Rumors of Alameda, a Fictional Serial, Episode 1

While kids get used to being back in school; while schools struggle to keep going; while parents struggle to keep their jobs or try to get one; while thousands of people go about their lives in the background; the show goes on at City Hall. In some aspects, it's a rerun. Every few years, the relief valve blows on a scandal or two and the news leaks like the smell of boiled eggs into the air.

You've probably heard that tax payers, and you are quite likely one yourself, had unknowingly been footing the gasoline bill for the former fire chief's sports car. You've probably heard about the ongoing SunCal saga, which has been politically broadcast one month as a great developer for Alameda Point and the following month as a disaster for Alameda Point. (Repeat several times to get an idea of how long this has been going on.)

And perhaps you've even received an automated telephone call, asking you questions about this politician or that developer, with leading questions and inaccurate statements.

All that is happening and being written about and talked about and speculated about. The hamster wheel keeps whirling. But back to those thousands of other people, the ones struggling with non-headline, daily-life issues. Let's see what they're up to. Meet Bear and Ursa Rumors. They're opening a pub today today and taking care of the finishing touches before they open.

Bear climbed down the ladder, again, walked backward a few paces, again, and looked up, again, at the sign he'd hung above the door, and told Ursa, "It looks level to me."

"Well, you've got your head cocked," she said. "It's still crooked."

Bear ran his hands through his thick dark hair while he considered giving it one more try, but then reconsidered. Four trips up that ladder were enough.

"It gives the place a rustic look," he said.

"It gives the place a crooked look," she said, pulling her red hair into a pony tail as she headed for the ladder. As she went up, she said, "After all of the objections from people butting in on every detail … like the preservationists who insisted we maintain the  "historically significant" weeds in the curb cracks and the politically correct crowd that wanted us to reconsider renaming the pub because 'Rumors' would be a negative message to youth … well, just think what some group might do if the sign is an inch higher on the left side. People on the extreme right might get the place shut down for subliminal political indoctrination."

"Here we go," Bear muttered under his breath.

"I love this town, but I've never heard of a place with so many experts in so many fields," she said. "They spar like boxers over everything. I'm sick of hearing the back and forth about SunCal; I'm sick of the ego-driven political arguments. And don't even get me started on the business that came up a while ago about 'branding' Alameda. It's like when everyone wore those overpriced jeans in the '80s with designer names on the butts."

She shook her head and fussed with the sign until it was perfectly straight.

"That looks good," Bear said, not responding to her social commentary. No sense in fanning the flames. She could be as headstrong as any of those 'experts' she complained about. "Come on down. We've still got a lot to do in the next few hours before the crowd rolls in."

Bear had visions of people lined up outside, waiting for the crowd inside to thin so they could come in for one of his special make-ahead dishes that allowed him time to visit with customers. He'd always liked to cook, recalling the days when his big family would gather each Sunday at his childhood home at Palace Court. It was a family, so of course there was arguing and bickering, usually when the men talked local politics at the dinner table. Women didn't talk much about politics then. That has since changed, if Ursa is any indicator.

But those Sunday dinners were happy and comforting not just for young Bear, but for everyone there.

That's the feeling he wants people to have when they're in Rumors. Like they're part of a big family.

Lucinda Ryan is an Alameda resident and writer. "Rumors of Alameda" will appear Thursdays on Alameda Patch. Some of the art will be provided by the Frank Bette Center for the Arts. We appreciate their contributions.