REMEMBER ONLY YOU CAN HELP COMBAT OVARIAN CANCER
CHECKS TO:
GAIL PURTAN FUND
KARMANOS CANCER INSTITUTE
4100 JOHN R DETROIT, MI  48201
1-800-527-6266
"IN MEMORY OF MARY LOGSDON" - IN NOTE SECTION OF CHECK

JULY 26, 2006 - IF YOU'RE GOING TO SAN FRANCISCO, BE SURE TO WEAR A FLOWER IN YOUR HAIR

Cousin Eileen had to take Kyle to Physics Camp - I am not kidding about this - he's only 8 years old. By the time he's in High School, he'll be able to explain the theory of relativity developed by Albert Einstein and be able to understand ANYTHING that Carl Sagen ever wrote.

Two of Eileen's friends had just dropped their kids off at camp and were leaving when they recognized Eileen, but not me. The perplexed looks were priceless. I managed to convince them that I was Eileen's "cousin" and that everything was just fine - but let's just keep this a secret between us and not tell John - if you don't mind. Rumors are flying through the neighborhood as we speak. It'll be months before things calm down.

Eileen and I headed to the city - in this case San Francisco. The place is very interesting for a number of reasons. The streets are a nightmare for motorcyclists. It can't be fun approaching the top of a very steep hill - VERY steep hill, only to find a STOP sign at the top. Very dicey situations can become commonplace. I had a problem in Monterey. I only saw three motorcyclists and they were dirt/street combination type bikes. They all had Very high center of gravities. That's not to say that others weren't there, they were, but the only ones I saw actually negotiating these streets were the kind I mentioned.

One of them was ahead of us on Lombard Street, the curviest street in the world. It's brick, too. That means that it can't be trusted on a motorcycle. Most of the city was awash in sunlight. Most of the city except the Golden Gate Bridge and the island of Alcatraz, that is. It took most of the day for the fog to clear off enough to see those two great structures. I did manage to get some photos, however.

We also had the opportunity to ride the Cable Cars of San Francisco. 20 years ago, there was a television commercial for "Rice - A - Roni", the San Francisco Treat. The bells on these things do sound exactly like the commercial did. If you are lucky and have a talented "driver", you will be treated to bell concert. It's only one note, but a good driver is capable of getting eight, sixteenth and thirty-second notes out of that bell by adept controlling of the rope that is attached to the bell. Riding this treasure of transportation is NOT the experience I expected. It is far more than that both visually and in its audio.

Those cable cars are clat-clat-clat-clatteringly loud SSSSSKRRRRRREEEEEEEECCHING wooden boxes weighing in at 6 tons that have to be moved carefully up and down and around the streets of San Francisco. I was amazed at the volume and the sheer variety of alarming sounds that, had they been emanating from my Harley Davidson, would cause me to jump off the thing for fear of being killed in the explosion. They sound as if they are going to fall apart. The ingenious manner in which the cars grab the cable for motivation is both the source of most of the noise  and the motive power behind these operational antiques.

It was the honor of those in the area of Del Monte Cannery area to hear what can only be described as the worst band I have ever heard, or almost the worst band I have ever heard. Just let me say this: IN MOST CASES, THE MEMBERS OF A BAND TUNE TO EACH OTHER. They hadn't bothered with that little detail. It was very pathetic.

Following that little musical debacle, my cousin and I walked along the street to see what the vendors out there had going for them. I stumbled upon all kinds of jewelry and other stuff like portraits that could be drawn in under three minutes. One of the "artists" had samples of his work up as well. I took a photograph to show his talent. The truth is he had little talent. His pencil sketch of Bill Clinton was finally figured out, but there was no figuring out who the others were. He had no one sitting at his booth. The other three artists had people waiting in line.

One of the other past times of the day was to walk into a camera shop and ask about a lens. I specifically asked about a 300 mm lens for my Nikon. One of the shop keepers actually became angry when I didn't jump at the chance to purchase his lens. By the way, the lens was a Nikon lens. All of the shop keepers were obviously hurting for business, but the one guy was really incredibly boorish for becoming actually rude. Oh, by the way, prices for the same lens ranged from $189.00 to $299.00. In every case, they all lowered their price points by wide margins. Every one of them did. I didn't buy a thing.

The ride back from the city was far less eventful than the day had been, but it did give time for reflection on today's happenings. I like this place, but I certainly wouldn't want to march a parade in this town, I don't care how short it is, I'm not doing it.