Left Santa Rosa at 3:00 p.m., back with Will at 7:30, not as bad as I expected, thanks to diminished August traffic.
Some random observations:
I don’t think I’ve ever seen the light more beautiful in San Francisco than it was today. The air was crystal clear, the buildings were bathed in a pure white light, everything stood out in extraordinary relief, like a digital photo with the saturation and the sharpness on high settings. The Bay was a deep blue-green, the sky a deep blue, the buildings sharp rectangles, the trees lush green. One of the most beautiful settings for a city in all the world, with the hills and water, the residents never frankly seem deserving of it, for reasons I can’t put my finger on.
Amazing how quickly you can get there with no traffic. I was from Airport Boulevard to the Golden Gate Bridge in 60 minutes. I hate the fact that some love to pile on the stop-and-go as a measure of growth control.
Airports can be fun places if you’re not traveling. I had some coffee and then took a walk from the United area over to the International Terminal, both to admire the space and to listen to all of the conversations in foreign languages — I heard Portuguese and German and some sort of Eastern European language that I couldn’t place, along with Spanish, of course, but no French. Noticed that $1 will only get you 61 euro cents. Wondered what Security Level Orange meant. Thought about what must go on in the mind of someone who would plant a bomb in a place like this and kill innocent people and think it justified.
As I watched my 6 foot 4 1/2 inch 16-year-old son come down the escalator, I wondered if he’d had a good time in D.C., wondered if it would make some difference in his life. He seemed to have grown in 11 days, either that or I remembered him smaller.
Listening to the Giants on the radio on the way back, I fell into automatic-driving mode. Tired, I didn’t see the sights anymore, just the lanes and the changing positions of all the cars.
Stopped at the big Safeway in Strawberry in Marin County to get Will something to eat. Was glad I didn’t have to live in Marin anymore. Noticed that most of the checkers were Hispanic while most of the customers were older white former Yuppies. Marveled again that some guys still like the socks-and-sandals look. Parked between a Porsche and an old beat up Chevy pickup truck.
Told Will not to swear when the Giants lost their lead. Told Will not to swear when the Giants’ 9th inning rally failed.
Tried unsuccessfully to get Will to tell me a little more about his experience in D.C.
Then the miles just seemed to meld together and now I’m home. Decided to blog, although reading back on this now, I’m not exactly sure why.
Categories: Comments on Life