--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The California I knew, old rancho…" description: "\"The California I knew, old rancho California, is gone. It just doesn't exist, except maybe in little pockets. I lived on the edge of the Mojave Desert,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/sam-shepard-2232_area_the-california-i-knew-old-rancho-califor_2770910.jpg" --- # The California I knew, old rancho California, is gone. It… ![“The California I knew, old rancho California, is gone. It just doesn't exist, except maybe in little pockets. I lived on the edge of the Mojave Desert, an area that used to be farm country. There were all these fresh-produce stands with avocados and date palms. You could get a dozen artichokes for…” quote by Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/sam-shepard-2232_area_the-california-i-knew-old-rancho-califor_2770910.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/sam-shepard-2232_area_the-california-i-knew-old-rancho-califor_2770910.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/sam-shepard-2232_area_the-california-i-knew-old-rancho-califor_2770910.jpg) > “The California I knew, old rancho California, is gone. It just doesn't exist, except maybe in little pockets. I lived on the edge of the Mojave Desert, an area that used to be farm country. There were all these fresh-produce stands with avocados and date palms. You could get a dozen artichokes for a buck or something. Totally wiped out now.” [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker laments the loss of a once-vibrant California landscape, now replaced by scarcity and disappearance of familiar agricultural abundance. **In simple terms:** California’s old rural life has vanished. Key Takeaway Cherish and protect cultural and environmental heritage. Themes nostalgia environment change Mood melancholic reflective Type personal environmental When to use this quote - conservation activism - historical preservation - community storytelling Key Concepts urbanization loss cultural memory Questions to Reflect On - How has the region changed for better or worse? - What can be done to preserve remaining traditions? A Different Perspective The perspective may romanticize the past and ignore progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artichokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artichokes/) [California](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/california/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Desert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desert/) [Edge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edge/) [Farms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/farms/) [Mojave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mojave/) [Wiped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wiped/) ## Related quotes > [My experience protesting with Mojave Dolphins, and the other wonderful animal activists, can be described in a few words: inspiring, motivational and purposeful. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille/my-experience-protesting-with-mojave-dolphins-and-the-other-wonderful/) [Camille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille/) > [“power the mojave desert with miles & miles of solar panels!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-leftow/power-the-mojave-desert-with-miles-miles-of-solar-panels/) Joy Leftow > [Note to self: Pasty-skinned programmers ought not stand in the Mojave desert for multiple hours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-carmack/note-to-self-pasty-skinned-programmers-ought-not-stand-in-the-mojave/) [John Carmack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-carmack/) > ['Mojave' is a very wild, throwback film with these two dudes going after each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-isaac/mojave-is-a-very-wild-throwback-film-with-these-two-dudes-going-after/) [Oscar Isaac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-isaac/) > [The Mojave is a big desert and a frightening one. It’s as though nature tested a man for endurance and constancy to prove whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/the-mojave-is-a-big-desert-and-a-frightening-one-it-s-as-though/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Ask the dust on the road! Ask the Joshua trees standing alone where the Mojave begins. Ask them about Camilla Lopez, and they will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/ask-the-dust-on-the-road-ask-the-joshua-trees-standing-alone-where/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [Previously, I've worked with Bill Monahan on The Departed, he recently wrote American Desperado for us, and I just acted in a movie he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-wahlberg/previously-i-ve-worked-with-bill-monahan-on-the-departed-he-recently/) [Mark Wahlberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-wahlberg/) > [She lives in Mojave in a Winnebago. His name is Bobby, he looks like a potato.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/she-lives-in-mojave-in-a-winnebago-his-name-is-bobby-he-looks-like-a/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [I was fortunate enough, after many visits to many wonderful, weird people to come across Burt Rutan, who is a genius in the Mojave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-was-fortunate-enough-after-many-visits-to-many-wonderful-weird/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [It is always allowable to ask for artichoke jelly with your boiled venison; however there are houses where this is not supplied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/it-is-always-allowable-to-ask-for-artichoke-jelly-with-your-boiled/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [Life is like eating artichokes; you have got to go through so much to get so little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tad-dorgan/life-is-like-eating-artichokes-you-have-got-to-go-through-so-much-to/) Tad Dorgan > [I have often wondered who was the first person to realize that eating an artichoke was a good idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cosentino/i-have-often-wondered-who-was-the-first-person-to-realize-that-eating/) Chris Cosentino > [In the book of things people more often do wrong than right, investing must certainly top the list, followed closely by wallpapering and eating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-klein/in-the-book-of-things-people-more-often-do-wrong-than-right-investing/) [Robert Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-klein/) > [In the centre of a spacious table rose a pastry as large as a church, flanked on the north by a quarter of cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-anthelme-brillat-savarin/in-the-centre-of-a-spacious-table-rose-a-pastry-as-large-as-a-church/) [Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-anthelme-brillat-savarin/) > [When I was growing up in Mississippi - it was good Southern food... but I also grew up with a Greek family; when other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-cora/when-i-was-growing-up-in-mississippi-it-was-good-southern-food-but-i/) [Cat Cora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-cora/) ## More by Sam Shepard > [I guess what I like is mostly country & western or else stuff that has a real blues feel to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/i-guess-what-i-like-is-mostly-country-western-or-else-stuff-that-has/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [You can write 16 plays and not make as much money as you did doing one movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/you-can-write-16-plays-and-not-make-as-much-money-as-you-did-doing/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [It's funny, in a way the actor is a writer. It's not like the two things are so separate as to be like apples…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/it-s-funny-in-a-way-the-actor-is-a-writer-it-s-not-like-the-two/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [Character is an essential tendency. It can be covered up, it can be messed with, it can be screwed around with, but it can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/character-is-an-essential-tendency-it-can-be-covered-up-it-can-be/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [Why would you want to be be counseled in your grief? It's too private.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/why-would-you-want-to-be-be-counseled-in-your-grief-it-s-too-private/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [Farm country -- you know, hay, horses, cattle. It's the ideal situation for me. I like the physical endeavors that go with the farm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/farm-country-you-know-hay-horses-cattle-it-s-the-ideal-situation-for/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [I think comedy's harder to pull off on the screen than on the stage, anyway. Tragedy is easier on the screen... oddly enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/i-think-comedy-s-harder-to-pull-off-on-the-screen-than-on-the-stage/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [“Those are the most monotonous fuckin' crickets I ever heard in my life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/those-are-the-most-monotonous-fuckin-crickets-i-ever-heard-in-my-life/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [All good writing comes out of aloneness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/all-good-writing-comes-out-of-aloneness/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [When I first started in film, I was terrified of the camera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/when-i-first-started-in-film-i-was-terrified-of-the-camera/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [I'll develop my own image. I'm an original man. A one and only. I just need some help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/i-ll-develop-my-own-image-i-m-an-original-man-a-one-and-only-i-just/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [When I just sit around my house and work, I can work two, three hours, and then I go off and ride a horse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/when-i-just-sit-around-my-house-and-work-i-can-work-two-three-hours/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [Hollywood is geared toward teenage idiocy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/hollywood-is-geared-toward-teenage-idiocy/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [It's my private life, and it's not up for grabs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/it-s-my-private-life-and-it-s-not-up-for-grabs/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [Keep away from fantasy. Shake off the image,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/keep-away-from-fantasy-shake-off-the-image/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) [Explore all 176 Sam Shepard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) ## More Area quotes > [Studying Sol's interior by looking for analogous patterns on its incandescent face is known as helioseismology, an active - if largely unpronounceable - research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/studying-sol-s-interior-by-looking-for-analogous-patterns-on-its/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Canada has become such a staging area for Chinese money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kwan/canada-has-become-such-a-staging-area-for-chinese-money/) [Kevin Kwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kwan/) > [Is it philosophical, is it quite allowable, to assume without evidence from fossil plants that the family or any of the genera was once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/is-it-philosophical-is-it-quite-allowable-to-assume-without-evidence/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [“Having no applicable skills, in any possible area whatsoever, effectively makes me the master of redundancy. But that info is obsolete, like my insults…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-advise/having-no-applicable-skills-in-any-possible-area-whatsoever/) Will Advise > [It was sort of that in-between area when people don't talk about their personal lives. That's the kind of life I think Kerry would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-innes/it-was-sort-of-that-in-between-area-when-people-don-t-talk-about/) [Laura Innes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-innes/) > [There have been trade-offs every day, every month, every year. There's a lot that I missed and I do have regrets in that area.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-woodruff/there-have-been-trade-offs-every-day-every-month-every-year-there-s-a/) [Judy Woodruff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-woodruff/) > [Skating has always been a major area of interest to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sasha-cohen/skating-has-always-been-a-major-area-of-interest-to-me/) [Sasha Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sasha-cohen/) > [Until the Nineteen-Eighties, when Deng Xiaoping designated the area as China's first special economic zone, Shenzhen had been a tiny fishing village. Suddenly, eleven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/until-the-nineteen-eighties-when-deng-xiaoping-designated-the-area-as/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [In my opinion, the Bay is a trendsetting area.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/too-short/in-my-opinion-the-bay-is-a-trendsetting-area/) [Too Short](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/too-short/) > [I just enjoy acting, whatever area - theatre, film, television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-dockery/i-just-enjoy-acting-whatever-area-theatre-film-television/) [Michelle Dockery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-dockery/) > [For me, the greatest obstacles are never on the ice itself. That's the area I excel in. That's where my passion is. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-bancroft/for-me-the-greatest-obstacles-are-never-on-the-ice-itself-that-s-the/) [Ann Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-bancroft/) > [My grandmother and I would go see movies, and we'd come back to the apartment - we had a one-room apartment in Hollywood -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/my-grandmother-and-i-would-go-see-movies-and-we-d-come-back-to-the/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [I'm going to go back to the Bay Area, this is my thing, and I'm just going to open my own school of baseball.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-bonds/i-m-going-to-go-back-to-the-bay-area-this-is-my-thing-and-i-m-just/) [Barry Bonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-bonds/) > [I had a major surgery, a major abdominal surgery, and a mass was removed from my pelvic area, and I do have some more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-quivers/i-had-a-major-surgery-a-major-abdominal-surgery-and-a-mass-was/) [Robin Quivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-quivers/) > [What I will say is that business is not a nice area. And you might say that I am a business woman, but I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-cole/what-i-will-say-is-that-business-is-not-a-nice-area-and-you-might-say/) [Cheryl Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-cole/) Browse all 419 Area quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The California I knew, old rancho California, is gone. It just doesn't exist, except maybe in little pockets. I lived on the edge of the Mojave Desert, an area that used to be farm country. There were all these fresh-produce stands with avocados and date palms. You could get a dozen artichokes for a buck or something. 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