Bear’s-Eye View of Alameda for December 24, 2023
Yep. There was a mouse in my house this past week, and I can confirm that mice like cheese.
My human companion got a “no-kill” mouse trap, filled it with Emmental cheese, and BAM! It worked like a charm. It freaked me out because it looked like a small squirrel. But it didn’t smell like one and it didn’t have a bushy tail. I couldn’t think of anything else to do but bark. My human companion took it out of the house and released it in our backyard.
My walks this week provided a very wide variety of holiday decorations some of which were, shall we say, unusual and very creative. There was the metal sculpture on Buena Vista Avenue, or the foam shipping container snowman named Moderna that my human companion found at the CVS on Santa Clara Avenue. Check out the scarf. A good use of the five feet of coupons one gets with every receipt. Be sure to notice the pill container nose and the pill caps used as buttons.
In last week’s report, I mentioned how the leaves falling from the street trees make an interesting natural mosaic pattern on the sidewalk. I found a another nice one with bright yellow-greens, oranges, reds, browns.
A shout out to the person who owned the blue Corvette that managed to find a way to get a holiday tree home. Nice Christmas ingenuity!
A sidewalk chalk greeting on Lafayette Street, the NOËL sign on Encinal Avenue, and the red striped street light poles on Gibbons Drive gave the entire city a holiday vibe. I asked my editor what Noël means. According to Altalang.com, it is “a term signifying the holiday season, Noël comes from the Latin verb nasci, meaning “to be born.” Today, it refers to both Christmas and to Christmas carols.
An early trip to Thompson Avenue revealed an excellent Happy Hannukah display, and I also found one of several classic manger scenes on the front porch roof of a house on Santa Clara Avenue.
On a trip to Starbucks on Park Street for my holiday “pup cup” of whipped cream, I found a fellow canine who had been subjected to the dreaded antler headset, which they were made to parade around the city wearing on their head. How embarrassing!!!
The Local coffee place down the street has a nicely decorated sugar cookie selection. I got a bite of the Santa Claus.
On the way home, one of the cars I saw had elf legs hanging out of the back end of the minivan. I guess everyone acknowledges the holiday in a different way, even if it is a bit morbid. Only in Alameda can one see such holiday diversity.
I made a special trip over to Charlotte’s house on Chapin Street to check out the massive decorating project she is in charge of. It celebrates most of the major holidays. I previously covered her awesome Halloween display and more traditional Thanksgiving yard scene.
I plan to visit Southshore Shopping Center and Thompson Avenue on Christmas Day. If I can muster the energy after all the holiday festivities and treats, I might try and crank out a special report on those two locations.
Right now, I am putting together a gift basket containing toys, treats, and chews to deliver to the 30-plus canines who will be spending Christmas Day in the FAAS shelter. These guys need to find a forever home if you can see it in your heart to bring one of them home. Or, instead of a full adoption, you could be short-term foster that gives them a break from the kennels.
I cannot tell you how important it is to get a break from the shelter, even as nice as the shelter is. My gig reporting for the Bear’s-Eye View of Alameda started as a foster situation with my human companion—and look how that turned out. Just ask him.
But…If you see my human companion, please don’t mention cats, dogs, and especially don’t mention squirrels. Oh, and if you could avoid asking him how his knee is doing and the torn meniscus, that would be greatly appreciated.
Finally, if you happen to see the big jolly guy tonight and he looks a bit lost, there are plenty of signs along High Street to help direct him home.
“Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.”
Mouf, Roving Reporter
Bear’s-Eye View of Alameda
PS: Did you see how I bookended the lines from The Night Before Christmas? Just wanted to be sure you caught that reference. (Editor’s note: the title is ‘A Visit from St. Nicholas.’)
Mouf and his human companion can be reached via [email protected]. Their stories are collected at AlamedaPost.com/Jeff-Cambra/. All photos by Jeff Cambra.
