Oakland, California

“I said I was a Panther – let me correct that. I am a Panther.”

He had slowly walked over and sat across from me in the afternoon sun, wearing long sleeves and suspenders, sports coat and hat. “Have you lived in Oakland a long time? I asked.

“Oh, you could say that. I graduated from Alameda in 1953.”

“So you were in Oakland during the days of the Black Panthers?” I started the conversation.

“I was in the same congregation as Huey Newton. I was a Panther,” and then he briefly reminisced about his trip to Chicago where he had met with the Blackstone Rangers after Huey had called ahead and told them to treat him well.

His daughter came out with lunch, they moved to the shade, and that’s when he corrected himself. “I am a Panther,” he said. One week from today the distinguished Black Panther turns 79. We need the Black Panthers more than ever, and the Gray Panthers, too!

Yeah, Oakland. My first trip to the East Bay was less than five weeks ago, looking for a place that was a real place with more life and history and future than the Valley of the Sun. It happened faster than expected but I’ve been living on Lake Merritt, Adam’s Point to be exact, just over two weeks. I’m circulating – coffee houses, bookstores, cafes, shops, parks, galleries – trying to see and feel Oakland. I went to a party celebrating Oakland Indie awards and felt Oakland excitement and vitality and pride; I watched a basketball playoff game in a sports bar where I was a minority of one.

For 20 some years I lived eight miles from downtown Chicago in Oak Park, a diverse town, yes, and filled with professors and professionals. Then I moved to Scottsdale, not diverse and definitely not cosmopolitan even though downtown with a beautiful library, performing arts center, and many bars and shops was a short bike ride away. My job ended April 5 so I could go anywhere in the world. The logical options for me were California, Ecuador, Barcelona, maybe Portugal. My brother in Kabul suggested looking at Vietnam or Thailand. In the end, I looked at one city, one spot, went back to Arizona, packed and drove away.

I might be done moving now; I might be home.