The Two B's

Your Boulevardier prefers to walk in the early morning hours. Today, he was on the Boulevard by 7:30 a.m., along with a goodly number of fellow pedestrians. They fell, broadly, into two camps: those who wanted to be there, and those who had to be there.

Those who wanted to be there, at that hour, were generally out for exercise. They could be identified by their sensible shoes, warm jackets, and, occasionally, sweatpants or shorts. They, like Your Boulevardier, have found that Castro Valley Boulevard is a fine place to stretch the legs -- the wide, clean sidewalks, plenty of storefronts to admire, and friendly fellow walkers make it a congenial place. Often, these folks travel in twos or threes and wear outfits that are more alike than different. The solo exercise walkers frequently don headphones; they're in a public place, but they want to be left alone.

Then there are those who have to be there. They're generally on the Boulevard because it provides the most direct way to get from somewhere (home, we would assume, at that hour) to a place of business or commerce. They can be identified by their clothes, too -- dressier coats and shoes, with less emphasis on comfort and more on appearance. Those who have to be there always walk solo. Another telltale sign: a person smoking while walking is, safe to say, not out for exercise.

Your Boulevardier passed Knudsen's Ice Creamery and noticed that a meeting of LeTip, the organization for exchanging busines leads, was convening. Perhaps 40 spots were available, and a good 30 were taken -- an impressive turnout for that hour. The members clearly wanted to be there.

Postscript, regarding LeTip: why any organization in humble Castro Valley would have a pretentious, French-sounding name is beyond the ken of Your Boulevardier.