The Mission

About a month ago, it struck my heart that i miss Oakland. I am not sure why...I think i was on my way to berkeley on a saturday, which was rare, and the trees, the hippies, the empty warehouses, that devastating skyline of the docks, like lumbering animals against the sea...something called. I put Berkeley and Oakland together but that is not quite right. And yet it is, kind of like their amorphous border lined with liquor stores. Some of my most loved friends are there, across the water. Borgesian libraries and my favorite dark crevices to salve my soul. A good capoeira studio But also hellsa sunlight and cheap rent. I've been flirting with ways to move back in the next few years.

Today, a sunny saturday, I am reminded why the mission is also making its way into my heart, for all its silliness.
(1) the sun is out

(2) dolores park is beautiful, has hills, children, dogs, a mighty california mission, and an endless sea of young gay men not wearing very much.

(3) I saw a lanky young white man wearing an election t-shirt that said "Jesse Jackson '88".

(4) i drank philz coffee this morning, got to overhear phil banter with his crotchety old man friends

(5) I ran into a kid from school, a very kind fellow who was on his way to the general hospital, to take a tour of all the toxic dumps in san francisco. "its a beautiful day for it!"

(6) I saw a cute boy whom i had seen once before, who made eyes at me, got me all fluttery, and then took a seat with his lady friend. A tease, and most definitely a pleasant one.

(7) outdoor facing seating at Revolution Cafe, which for all the hype, is really the most fabulous place to be on a sunny saturday afternoon, while spanish ballads croon, and the walls are lined with protest photographs from the No Borders Coalition.

(8) if you look down mission street, you can see the absurdly elaborate golden dome of city hall glinting in the sun.

(9) Heavily accented too cool suave Latin man with dark sunglasses and swept back pony tail tells his cell phone: “Ach these burning man peoples! You know they are freakies! The way they act, the way they dress...”