Saturday, November 15, 2008

Civics in the City

The first time I saw San Francisco in person, I rolled into town on a big yellow school bus. High school choir tour. I know. This really solidifies me as a big time geek.

Now keep in mind that I was born in rural Ohio and lived in a small town where everybody knew my name until I was ten. San Francisco blew my mind!

San Francisco still amazes me. The buildings, the crowds, the energy is so unlike any other city. It’s an exciting place to visit. And my children, growing up in little Solvang, where half the town knows their names, are thrilled by it. They love riding a streetcar or even just seeing more people on the sidewalk in an hour than we have pass through town in a month!

We sat down for lunch today on Embarcadero Street when a drum started beating and voices began chanting. At least three thousand people marched down the street waving flags and posters, making their voices heard for equality. Talk about a real-life civics lesson. I’m glad we were here to see it first hand.

In case you can't read the sign on the right, it says, "Britney Spears and Jason Alexander, 55 hours. Carmen Electra and Dennis Rodman, 9 days. Drew Barrymore and Jeremy Thomas, 19 days. Eric and Walter, six years. And we threaten marriage?"

Something to think about.

4 comments:

Carrie Harris said...

I love that sign. I want one. (Technically, I could make one, but it wouldn't be the same.)

And I grew up in suburban Ohio. Which doesn't really make us soul sisters or anything, but, well, I thought I'd mention it.

Sherrie Petersen said...

Yeah, there were lots of great signs. That was my favorite.

Where in Ohio did you live? I was born in Dayton, lived in Russia and Piqua, and I'm pretty sure Dav Pilkey is the long lost big brother I spent my days pining for.

Sarah Laurenson said...

Nice. Love that sign, too. And we love SF. It's so colorful and full of even more diversity than L.A. And it's easier to be without a car there than it is in L.A.

Sherrie Petersen said...

San Francisco is great. Such a contrast to Solvang! We always park the car and walk everywhere when we visit. It's a great place for opening my kids eyes to the world around them. Solvang is pretty sheltered.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...