Something about this Place

On the bus on a sunny and warm day in the middle of the week, a little girl (maybe 2 years old) with platinum blond hair smiled and waved to everyone who got on or off the bus as well as every pedestrian that the bus passed. Many people waved back. They couldn’t help but smile.

The weather in San Francisco has been stunning. It’s been sunny and in the upper 60s. Everything is in bloom and the streets are fragrant. People are out walking around. The beach and parks near my apartment have been full of sunbathers and picnickers.

Wanting to take advantage of the nice weather, a friend and I did a 13 mile hike to and around the east peak of Mt. Tam. The wildflowers on the mountain are just starting to come in. Recent rains meant all of the creeks and waterfalls were gushing. We passed long stretches of Buckbrush – a shrub with small round clusters of tiny purple flowers that smell like mixture of honey and lavender.

This morning, albeit a bit sore from the long hike, I went for a walk down to the Bay. I sat, briefly, on a cement retaining wall hoping to catch a glimpse of any gray whales that might be migrating north for the summer. Every year during their two migration season, a few always make their way into the Bay. One was spotted a few days ago breaching the water about 50 to 100 feet from the beach. I didn’t see any whales, but was lucky enough to catch a misty rainbow hovering just beyond the north tower of the Golden Gate Bridge. On my walk home, I took a few pictures of flowers by the Palace of Fine Arts.

My first inclination was to share the pictures on social media. An almost brag of “man, other people should see this” or “I wish more people could be as lucky as I am.” In not sharing, I felt miserly. The inclination was another subtle reminder that we are social creatures and that there’s a type of joy in sharing. I may post them at some point.

The world may be going to shit, but I love that on any given week, I’m likely to have a few days when I’m stunned by the vibrancy and beauty of where I live. My photos or descriptions can’t do it justice.