A Little Letter to a (Sorry, Guys) Little City
Dear San Francisco,
You might not know this, but I actually do love you. Yes, I ridicule your snobbery. "The City"? Seriously? and my favorite question ever, "Are you from Down South?" - to which I answered, "No," not knowing that we inferior Angelinos are considered to be "from Down South." I thought that was for people from Louisiana.
Still, you are a really important city to me personally, though I didn't start getting to know you until my godmother moved back to SF after my godfather's death. Here are some things I appreciate in San Francisco.
There are the big things: City Lights, Golden Gate Park, fog in the summer, hot fudge sundaes at Ghirardelli Square - these (with, apparently, the exception of the fog, which only Californians are clued in on) are famous everywhere. They are famous for a good reason: because they are excellent.
Then there are the smaller things. I love the used bookstores. I love the coffee-on-every-corner mentality; if you want to read a book but you're tired of being at home, there's always somewhere to go. I love having people speak to me in Italian, as though I could respond in Italian. I love that there are people who notice the Italian beneath the Irish. I love that the food is so good (with the exception of the Mexican food - sorry, can't beat L.A. there).
There are more personal things, too. San Francisco, you were a refuge to me when I felt hemmed in by the smalltown feel of Santa Cruz. I would drive past the sign marking the city limit and immediately feel more relaxed. You house some of my favorite people - my oldest sister and my godmother. You're small enough to feel like a community and big enough to be comfortably anonymous. That's a very hard balance to strike. You're a manageable size; one can get lost in SF, but it's hard to stay lost. Now, you're keeping me minutely updated on the progress of the Prop. 8 case ( sfgate.com , click on the tab that says "news"). You are the traditional refuge for gay people in the United States.
I love you, SF, and I miss you. I'll visit whenever I can (and thanks to my godmother for the continued offer of space and food and fun, though she lives in Sausalito now - still, I hear that the Dark Side has cookies).
Love always,
debboamerik
You might not know this, but I actually do love you. Yes, I ridicule your snobbery. "The City"? Seriously? and my favorite question ever, "Are you from Down South?" - to which I answered, "No," not knowing that we inferior Angelinos are considered to be "from Down South." I thought that was for people from Louisiana.
Still, you are a really important city to me personally, though I didn't start getting to know you until my godmother moved back to SF after my godfather's death. Here are some things I appreciate in San Francisco.
There are the big things: City Lights, Golden Gate Park, fog in the summer, hot fudge sundaes at Ghirardelli Square - these (with, apparently, the exception of the fog, which only Californians are clued in on) are famous everywhere. They are famous for a good reason: because they are excellent.
Then there are the smaller things. I love the used bookstores. I love the coffee-on-every-corner mentality; if you want to read a book but you're tired of being at home, there's always somewhere to go. I love having people speak to me in Italian, as though I could respond in Italian. I love that there are people who notice the Italian beneath the Irish. I love that the food is so good (with the exception of the Mexican food - sorry, can't beat L.A. there).
There are more personal things, too. San Francisco, you were a refuge to me when I felt hemmed in by the smalltown feel of Santa Cruz. I would drive past the sign marking the city limit and immediately feel more relaxed. You house some of my favorite people - my oldest sister and my godmother. You're small enough to feel like a community and big enough to be comfortably anonymous. That's a very hard balance to strike. You're a manageable size; one can get lost in SF, but it's hard to stay lost. Now, you're keeping me minutely updated on the progress of the Prop. 8 case ( sfgate.com , click on the tab that says "news"). You are the traditional refuge for gay people in the United States.
I love you, SF, and I miss you. I'll visit whenever I can (and thanks to my godmother for the continued offer of space and food and fun, though she lives in Sausalito now - still, I hear that the Dark Side has cookies).
Love always,
debboamerik