Boom!

The serenity of retreat quickly came to a halt on Tuesday night after work when I decided to go for a jog around Lake Merritt. I put on shorts, a t-shirt, running shoes and had my iPod cued up, unfortunately I only made it about two-hundred feet to the parking lot before I noticed that one of my car windows had been smashed. It probably happened the night before--I recall hearing a sound very similar to my car alarm at around 11:30 that night, but I’m not for sure.

Obviously, a broken car window is fairly minor, and not anything to waste too much energy on, but none the less it was still enough to make me feel violated.

A week or so earlier our support people came over for dinner and we talked about the protests and riots in Oakland, and basically what one of them said is that the recent events hadn’t been a good thing, but that they proved we were working in the right area—a place that needs an infusion of young, educated people willing to work for change. I whole-heartedly agreed. But it’s always easier to witness poverty, injustice, crime, etc. from a distance, even a relatively close distance, than it is when it happens to you.

After cleaning up the glass from inside the car, and calling up my parents to figure out what I should do about insurance and getting it fixed, I talked to the Berkeley JVC house to see if I could drive it over there and crash for the night. They of course said I could, so I put a toothbrush in my backpack and grabbed my sleeping bag and hopped in the car only to discover that the car battery was drained as well. When it’s not your day, it’s not your day.

I headed back inside, ready to kick or punch something, but then I took a deep breath and I knocked on our neighbor’s door and she was generous enough to give me a jump and I headed to Berkeley where one of their neighbors let me park my car in their driveway. We ended up talking and had some tea and put on a movie, making the night about as pleasant as it could’ve been.

I took the car over to get fixed early Wednesday morning and I should have it back this afternoon, but I’ll be honest, on Tuesday night I felt like throwing in the towel and getting the heck out of Oakland. I’ll be honest again, I still kind of feel that way. But after a bit of time to calm down, I realized that it was an event that could’ve occurred anywhere and that I shouldn’t catastrophize the situation. Also, as much of this year has been, it was a reminder of how lucky I am to have a family and friends that care.


“Teach us to give and not to count the cost” -St. Ignatius of Loyola