Mayberry in the Bay Area

I ran into a sweetheart of a man at the bank yesterday. He eyeballed me driving one of my vintage mercedes benz and asked if I'd sell it. There's always a price at which one will sell, so I said, "Yes, actually I would."

That set off a long conversation which ensued in my being invited to his house today to see the work that he and his partner are doing on his vintage craftsman. Also part of the invitation was the chance to watch the Naglee Park Parade from his covered patio and then to a lovely picnic at the park around the corner.

It was like being in Mayberry, a veritable 1950's paradise, the parade and picnic. Darling little kids riding on their bicycles, all decorated in red, white, and blue, followed by all of the mothers to babies born since the last 4th of July. There was cars and trucks disguised as "pirate ships", children launching candy out of their cannons. A firetruck, a police car, and a dog that jumped through a hoop on command. Where in California does this happen but here? I've never seen such a spectacle. And I mean that in a good way.

I took mom along today, partly to get her out of the house and partly to persuade her that we might just want to live in the house that we're nearly in escrow on in this lovely, adorable neighborhood. Seeing people in such a neighborly way is heartwarming and makes me, more than ever, want to move into our house.