Man on Fire (1987 film) Conti, "is suitably sinister". Mi Samantha compares Creasy and herself to the main characters of "Of Mice and Men", George Milton and Lenny Small. In regards to Samantha, James stated that "this literary child breaks through Creasy's tough-guy defenses." Sachs said that Samantha "a survivor in her own right - of a troubled marriage, having no friends, etc." but that she is "too smart and adorable to resist." Richardson said "[t]hey talk about the works of John Steinbeck and the fine points of jogging, and before you can say "Lolita", the pair are involved in a kind of romance." Kaufman
National Steinbeck Center 40 events a year. The major events the Center is known for is the annual Steinbeck Festival, Steinbeck's Birthday Celebration, the Steinbeck Young Authors Program, and the Salinas Valley Comic Con. Other smaller and reoccurring events happen throughout the year which all tie to Steinbeck's mission and the Center's mission to encourage and support literature, the arts, and other humanities focused causes. After the deal with CSUMB in 2016, the National Steinbeck Center had to reorganize their organization. One of the main efforts embarked upon was partnerships with other local non-profits and cultural groups. The NSC's main partners, although not