The People of the Bulb

(This piece was written by Albany resident Catherine Sutton after a visit she made to the Landfill in early March.)

Until yesterday I am ashamed to say that I had never set foot in anyone's home at the Bulb. I was determined to remain open-minded about the people living there, but had only met a few of them. I had driven Stephanie and April to the SSA building in Oakland to support them in getting what used to be called food stamps, I knew Amber, and had met Larry, and Tamara, and had also purchased a lovely kenetic sculpture from April, but apart from that I only knew a few names by hearsay from Amber's accounts.
I don't go out to the Bulb much and had never really paid much attention to the homes there, most of which are hidden out of plain sight, but I was a little disturbed by stories of rampant dogs and piles of trash, in spite of my wholesale defense of the people living there.
Patch has repeated a lot of vitriol about the people living out there and I knew from what I had heard that most of it wasn't true, so I suggested to Amber that she help me meet some of the residents so I could write small profiles of them. Here's who I met last that day. More to come.
SOME ALBANY CHARACTERS
Mom-a-Bear took three and a half years to convert a site laden with rocks, rebar and scrap metal into a reasonably comfortable and homey place with its own  patio, where she lives now. She keeps a spare bed and a folding recliner, both of which she offers each night to whomever needs it. 
Mom-a-Bear spent many years cooking for Rainbow Gatherings and Barter Fairs: she loves to feed and take care of people and she's known in the community as an excellent cook. 
As Mom-a-Bear tells it, when she lost both her husband and her 17-year-old son in a boat accident, she was unable to pay the cremation fees and her assets ended up being seized by Santa Barbara County. At Berkeley's People's Park she heard about the Bulb and came here to live. 
When I complimented her on her house, she said the only reason it's nice on the Bulb is because of the people who live there.
On my visit with Amber the other day, I was greeted by numerous friendly dogs (the unfriendly ones are chained), and the folks to whom Amber introduced me were civil and happy to tell a little of their story.
It was that same community who rallied round in support when Mom-a-Bear gouged her shin in a bike accident. She was in the hospital for several days but is now recuperating and able to get around again; her beloved community came to her aid when she needed it.


Joe was left alone in 1998 with five kids to take care of, the youngest of whom was five at the time. Prior to that, he and his family had been homeless seven times. For him to afford medical insurance for those kids - to ensure that they wouldn't be taken from his care - meant accepting welfare. It was clear from watching his interaction with the son who was visiting while he was there that he has been as good a father as he can to them, housed or not.
Joe would rather remain independent than accept aid through a process which he sees as demeaning. He says he's 'tired of the bullshit."
Joe is the son-in-law of Mary Rudge, Alameda's poet laureate and a champion of the poor and under-served until her death in January this year. Joe says his views aren't necessarily politically correct, but he values being true to himself above all else.
He has a solar panel outside his large tent and started a career in sheet metal until his distaste for union politics got the better of him. He still likes fixing things and can work on almost anything you give him.


I had the pleasure of spending a day with April when she first applied for food stamps. Here is another woman who is unwilling to compromise herself. Her childhood years were spent on Talbot Avenue, at 1145, 1201 and 1224 respectively. She went to Cornell Elementary School and was in the first graduating class of Albany Middle School. 

She chose to leave Albany High when she'd fulfilled her academic requirements even though she didn't have enough credits to graduate. She worked at the Living History Center as assistant publicity agent for Renaissance, Dickens and Living History Fairs around the state and went on to take five years of college in Oregon. 
April has an artistic eye and has collected some beautiful pieces of stone and glass from the Bulb and makes them into kinetic sculptures, which she would like to sell along with her jewelery pieces if she could get hold of a phone with which she could take photos and post them online. She has a talent for putting together new computers from old parts and simply has a low threshold for bullshit, like most of the people at the Bulb.
Her strongest message? Albany Bulb needs to be respected as, and remain, the last open wild space in the Bay Area. She's adamant that it not be "tamed."