In the Mix

On a walk by Lake Merritt, I encounter an African-American man doing Tai Chi.  He's a gray beard with Reggae braids protruding from his knitted rainbow cap. Oblivious to passing pedestrians, he performs his moves. Next to him, an egret totters as he balances in the water, his white feathers blowing in the breeze. Bird Tai Chi.

Girls stroll by, listening to their iPods. Fathers sit on benches with their children. Mothers jog, pushing baby carriages in front of them while talking on their cell phones. Isn't that taking the multi-tasking concept too far?

Lots of people with dogs on leashes. I notice that they're little dogs. When I first moved to Oakland, the lake area wasn't so crowded. Occasionally you saw a man with a dog. The man tended to be large, muscular and covered with tattoos. His dog was also large, muscular and mean looking. He was usually muzzled -- the dog, not the man. Now it's all these little frou-frou dogs with their yuppie owners. And Filipino nannies with double or even triple strollers, white infants asleep under their awnings. I guess Oakland has come up in the world.

More people pass. Joggers, of course. Elderly Chinese women in baseball caps. A short, stocky Mexican man. I love the ethnic mix. That's one of the great things about Oakland. Not only the ethnic mix, but also the blending of the cultures. Like eating Asian burritos or non-Chinese people doing Tai Chi.

It's fun to guess. When I lived in San Francisco, I could usually tell who was gay or straight. After many years I got a feel for it. I fancy I can distinguish Chinese from Japanese, too, though I'm not always right. As the years go on, there's more often a mixture of races in people so it's harder to classify them. My latest favorite thing is to guess whether the black guy coming down the path is African-American or African. There are a large number of people from Africa who live in Oakland. Of course, he could be Jamaican, Cuban or Indian.