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Democracy in Action
One of the final acts before changing our address to NYC was to mail in our ballots for the upcoming election. There was a bit of a hiccup because the post office didn’t automatically forward our ballots to our NY address so I had a pleasant conversation with Lisa at the Alameda County Registrar of […]
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On Leaving California
My Medium post announcing a big change
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Julia
Julia just graduated from high school. It was strangely anti-climactic. She put on her graduation regalia and headed out the door to meet a small group of classmates in Group 11 at the Alameda Theatre where they were ushered in, socially-distanced, and took the stage, one-by-one, to pick up a diploma and say a few […]
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High Tech Alameda
Ever since they shut down the Air Naval Station on the western end of Alameda, there has been a number of cool businesses that have moved in to call the leftover gigantic air hangers their home. St. George’s Spirits – a required stop when visiting the island – they offer tours of their distillery floor […]
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Alameda and the Egg Spoon Wars
My island home plays a bit part in this lovely story of the “spoon wars” in the Times earlier this week. Read the story, appreciate the spoon, and smile when you learn it was hand-forged in Alameda. The 16-inch iron spoon is hand-forged to Ms. Waters’s specifications by Shawn Lovell, whom Ms. Singer described in an […]
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Alameda and the Tsunami
A large earthquake off the coast of Alaska last night set off tsunami warnings (that were later cancelled) up and down the West Coast of the United States. Residents on Alameda, the island in the San Francisco Bay where I live, were all curious why we never got any warning waking us out of our […]
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Kindness and Tact
One of the local sushi restaurants, Kamakura, suffered a fire a few weeks ago and people have been writing letters to the local paper in support of the restaurant, it’s staff, and the beloved owner, the 92-year old Faith Yamato. Today’s Alameda Journal has the following story which gives you a sense of Faith and […]
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California and Sanctuary Cities
I think it’s charming that the California State Legislature opens the session with a prayer from a Buddhist priest. I also love that the Governor begins the swearing in of the new Attorney General with a jocular, “Are you ready?” and ends with a casual, “That’s it! Congratulations!” But if you want to skip ahead […]
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Father Christmas 2016
Each year the guys on my block take turns dressing up as Father Christmas and sit out on a sled in the median on our street asking kids who line up each night between 6:30 and 8 chatting about their hopes and dreams for Christmas morning. It’s a tradition that goes back to the 30’s […]
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Christmas Eve 2014
Thompson Avenue was its usual carnival of lights this year as the neighborhood lit itself up and residents prepared to greet the thousands of people that came to walk our street, see the lighting displays, and of course visit with Santa. Each December, all of the dudes on the block volunteer to play Santa Claus […]