Oaklandish Onthestreets,thereisnoone, exceptfortheoccasionaltwentysomething distractedbythemusic emanatingfromherearbuds andperhapsthehomelessman whofrightens,thoughhewouldnthurt afly. Itisonlynineatnight; ninesteinsriseatthebeergarden nexttothekindergarten hinderedbygraduatestudents practicingtheirGerman. Nein! Awhistleblows.

ws. Itcouldbeanemergency ormerelythewaneofthetrain atMacArthur. Whateverthesound, itiswoundupinlocalmemories ofcarmufflersintheearly2000s weldedandhammered,liketheirowners, soastomakeawhistlingnoise thatattractstheboys. Howchillyitfeelsoutside theworkinggearsofthebicycles thatturnandturnlikewine orstomachsonahardday, onaharddate whodoesnttakenoforananswer orforacommand,sincehedidntask aquestion. Hewantedtodrivehimselfhome, butbikingwouldhavebeensafer. Ridingthetrainwouldnotbe. Hedrovehimselfhome androdethetrain, whichwasnothard,

norwasiteasy. Ninebeersmadeitchallengingforhim todeterminehowmanystopsawayhewas fromhisownstop. Still,finally,hisridecametoanend andheexitedhisstation, whichnoonecouldfindonamap. Thiswastheend ofhisdriveforthenight. Howchillyitfeels hearingthewhistle comingfromthedirectionofsomethinghammered likeagraduatestudentatthebeergarden oramanwhohasahome thatcanbereachedwithoutadrive butneveris.