Hi Gene,
In my humble opinon, I enjoyed this story, more than some of the previous ones. Great writing, superb insights! Take Marc to Telegraph Ave. in Berkeley, between 12PM & 5PM on a Sa. or Su. afternoon. Let him soak up the (ahem!) culture, & you can hang out in the bookstores, while he is discovering the punk/music scene. I was born & raised here, so I'm biased, but I'm still in love with the enigma called, "California".
Mark