Mar 13, 2011

Odds and Ends from the recent trip to San Francisco

Feb 5th: 2011

Feb 5th, 2011:   Hanging out in Saint Francis by the bay for the first time.   This is one of the three nicest cities in the U.S. if not the best of them.   Boston, New York,  and Chicago come to mind,  but there is a freedom of the city by the bay that speaks out most forcefully.   Sure they pay to live here and deeply they will pay to do it.    And the cars, bicycles, skateboards,  walkers,  and cable cars continue to bring people here and there,   "hither and thither",  while planes cover the sky and the sailboats and ferry's criss-cross the bay with a certain urgency.   People are moving around in San Francisco.  They don't sit still because they need to be movin' in order to pay their ridiculous rents.  When you spend more than half your income on rent,  then you generally have to keep moving around,  generating that next months rent.   Again and again. 
What do these poorer people do when they get old and can no longer hustle to make ends meet?

Hanging out in the bar next to my hotel was like a step back in time.   Jack London and Mark Twain fully described this place,  and the place's intensity remains as it was 100 or more years ago.   People here live for this day.   They all seem to be content to be here and making it happen with little thought for the distant future.   Perhaps,   they will all make it big before they get caught in the government home trap,  or in other traps that are far worse.   This is truly a city of opportunity.   I don't think anyone can really starve here.   It's like a dream world that never gets cold,   never goes hungry,   never will die,   and never needs to sleep.