The new senior housing development on MacArthur Blvd just below High Street used to be a haven for prostitutes walking within shouting distance of a run-down motel called The Seasons. But prostitutes in leather skirts and thigh-high boots were chased further east more than ten years ago when a new mayor in City Hall tried to distinguish himself from the previous administration by “making the streets safe.” Crack cocaine users replaced the prostitutes and pushed the county hospital toward being first in the nation for emergency room care, which attracted medical students to do their internships here. I guess you could consider that a positive outcome. Owners of The Seasons who have seen the crack epidemic subside in the wake of gentrification are spiffing up the place as they look forward to visitors coming to visit relatives. I guess you could consider that another positive outcome, which I think is more about adaptation than anything intentional. Or is it? You tell me.
WGoldberg, Boulder: Have you ever known any one to do something intentionally? Sometimes people think they are doing things intentionally but it’s for all the wrong reasons.
Today I drove by the work site. The exterior of the buildings are grey with white trim, a 35-unit development which sits opposite a major freeway about 1000 yards away. As far as I can tell, there is no landscaping, but by the end of the year, I may recognize potted plants in windows and cars burrowed beneath the building’s parking lot. Residents who have filled out realms of paperwork to qualify for these subsidized one- or two-bedroom units that rent from $500 to $1400 per month, will put down roots in this unlikely corner of East Oakland. In the meantime, The Seasons has installed one of those inflatable WindyMen to welcome new visitors. But now it looks like a car dealership, not a motel.
AACummings, Oakland: My mother had to wait two years to get into one of these units. Her intention was to live there until she died. She did.
It’s possible to be intentional about the smallest things. Suppose for example, I want an omelette for breakfast, but have no eggs? My intention becomes frustrated. I might call a friend to see if I can stop by for coffee and hope that he’ll ask if I want to eat something like eggs maybe? At first I’ll say no, don’t bother, and he’ll say no bother, at which point, I’ll say, okay. Why not? So what started as the first meal of the day has become an evolved intention, which is my point about The Seasons and the housing development I mentioned above.
DarnellJ, Shreveport: Don’t get the point, budwinkle. Answer this: What happens if a law enforcement officer’s intention is to stop a crime, but he ends up blowing off your head instead? Like my friends in high school used to say, I really hope you get ahead because you need one!!
Didn’t ask you to agree with me or even read my post. How do we live together on this planet under one atmosphere? The Ten Commandments used to be the designer playbook. It’s been replaced by something I can’t understand. Did I mention? On my way to the gym this morning, crepe myrtle trees were being planted along the perimeter of the development. Pink.
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