This time of year I never tire of the walk along Shore Line eastward into the bird sanctuary. The shorebirds are migrating and our little part of the bay is a smorgasbord for the dowitchers and their smaller brethren. Especially when the tide is out and the mud flats are exposed, the birds and their beaks are poking into the homes of the worms and mollusks just below the surface. The birds are light enough not to sink into the mud and their beaks are just long enough to reach the favorite food for each species. Read more >> about Amblin' Alameda: R&R For avians

April is an emotionally difficult time for me. It contains the birthdays of my deceased brother and my deceased son. Read more >> about Amblin' Alameda: The ties that bind

Spring, which unofficially arrived sometime in January, made its official debut on March 21 and drew scores of Alamedans to the shore. At the western end of Shore Line Drive, the park was filled with walkers, bikers, sunbathers, picnickers, sailboarders and more bare flesh than we usually see. Shore Line itself was pretty busy with runners and bikers and beachgoers, but it wasn't until the paved walkway turned north at Broadway that the true measure of ppring could be felt and seen. Read more >> about Amblin' Alameda: Spring!

I grew up in the East Bronx during a magical time in America. In the mid-1950s I was in my mid-teens and “coffee shop” meant one of 30 or so places in Greenwich Village. These emporia served espresso - hot, bitter, concentrated coffee served in mercifully tiny tassos which, when fully emptied left a layer of residual sludge on the bottom. Read more >> about Amblin' Alameda: The new cafe society

A little-noted development of modern times is the ubiquity of music. Ear buds have sprouted from billions of ears, every commercial establishment plays background music, all entertainment is underpinned and annotated with musical accompaniment and most homes and many workplaces are constantly filled with it. Its development is a wonderful thing as music usually keeps our spirits up (except when it helps express our grief). Read more >> about Amblin' Alameda: Live music

My sweetie and I live with two cats. It's been my observation over the four-plus years I've shared their house that we learn more from them than they learn from us. Read more >> about Amblin' Alameda: Pets

It is now officially an epidemic. Wherever one goes to a restaurant - low cost, middle range or high end - the wait staff has taken to referring to their patrons as “guys.”

“How are you guys doing?” is an often heard phrase. “Would you guys like to order drinks before dinner?” is another. Read more >> about Amblin' Alameda: No problem, you guys

As an integral part of my geezerhood status, I am learning a new game: Waiting For Test Results. Read more >> about Amblin' Alameda: A new game