San Francisco

I’m in the Bay Area this week for work (my day job, that is).  San Francisco is one of my favorite cities in the world.  Not that I’ve seen a lot of world cities, but, well, you know what I mean:  It’s interesting, lively, architecturally pleasing, and romantic.  Aside from its charming, yet impossibly difficult roads, it’s perhaps a perfect city.  Well, except for one other thing – San Francisco could use a good shower. 

This morning, I flew into Oakland.  I ended up sitting on the wrong side of the plane and didn’t get to see much of the city from the air.  But, for a few, brief seconds, as the pilot lined up for the runway, I caught a glimpse of the marvelous city by the bay.  It’s such a nice city, so picturesque and eye-catching, sitting there atop that little dome of rock. 

But once you get on the streets, with all the gum under foot, the garbage, the grime, and the pee reek in the strangest of places, you start to wonder if this city has never even seen the bristly side of a good scrub brush.

I guess this is true though of most of the big cities in this country and the world.  They are so attractive and intriguing from a distance.  But, when you view them from up close, they are a lot more human than they originally appeared to be. 

Not that I’m against humans.  I happen to like humans.  But do we need to be such collective slobs? 

Hang on.  Will you hand me that newspaper by your foot?  I need to wipe something off my shoe. 

I’m definitely going to need more hand sanitizer.