San Francisco Vignettes

Alas, we never made it downtown during our San Francisco visit, but often you learn more about the essence of a place in small neighborhoods.

The laundromat: For various reasons we won't elaborate upon, we did major laundry in a Vernal Heights neighborhood. Handsome Hispanic male carefully folding half a dozen pair of black jeans. Somehow, very macho, as in "I can take care of myself." Used to be, you stuck a couple quarters in a machine and likewise the dryer, and did the laundry. No more. A load of laundry cost $2.25, and the dryer probably took $1.00 or more to dry except for the sleeping bag which sucked up quarters like a slot.

Play date: three little six year olds. Two are twins who live high on a hill. Street is steep. "Look for the BMW SUV," we are told. Ring in and mom, an architect, comes down to let us in. Climb stairs of inner courtyard to living quarters. In the kitchen, which is open to the living room, a no-no in New England, a dozen baby artichokes in a strainer, a Wolf range, a pile of apricots spilling along the counter.

Later found out the kids had the artichokes for lunch, along with the apricots, tuna, bread and other assorted goodies. Sure beats PBJ. How cool is that? Then the girls ran thru the sprinkler in the tiny garden, just as we used to when Grapeshot was knee high to a grasshopper. Some things never change.

Reno: For once we didn't get hung up in traffic between the Bay Bridge and Reno. You cross the Sierras, the Donner Pass is over 7,000 feet. Lots of snow. Beautiful scenery in the long lovely dusk. Not too many trucks barrelling down the mountain (they sure as hell don't barrel up the mountain). Reno is odd. Lots of western faces that have seen a lot of living, much of it sad. Rains like hell and the wind howls. We drive to Gerlach and eat a picnic lunch at the Pyramid Lake sign without getting a permit. Have to have a permit even for bird watching. Drive on to Gerlach in the rain. Land is beautiful and green and the sage brush looks lovely and smells so refreshing and delightful you want to bottle the smell and take it home.

In Gerlach, at the end of the road, the sun comes out. We drive back to Reno and have a big steak dinner at the Hilton. I lose 15 cents in the slots, but find two pennies in the parking lot, so I am down 12 cents. Try to get rid of my quarters at the airport, but none of the machines take coins anymore. So suck it up, gaming commission. You didn't get my change.

Eat artichokes and apricots and live grandly.

Grapeshot