
Jorge: Really!? Debby, she’s too young for that.
Debby: She can’t focus. It’s affecting her academics.
Jorge: But she’s too young!
Debby: Do you want her to do better in school?
Jorge: Yes, I do.
Debby: So then we should consider this
Jorge: There has to be another way - something else we can do.
Jorge looks off - he’s pensive. The couple is in silence.
Debby pops open her laptop and starts to type and click away. Jorge walks over to the sliding door and stands there tenderly observing Camila peacefully sky watching.
The next day, Monday - Jorge is at work shutting off his computer and packing up his belongings. All set, time to go. He exits his building and walks out with intention. He’s dressed nicely - brown boots, jeans, dressing shirt, and a cool thin jacket. He hops into his Jeep, turns it on - 2:30 pm - sweet, perfect timing to pick up Camila from school.
He drives down the freeway, a little traffic here and there, but it’s not so bad. He’s pensive about Camila. Deep down he doesn’t really believe that there is nothing wrong with Camila. So what if she’s had some behavioral issues? So what if she’s hit some of the boys who pick on her and upset her. That’s what she should do. I taught her well. So what if she’s had some learning issues? Who cares if she's not at a grade level right now with reading and writing - she will catch up she has too. I eventually did. I did bad in grade school, then great in middle school, then horrible in High School because that’s when my mental health issues really started bugging. This stream of consciousness then halts Jorge for a bit - mine started late, could it be that Camila’s have started earlier. Does it run in the family?
Jorge recalls his early 20s when he started using ritalin because he was diagnosed with ADHD - although it wasn’t just that - it was depression and anxiety too. It did help him. He was able to focus and ultimately it helped him graduate from an IT program which initiated his career in the Silicon Valley tech world. Despite this, Ritalin made him lifeless. He was numb - just going with the motions. As an act of rebellion, he would get intoxicated with his friends just so he could feel something. Although these were far removed young adulthood experiences and his own personal traumas, Jorge didn’t want any of this for Camila especially at such a young age - there had to be another way - no meds, please.
He’s near Camila’s school now which happens to be adjacent to the Reid-Hillview Airport. He’s at a light watching the aircraft take off. He loves how the blades in the front spin so lethally. How the aircraft comes to life and leaves a trail of smoke as it takes off. So bad ass. If only he was in town that one time Robert, a family friend and pilot, took his grandpa for a flight. This was every East Side San Jose kid’s dream growing up - to fly one of those planes. One day.
Green light.
Jorge waits at the entrance gate for Camila along with other parents. The bell rings and a stampede of kids come flocking towards the gate - all of them have a paper in their hands with what probably is some type of announcement or reminder for a school event.
Camila: Hi papi!
Jorge: Hi baby! How was school?
He holds her by the hand and they begin to walk off towards the car.
Camila: It was good - I had time to play some cool math games on my laptop today.
Jorge: Did you talk to your counselor today?
Camila: She didn’t come in today
Jorge: Really? But today you guys were supposed to have an important meeting.
Camila: Well -
Jorge: You know what, don’t worry about it. We’ll talk about it later with Mom.
Camila: Not Mom
Jorge: Not Mom? Why not Mom?
Camila: Because she’s going to get mad
Jorge: No, she’s not. Mom just cares a lot and so do I.
Jorge is now curious about the paper Camila holds.
Jorge: What is this?
Camila: I don’t know, something about the airport.
Jorge snatches it from Camila. He helps Camila up the Jeep and into her seat, places her backpack in the back seat. He goes around to the driver's seat and ignites the engine. Finally, while the car warms up he gives it a quick read - a town hall meeting for concerned citizens regarding the closure of the light aircraft airport. Jorge makes a displeased face. He does not want the airport to close down, for two reasons in particular. The first one, the selfish one, he has yet to ride in one of those planes. The second one, an unselfish one, developers will attack this land and build a bunch of commercial real estate and housing units and then the East Side is going to get more packed and gentrified than it already is.
Forget it. He crumples the flier into the glove compartment along with other crumpled papers.
They drive home.
Camila loves cruising the east side with her dad in his Jeep. Despite her young age, she’s got an old soul because she enjoys the little things. It’s not a long drive, but the breeze hits good. The trees on both sides of the street rattle and kids travel in bunches to their homes. It’s not just the cruising home that Camila enjoys but it’s also the departure from school. She was so relief that the counselor, Ms. A, was not present today because simply said, she didn’t want to go. She hates it. School had become a burden to her, especially in the academic sense. She felt different from the rest because she was one of the few that had to go see the counselor a couple times a week. In class, she always acted like she knew what she was doing, but she would do a lot of the assignments incorrectly. She would look over and try to cheat off Erick, but he wasn’t cool. He would snitch on her. Today she actually hit him in the head because she got so annoyed at him for snitching. He then tried to double snitch on her, but luckily the substitute teacher they had today could care less.
On Mondays and Wednesdays, Camila trains soccer with her dad in the backyard. Tuesdays and Thursdays she trains with her club team. Practice with dad is tough because he demands a lot from her since he himself played competitive soccer for a decade and a half. The farthest he got was a tryout with the San Jose Earthquakes, but failed to make it past the first round.
Jorge: Come on Cami - not like that, like this - tighter with your footsteps - don’t touch the cones - only with your left!
Just a couple months ago, Camila told her dad she wanted to be a professional one day. Jorge took this as a calling and vowed to do everything in his power to help her. So every time Camila complains, Jorge reminds her that this is what she wanted and that this is what it takes. He sees a lot of himself in her - she has a strong work ethic despite the complaints here and there, but with her club team you’ll never hear her complaining, only leading - if only this was the case at school. Jorge loves being that father on the sidelines with his arms crossed, shades on , smirk on his face, watching her daughter dominate and score goals. He smirks because he knows their Monday/Wednesday practices are working. Poor Camila sometimes has to juggle the ball 20 times in a row or else she has to start all over. Some practices she is only allowed to use her left foot in order to strengthen it like her right foot. Her least favorite thing is that whenever a plane flies by she has to do push ups and crunches until it is completely out of sight.
It is now almost dark and it is about 7 pm. Jorge relaxes watching the local news occasionally taking in the sweet smell of the chicken enchiladas Debby cooks for dinner - he can’t wait. This is a happy moment for Jorge - post soccer practice with his daughter, TV, sofa, enchiladas, wife - life is good.
As Jorge watches the local news a segment on the town hall meeting regarding the closure of the light aircraft airport appears. “Ohh shit! The flier.” Jorge leans in and pays close attention. A lady being interviewed says, “I want it closed, all that smoke is going into my kids.” Another man says, “now that I am more aware of the situation, I am a bit more concerned.” Then a young woman says, “You’re telling me that flying is more important than poisoning east side kids and residents on a daily basis with lead pollution?” The segment ends. Jorge feels conflicted - prior to this day the airport was nothing but an airport, but now it might be a threat to his community, to his family. He grew up here his whole life, in this house passed down by his parents. He counted the planes and watched them from this very same backyard just like Camila. He played soccer in that backyard. Had parties here. So many things here. As a matter of fact, from the roof of his home, Jorge can see the airport. He’s been getting lead poisoning this whole time?
What does it do?
What does lead pollution do?
To people?
To his family?
To kids?
To Camila?
Call to Action
East Side San Jose is the home of mainly Latino/Mexican families but increasingly home to people from the Philippines, Vietnam, India and other parts of the world.
Historically East San Jose has been impacted by racist policies and decisions that have left our neighborhoods under-resourced and with limited access to education and economic opportunities. Today, we are impacted by lasting impacts of systemic racism and redlining such as ongoing gentrification, higher rates of COVID, greater amounts of pollution, and poverty. The Reid-Hillview Airport is a product of ongoing systemic issues harming East San Jose residents.
We believe our families deserve to be healthy, access to education, economic mobility, public transportation, high quality green space, shelter, clean air, sleep, and a life without fear of planes crashing into our homes.
We are asking to Board of Supervisors to immediately close Reid Hillview Airport!
*This messaging was excerpted from the following link. It was drafted by coalition of various groups and neighborhood leaders including SOMOS Mayfair, Luna, SURJ at Sacred Heart, and the Cassel Neighborhood Association.
Audio Credits:
Produced in Reaper.
Favorite plug-ins for this project: “Dumpster Fire by Freakshow Industries,” “Other Desert Cities by Audio Damage,” “Valhalla Supermassive Echobode by Sonic Charge.”
Samples/SFX: “Super Mario Bros.” “Night on Bald Mountain,” “Mussorgsky, performed by Vienna State Orchestra,” “1954 Hollywood Edge,” “Premiere Edition Grotesco” “‘The Trial,’ Swedish Television Show, 2010”
We would like to thank Veggielution for hosting this installation. Veggielution is a 2-acre community farm and gathering space is located in Emma Prusch Farm Park in the Mayfair neighborhood, one of the most impoverished areas in Silicon Valley. Their goal is to connect people from diverse backgrounds through food and farming to build community in East San Jose. To find out more about Veggielution and what they do, visit their website.
SJ Sounds is a collaboration between More Más Marami Arts and Soundplay.Media. This installation is possible thanks to funding from the City of San José through the Abierto program, the support of our fiscal sponsor, The School of Arts and Culture.
