state of things

this picture feels unimaginative to post, yet it symbolizes so much right now. the plan that obama laid out for recovery, is unique, mostly because it is so well communicated. i just downloaded it!

billions of dollars are being spent to restore balance to the USA. a balance that has never before existed...this makes me question our goals of fixing a broken system. yet our prez explains the bill like the best professor i ever had.

on the ground, reality feels different. in downtown oakland at night, this guy told me 'he was going to have to take my bike' from me. he told me twice, and i said 'no, please don't' over and over, while inching away. he said 'we can do this the easy way, or we can do it the hard way.'

once i walked to the corner, slowly enough to make sure he wasn't pulling anything out of those pockets, i saw people coming, jumped on my bike and rode like the wind. i got home, scared, and called out to friends. then i found out that an apt in my building had been robbed for the first time ever, yesterday. i was not safe inside, not safe outside, and really afraid.

one friend said - that's how life is. you are never safe, so you need to accept that and keep moving. another friend told me - these burglars are looking for valuable, sellable goods. no offense, but your shit ain't worth it! a third friend woke up to tell me that i should take this experience to become stronger, more aware, and not prejudice or paranoid.

all of these words were very helpful, comforting, and right. but for some reason, i'm pretty shaken up from this experience. mostly, it's the memory of a large man, suddenly appearing, leaning towards me and telling me that he was going to hurt me. in all my years of night jogging in central park, i've never experienced this! it didn't feel good.

we might be on the road to recovery, but my question is - from what, and to what? our cities have been neglected for centuries. we continually take money from schools, contribute it to jails. there's all sorts of $ tied up in the beaurocratic bullshit that we call the civic process...humph. barry is right when he says we need to continue taking personal responsibility for change.

saturday, i'm off to texas to convene the national kellogg initiative to make more healthy cities. youth & adults from 9 cities working together for 4 days. perhaps this is all coming at the right time.

talk to you soon, i bet.

xoxo
alis