Kids In Oakland
Wednesday. An earthquake last night around eight, 5.6 on the Richter scale centered near San Jose, but it lasted what I thought was fifteen or twenty seconds, plenty long in earthquake time. One of many we've had over the last eighteen months. They say things come in three's. Katrina, the Los Angeles fire and then the coming Oakland Bay Area earthquake where (so sad) so many people died? It will come one day, not today I hope, but one day whether I'm standing beside an old brick building that decides to come down or standing out on a wide lawn away from any trees. But we'll not think about that right now if you don't mind. Writing about it is enough.
So I've committed to taking off with some of the usual crew (in my car) for a week to check out Yosemite and Mammoth Lake, two locations that are definitely outside my Zip Code. Life in the fast lane. I will take the cameras, I will take the laptop, I will post from the road. And I will prepare over these next number of days and clean up the apartment so my neighbor doesn't think I'm running a complete wreck of a household when she comes in each morning to feed Ms. Emmy. Then again maybe I won't. It's so hard to tell, anymore, here in Oakland.
And you're doing what for Halloween tonight?
I'm hiding inside with all of the lights turned off in case any small children happen by and discover I'm a cranky old coot who hasn't stocked his apartment with goodies.
You could offer each of them a cup of sake.
Oh, yes. I can see the headlines now: “Angry Parents Eviscerate Old Coot Handing Out Sake to Kindergarten Kids in Oakland”.
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