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Oakland Stroll

February 4, 2008:
Nervous about Super Tuesday, but hopeful that Obama can pull it off and eventually get the nomination. Slightly pleased that the somewhat more respectable McCain is leading over the deplorable Romney (even though I don't have much love for Republicans).
Current Book: "China Road", Rob Gifford
Current Song: "SF Anthem" Traxamillion and San Quinn

First in an installment. I hope to explore East Bay neighborhoods and take pictures. I'm not attempting to interview people to get the pulse of an area, but rather capture the images that strike me and hopefully create a visual sense of the community. I plan to do this a couple times of month. Let me know what you think.

This being one of the few sunny, rainless days we've had of late, I decided to spend part of my day off walking through some Oakland neighborhoods instead of doing housework or studying. I live near High Street and 580, in Maxwell Park. I headed west, along Brookdale Avenue, then to Coolidge, up to MacAurthur and back home, via the Laurel shopping district. In the three years I've lived in the East Bay, I've bounced around like a pinball, from North Oakland to the Laurel District, to Eastlake, then down to the Hayward Hills, and now back up to East Oakland's Maxwell Park neighborhood. I have a great love for Oakland, but it's an ambivalent one. I often still feel like a tourist and I wonder where I fit in. As a white male on a modest income, yet coming from a priveledged background, I feel out of place often in a working-class city that's 70% people of color. My income level means that eating at the taquerias or bahn mi shops is in my budget. However, as much as I love to buy Pan Dulce from Pena's bakery, I'm not exactly congruous with the day laborers and tree trimmers getting their morning coffee. What I do love most about Oakland though are the small things: the local, independent businesses and the vibrancy of the city's diverse neighborhoods, especially along the 580 corridor, which is a real confluence zone of blacks, whites, Latinos and Asians of all classes. The area provided plenty of quiet, tree lines streets to walk along and a few things to snap pictures of. Here are some of the photos:
















































































































Comments

K-Prime said…
Nice stroll-pics, Reed!
Unknown said…
We'll have to check out one of your local "bahn mi" places soon!
Unknown said…
Cheers from Indiana: you make me miss Oakland! I happen to be listening to the soundtrack from "Crash", and it fits your blog.

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