Column: My Father's Solano

Despite my mother's best efforts, my father, Tim Leonard, refuses to retire and leave Albany because of his love for Solano Avenue.  

He and my mother, Stephanie, walk up and down Solano with their two dogs three to four times a week. If they leave our 12-year-old Springer Spaniel, Guinness, at home, they take Leyla, our super-athletic Boxer, all the way to the top of Solano, grab a Peet’s Americano for my dad and a Starbucks unsweetened iced tea for my mother, then turn around and walk back down the sloping avenue.

My parents have lived in the same house on Albany Hill since 1976. My father retired in 2005 after working for more than 35 years as a high school English teacher and then middle school counselor for the Fairfield Unified School District. He dedicated his life to public education, commuted from Albany every day, provided a home for my sister and me, and did it all with a humility that borders on timidity.  

I walked up and down the avenue with my parents recently and asked my dad why he loves Solano so much. He laughingly said, “It’s the center of my universe.”

Solano Avenue has always been a part of my father's life.  He grew up in Berkeley on Sonoma Avenue, just four blocks away from Solano. When it came time to buy a house, he would have preferred to buy in the Berkeley Hills, but it was too expensive. So he purchased a home with a teacher’s loan on Albany Hill instead.

My dad loves the trees on Solano Avenue. He loves the view of the Berkeley Hills when walking up, and the view of the bay when walking down. He loves the exercise. He thinks the people he runs into are friendly, and he enjoys his interactions with them, no matter how brief.

On our walk, many people stopped to say hello to Leyla. My dad loves walking with the dogs and no longer minds, too much, their constant pursuit of food, noses to the sidewalk, pulling him in the direction of crumbs.

While we walked, he talked about how much he loves Berkeley. His favorite time of year, he said, is early September when the weather is warm, Cal football begins, and he can walk Solano in the evenings.

As he was talking about his love of Berkeley, I asked if he felt the same about Albany. He immediately answered that, no, Albany is not his favorite, but given its close proximity to Berkeley, it has its advantages.

I smiled and he remembered where this story would be published, and immediately started to laugh and back-track, saying, “Yes, yes, I love Albany! I’ve lived here for 35 years and I do love it!”

If I had probed deeper, my guess is my father’s love of Solano would have something to do with his existential worldview. He’s told me on many occasions that we attribute meaning to the things we believe to be significant -- I don’t think he would use the word sacred, but maybe. He did say that Solano was the center of his Universe.

My father loves Solano because it is comfortable. For him, walking up and then back down the avenue is a known experience, he is familiar with each block: what is old and what is new. It brings him back to his childhood. He loves Peet’s Coffee and .

There is a safety in Solano Avenue, with my mother and the dogs, a safety that keeps my father genuinely happy. And if a walk along Solano Avenue keeps my father happy, then I say let Solano Avenue live forever.