Thanks for the kind words on my native city, Jay. We've been staying away in the relative safety of our Silicon Valley home for the past couple of years, but we attended a fund raiser in The City on 5 December. Like you, we found it greatly improved. Or as you said,"...fewer street people; fewer needles; less menace; less filth." Loved the photos.
We were in your home base of NYC on October for the Commentary Roast and found things to be just fine there as well. Hope (to paraphrase Ben) you can keep it. :-)
Thank you, Jay, for an early Christmas gift to this San Francisco native who now lives in the frigid (at least today, anyway) Midwest. Although our family decamped to the East Bay suburbs in the late 1950's, I have fond memories growing up into adulthood of numerous visits: the Emporium department store on Market Street, the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park, the Cliff House, Coit Tower, fresh crab on the Wharf, and so much more—an endless panoply of sights, smells, sounds. To see it descend into badly-governed decrepitude has been disheartening indeed. I hope that Mayor Laurie will be a catalyst of its renaissance. It truly is the world's most beautiful city.
Thanks for refreshing my memories, Jay. What a great baseball city: Dominic, Vince and Joe, plus the great Lefty O'Doul. Football was pretty good, too - thanks to Coach Walsh.
Jay: Thanks for this update on San Fran. When I was flying for a major airline, I had a lot of San Francisco layovers. I always enjoyed them. Our layover hotel was about a mile and a half from the Wharf. I enjoyed walking there, grabbing a bite to eat and just taking in the fun atmosphere. I have been really disturbed by the news reports from San Francisco with scenes of homeless, drug addicted individuals and those who appeared to have serious mental issues. Your update gives me hope that this beautiful city is returning to the glory of not many years ago.
Jay wish I’d known you were in town! Glad you had a good trip. Was in The City last night for a work event, I haven’t seen it that busy since before Covid. Been here for 23 years and can’t imagine living anywhere else. Also, follow our new-ish mayor Daniel Lurie on Instagram, he is a fantastic cheerleader for SF!
1977. I came in on a late bus. Stayed the night at the hotel by the bus station. Took the shuttle bus to the airport in the morning. Kept thinking, "I've seen all of this on TV and in the movies."
San Francisco, the city of my dissolute youth having joined the flower children's pilgrimage, 17yo hitchhiked from NY. My first born was conceived and born there in 1969, and I worked the docks for a few years before moving to the country.
It was, and is, a magical city with the old Victorians, beautiful hilltop parks, and the fog always moving in and out. It would be 60 degrees in the middle of summer and 50 in the middle of the winter, and we had open gas heaters in the room.
This was in the days where I could share a flat in Haight-Ashbury at $30 a room in a beautiful Victorian, now selling for 2M dollars, just a few blocks from Golden Gate Park. The era was one of excess and many missteps but the city was always a beautiful backdrop for the shenanigans that went on and continue to this day.
I'd welcome a chance to return to San Fran! I went there for an academic conference once in 2009, when I was in my twenties, but a fellow student was wise enough to persuade me to fly out a day or two early so we could sightsee more before the conference began. There were lots of fun moments, but my favorite to tell when I only have a moment is from a late-night city-bus ride: Friday night, coming back from a restaurant, my classmates and I were jam-packed as more and more people seemed to board. One was a pure surfer-dude - stringy blond hair, white t-shirt, maybe some kind of surfing-gear logo on a bag - who grinningly commented to his friend, in perfect surfer-dude voice and shifted California vowels, "Dude! Who knew there'd be this many people on the bus?"
Thanks for the kind words on my native city, Jay. We've been staying away in the relative safety of our Silicon Valley home for the past couple of years, but we attended a fund raiser in The City on 5 December. Like you, we found it greatly improved. Or as you said,"...fewer street people; fewer needles; less menace; less filth." Loved the photos.
We were in your home base of NYC on October for the Commentary Roast and found things to be just fine there as well. Hope (to paraphrase Ben) you can keep it. :-)
I have friends there that I am dying to go meet and see the city...but, it will be a while before I can afford to go...Once I get called back to work
Jay, I am unable to take a vacation this year but this gives me some relief. Your columns relax me. Thanks.
Thank you, Jay, for an early Christmas gift to this San Francisco native who now lives in the frigid (at least today, anyway) Midwest. Although our family decamped to the East Bay suburbs in the late 1950's, I have fond memories growing up into adulthood of numerous visits: the Emporium department store on Market Street, the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park, the Cliff House, Coit Tower, fresh crab on the Wharf, and so much more—an endless panoply of sights, smells, sounds. To see it descend into badly-governed decrepitude has been disheartening indeed. I hope that Mayor Laurie will be a catalyst of its renaissance. It truly is the world's most beautiful city.
Thanks for refreshing my memories, Jay. What a great baseball city: Dominic, Vince and Joe, plus the great Lefty O'Doul. Football was pretty good, too - thanks to Coach Walsh.
Jay: Thanks for this update on San Fran. When I was flying for a major airline, I had a lot of San Francisco layovers. I always enjoyed them. Our layover hotel was about a mile and a half from the Wharf. I enjoyed walking there, grabbing a bite to eat and just taking in the fun atmosphere. I have been really disturbed by the news reports from San Francisco with scenes of homeless, drug addicted individuals and those who appeared to have serious mental issues. Your update gives me hope that this beautiful city is returning to the glory of not many years ago.
Did you wear some flowers in your hair?
Jay wish I’d known you were in town! Glad you had a good trip. Was in The City last night for a work event, I haven’t seen it that busy since before Covid. Been here for 23 years and can’t imagine living anywhere else. Also, follow our new-ish mayor Daniel Lurie on Instagram, he is a fantastic cheerleader for SF!
As much as Ghirardelli is a good one a better analogy would be Bar Harbor Dungeness Crabs.
And what a great park !! Always loved the Japanese Tea House.
1977. I came in on a late bus. Stayed the night at the hotel by the bus station. Took the shuttle bus to the airport in the morning. Kept thinking, "I've seen all of this on TV and in the movies."
San Francisco, the city of my dissolute youth having joined the flower children's pilgrimage, 17yo hitchhiked from NY. My first born was conceived and born there in 1969, and I worked the docks for a few years before moving to the country.
It was, and is, a magical city with the old Victorians, beautiful hilltop parks, and the fog always moving in and out. It would be 60 degrees in the middle of summer and 50 in the middle of the winter, and we had open gas heaters in the room.
This was in the days where I could share a flat in Haight-Ashbury at $30 a room in a beautiful Victorian, now selling for 2M dollars, just a few blocks from Golden Gate Park. The era was one of excess and many missteps but the city was always a beautiful backdrop for the shenanigans that went on and continue to this day.
I'd welcome a chance to return to San Fran! I went there for an academic conference once in 2009, when I was in my twenties, but a fellow student was wise enough to persuade me to fly out a day or two early so we could sightsee more before the conference began. There were lots of fun moments, but my favorite to tell when I only have a moment is from a late-night city-bus ride: Friday night, coming back from a restaurant, my classmates and I were jam-packed as more and more people seemed to board. One was a pure surfer-dude - stringy blond hair, white t-shirt, maybe some kind of surfing-gear logo on a bag - who grinningly commented to his friend, in perfect surfer-dude voice and shifted California vowels, "Dude! Who knew there'd be this many people on the bus?"
Your upbeat-ness is a blessing this morning, Mr. Nordlinger.