The pulse of the city by Tony Green

Downtown San Francisco

I was at Jack London Square in Oakland, California on business. We stopped off before our meeting at the Starbucks and picked up some Lattes for our customers. As I walked on a cool fall day I could not help but to perceive the pulse of the city.

In the time we were waiting I noticed a grey haired man with deadlocks, a cute barista who seemed of mixed heritage and grungy looking fellow whose clueless countenance indicated he had no reason for waking up. 

I grew up in Philadelphia and have visited many of the major cities on the East Coast but now reside in the suburbs. Therefore, I have not had the opportunity to experience the city as much I had in the past.

In the suburbs all of the roads and buildings look the same. Likewise, many people who live there are all identical with no sense of style to distinguish one person from the next.

One of the positive of living in an urban area is the vibe from the colorful folks from all different places in various stages of life and purpose.  The beat is impossible to hear audibly like a heartbeat your doctor might listen to during a routine checkup to yet undeniable. 

However, with the vibe of the city comes some of the negative. I recalled one instance during my time in the Navy when my submarine pulled into alameda for a port visit. One of my shipmates got mugged while we were at the same Jack London Square in downtown Oakland.

Once I stopped to listen to the pulse of the city I remembered where I was and part of the reason why I would not want to live in the city. The inner city is an awesome place to visit on occasion but still excellent to able to go someplace else at the end of the day. The time had come for me to get home as the sun was rapidly heading toward the horizon.