won't you be my neighbor?

if you've read my blog for long, or you know me,

you know that i love me some oakland.

some people may treat it as the much maligned, full of issues stepchild of san francisco,

but i beg to differ.

(don't get me wrong, i know oakland has plenty of problems, 

but it is a much richer place than most give it credit for.)

san francisco isn't "the city."

oakland is.

i also love our street.

we are a mish-mash 

of ages, cultures, backgrounds, socio-economic levels, languages, life experiences.

but how to you get to know these things about each other unless you meet 

and talk about more than the weather?

unless we pause for longer than the brief hello over putting out the garbage to learn about who we are living next to and across from?

last night was national night out, so we joined our neighbors in enjoying the august evening,

talking

making new friends

hanging with old friends

(this is our next door neighbor tiffany

who gave little m her nickname roro when she was an itty bitty baby)

eating ice cream for dinner

catching up on the neighborhood gab

we stayed out far past little m's bedtime...

but it was worth it!

i heart you oakland, and you too, agua vista street!