Author: Kurt Schwabe

I am going to miss Oakland as I leave her behind and enter what is unchartered territory for me, the southeast bay region between Oakland and Milpitas.  I am a city guy by nature.  I love the buzz, the energy, the edge and unique characters that come with millions of people sharing small amounts of … Continue reading Day 15: Blame Our Fathers

I took my yearbook home after the last day of the first year of middle school in 1981, threw it on the couch and basked in the glory of summer.  My big sister, Karen, decided to pick it up and read through the “autographs” that some of my new friends from that year inscribed on … Continue reading Day 14: Beacons of Hope

One of the most celebrated sections of Bay Trail will be one that connects Oakland with San Francisco for both pedestrians and bicycles and it can’t come soon enough.  As the Bay Area eagerly awaits the completion of the new iconic eastern span of the Bay Bridge there is a very large contingent of us … Continue reading Day 13 (Part II): Bridging Gaps – and People

I was born in 1968, exactly one month after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and almost a month before Robert F. Kennedy met the same fate. Green Bay beat the Oakland Raiders in the Super Bowl, and “In The Heat of the Night” won the Oscar for Best Picture.  Nelson Mandela had already served … Continue reading Day 13 (Part I): Undaunted Courage

POST TREK UPDATE:  Thanks to artist Tom Schultz, I now know much more about the creator of the above sculpture.  His name is Osha Neumann and he is a gifted artist, activist, author and local civil rights attorney who represents the homeless.  More information about Osha can be found in this article on the Art … Continue reading Day 12: An Unexpected Detour