Perusing through the list of available Oakland "Patch" pages to post blogs to is depressingly limited; Piedmont and Rockridge. That's it. Oakland has quite a few districts and to see such a small representation of that variety is disheartening.
With that out of the way, I'm a bit unsure of myself dipping my toes into the Piedmont Patch. I by no means feel compelled to limit my thoughts to just the goings-on of Piedmont, no matter how spectacularly beautiful and fun a part of the city it is (yes, I refuse to acknowledge Piedmont independence; get your own police force, first). Suffice to say, this is going to be my drop box for all things Oakland.
That all sounds horribly negative, so let's clear the air a bit. I love Oakland. When people talk about "the city" they generally mean San Francisco, but for me, "the city" will always be Oakland. The ties I've made to Oakland will last till the day I die, and every black eye its people are forced to endure cuts me to the core. I don't like whores on the street cross from schools, I don't like dead babies, I don't like drugs, I don't like crime, yet through the wonders of fate and destiny the city I love is home to all of it.
Like I said though, we're clearing the air. Those bad things I rattled off are part of Oakland. Part. The vice is what the punks and the gangsters like to embrace; hell, the media, too. The rest of it though, it's for the real Oaklanders. The lake, Chinatown, Jack London Square, the Fruitvale, the hills, downtown, the Coliseum, the Arena, the Hegenberger, and every other nook and crannie that the rest of us enjoy on a daily basis. Some of you are looking at the screen thinking, "well, what about the Grand Lake?! What about Merritt Bakery?!" You, my friend, are who I am writing to.
I'm also writing to the people who get scared of even thiking of passing through town. You need a wake up call. It's not all doom and gloom in Oakland. Of course, with a rotten mayor like Jean Quan in power, it's hard to blame you if you do see things that way. Ignore her, and ignore the gangsters, and ignore the media; from here on out, I'm going to be your personal tour guide of all that's good in Oakland and the voice for everyone wanting to see change. Keep the channel here, folks, things are going to get interesting.