February is a big month. I have my final interview for Teach For America. And of course one of our favorite holidays of the year rolls around on the 14th. The feast of St. Valentine is a day we celebrate with gusto. I’m still having a hard time getting used to the idea that February weather is like spring here in Oakland. No complaints. I think we’ll plan to celebrate Valentines day with a trip to the beach.
We ran into some interesting art today. There’s a fenced lot at the corner of 20th Street and Mandela Parkway in which there are two mammoth sculptures made of scrap iron. One is kneeling and the other is sitting in the lotus position. Kitty corner from that lot is another sculpture of a figure, kowtowing, facing his friends across the intersection. They are beautiful pieces of art. I wish the two larger pieces were not fenced in — it’s difficult to get close enough to take in the textured detail. Perhaps they will eventually move to a more open location.
We found these sculptures while driving along the Mandela Parkway from Emeryville into downtown Oakland. Another thing we passed along the way was the Loma Prieta Earthquake memorial and park. I’m heading back tomorrow on my bike when I have a little more time to explore. It looks interesting.
While we were walking in the neighborhood this afternoon we passed a gray cat sitting on a balcony watching the passersby. Oh, to lead the life of this happy cat. He sat patiently and watched me with detached amusement as I fumbled to capture his image with my cellphone camera. As we walked away I pondered Garrison Keillor’s line, “cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a function.”
