This is the city where I was born and raised. As a result, these photos are very familiar sights. This is the first of two postings.
The San Francisco waterfront. That is one portion of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge
in the foreground. Off in the distance is Marin County.
Fisherman's wharf – –Alioto's is a famous restaurant.
Victorian houses. This is not the area of San Francisco where I grew up.
That is downtown in the background.
Alcatraz! That is San Francisco in the background, and the
San Francisco Bay Bridge at the top left.
Sausalito. This is the first town one comes to after crossing the Golden Gate Bridge.
Again, that is San Francisco in the background.
Ah! The famous cable cars that climb halfway to the stars!
There are two cable car lines; this one looks like the one on California Street.
The financial district from the air.
One of the entrances to Chinatown.
Good food!
Good food!
Golden Gate Park. This may be part of the Japanese Tea Garden.
The Palace of Fine Arts.
GEORGE CARLIN’S VIEWS ON AGING
Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.
"How old are you?" "I'm four and a half!" You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half,
going on five! That's the key.
You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.
"How old are you?" "I'm gonna be 16!" You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest
day of your life . . . you become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony . . . you become 21. Yessss!!
But then you turn 30. Ooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He turned; we had to
throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?
You become 21, you turn 30, then you're pushing 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you reach 50 and your dreams are gone.
But wait!!! You make it to 60. You didn't think you would!
So you become 21, turn 30, push 40, reach 50 and make it to 60.
You've built up so much speed that you hit 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you hit Wednesday!
You get into your 80s and every day is a complete cycle; you hit lunch; you turn 4:30; you reach bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; "I was just 92."
Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. "I'm 100 and a
half!" May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!
Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.
"How old are you?" "I'm four and a half!" You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half,
going on five! That's the key.
You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.
"How old are you?" "I'm gonna be 16!" You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest
day of your life . . . you become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony . . . you become 21. Yessss!!
But then you turn 30. Ooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He turned; we had to
throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?
You become 21, you turn 30, then you're pushing 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you reach 50 and your dreams are gone.
But wait!!! You make it to 60. You didn't think you would!
So you become 21, turn 30, push 40, reach 50 and make it to 60.
You've built up so much speed that you hit 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you hit Wednesday!
You get into your 80s and every day is a complete cycle; you hit lunch; you turn 4:30; you reach bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; "I was just 92."
Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. "I'm 100 and a
half!" May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!
You could have added "Alcatraz. This is not the area of San Francisco where I grew up, either" I presume. If you did hard time on the rock, I suppose you would have blogged about it by now.
ReplyDeleteOne of my most precious books is an antique San Francisco souvenir book, of photos that were taken before the big earthquake in 1906. I think the book is dated just a few years earlier, but it's been a while since I looked at it. I don't have a scanner, but I should probably record the photos somehow, they are SO cool!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the photos of one of my favorite cities and for sharing George Carlin's view on aging. He was pretty smart on this point.
ReplyDelete