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To begin with, we had this college move-in day circled on our calendar months and months in advance. The amount of Costco/Target runs to pack and overpack. The items from FB marketplace fit the tiny dorm. The iconic college student blue Ikea tote bags. We rented a van. We packed up the van. We were ready to leave the next morning at 4, but…..

It was decided last minute that he would take a quarter off (Gap) due to the fact that his wrist is badly damaged, and fractured which needs follow-up care and possible rehab. So let me get to the interesting part. Now I have a van and he has his belongings, expensive laptop, and his beloved tortoise at his friends all the way at UC Riverside. 

The Mrs asked me if I could possibly take the van and go get this stuff.

“Are you kidding me?” This is a once-in-a-lifetime golden opportunity to tour my old hometown of where I grew up in Southern Cali (Westlake Village and Thousand Oaks).

So I left home at 3:40 am and got to UCR at about 11 (long drive, but zero traffic).

I got all his stuff, got the hell out of Riverside quickly, and went to my hometown. I took pictures of the first apartments I lived in as a refugee in 1984. I took a view of the iconic swimming pool across from our apartments where my friends and I would listen to cassette tapes of  George Carlin, the Police, and the Eagles. I took pictures of our beloved Conejo Dunkball courts where my friends (Conejo Dunkball Crew)and I would play basketball for hours and hours nonstop. That exact spot is now a parking lot and bathroom as the crooked blue three-point line we drew and the 8ft baskets are no more. I drove by the Taco Bell that my friends and I helped open (Grand Opening 1989).

I visited my Alma Mater, Westlake High School, and took pictures. I walked the very same halls where I was bullied for my accent and where I was beaten by a bully for not doing his homework. I made a joke to myself that this was my retirement/farewell tour, but I’m the only one that got the invite.

The Mrs would call to see how I was doing. I would be oh so careful not to portray the youthful exhuberence that I felt during this short trip.

Tomorrow I turn 51 and if you were to ask me what I wish for my birthday. 

My wish was, for one last time, for me to breathe the air of Westlake and Thousand Oaks and close my eyes to the place where this all began…..

1984

Los Feliz Apartments

Mobo Okoro 
2015 Los Feliz Ave # 2
Thousand Oaks, CA 91362

#997MiLes

#ReFugeeLife

P.S.  birthdaY gift # 2.0 = Jury Duty Excused on my birthday 🎂🎉