Historically I know very little about this place. I’m renting a room in a 1898 Victorian house. 11 foot ceilings, narrow doors and steep stairs. A magnificent redwood tree in backyard gives me chills as I water the foliage around it. Erica Huggins a former black panther activist recent spoke at a high school here. And fellow co worker said she lives in a home that was part of an estate. The scenic part of my drive to camp I saw a big wild turkey and a passive doe. I have quickly fallen for parts of this town. I’ve also driven thru a homeless encampment that rivals Las Vegas and Los Angeles. I’ve been warned about the smash and grab. The street signs have Chinese characters and I imagine the significance of the entire Bay Area that these signs render. Oakland feels like home wherever that may be.

My first memory was a room above a restaurant and wafting aroma of waffles lulled me back to sleep after cooped up in a Pinto hatchback. Decades later I got a two for one when both my sister and grandmother lived in North beach and the Normandy apartments (9th Folsom area) respectively. Now it’s emptied out rows of unoccupied storefronts. San Francisco has taken a beating. Parts of the city have always been rough “ if you know you know” so you stayed away and walked fast. Buses are not crowded. Once the line at Union to get on the cable car was in the hundreds now 30 or so. The hotel fees are over 50.00 and self valet 68.00. 15 dollar Wi-Fi. I was sad but everything has a comeback and rent control is alive. It’s gonna take some time.