A Bridge Across the Divide

A bridge is a direct connection across a void or distance. Our day here in San Fransisco has been that for me. Three wonderful spans have been crossed: connecting to my amazing cousins Jennifer and Patrick after 15 years of not seeing them, my colleagues Pier and Dana from Lawrenceville all the way over here in San Fran, and my cousin Phillip and his wife Mary and their beautiful daughters who unfortunately live on the other side of the continent from me.

I woke up this morning and headed over to Jennifer's apartment in the Ashbury Heights area (just a few blocks away from Haight-Ashbury). She and her boyfriend Rick have a beautiful apartment overlooking most all of San Fransisco. Unfortunately, the morning fog of the "June-Gloom" was keeping the view obscured. Didn't anyone tell the fog that it was already well into July? I wanted to see that view! :) Seeing Patrick and Jennifer was a treat beyond measure. We went to breakfast together at a great place called Zazie. Jennifer had to head to work in a hour and as she said, it is hard to catch up on 15 years in 1 hour. So true. After she left, Patrick and I went back to her apartment. Patrick drives a motorcycle, a badass (!) Ducati. Then he said the magic words to me, "Do you want to take it for a spin?" About 4 seconds later I was decked out in his black leather jacket with red leather skulls and crossbones sewed to it and his helmet with flaming skulls emblazoned on the top snugged around my chinny-chin-chin. Why di I not get a picture of that!?! If you had told me this morning that I would be zipping around San Fran on a crotch-rocket I would have never believed it but it was a dream to drive!

When I cam back to the hotel I connected with jerry and then we caught a cab to go see my friends Pier and Dana and their boys. They were over near the Marina area and when we found them we all headed over to the beach near the Golden Gate Bridge. I think that perhaps only the people who know what our lives are like at Lawrenceville will understand how incredibly nice it is to see friends from there outside of the Lawrenceville bubble. It was a breath of fresh air to my soul to see this family that I love with a different background spread out behind their welcoming faces.

Afterwards Jerry and I headed back to the hotel for a while. As we were trying to get back and could not find a cab it was a hilarious sight to see Jerry try his idea of trying to thumb a ride on the streets of San Fransisco. It was unsuccessful but he gave it his best to the quizzical looks of the locals! :)

After our bit of downtime we headed back out towards the neighborhood of Cow Hollow where I had visited Phillip and Mary years ago when they lived ther. They had just moved into a new place in their old neighboorhood and they love it. It is a great place with two stories and a beautiful view of San Fran Bay and the Marin Highlands. We had a wonderful dinner and lots of laughs. I really love Phillip and Mary and only wish that we all lived closer together. I told Phillip that he and I need to get out for a weekend together in the mountains sometime and I am going to hold him to it! :) Their daughter Madeline kept saying, " Clark is pilot!", and wanted me to fly her around the room. I promised her that when she was a little older we would go flying together for real. I can't wait for that... :)

Jerry and I got back to the hotel and called it a night. I headed to my room to start on my blog entry and wind down. Just as I sat down I got a text from my cousin Jennifer saying that she had got out of work early and was home if I was able to come over. Absolutely! On went my clothes and out the door I went. I was able to get some good time in with Jennifer. Her friend Jackie was there as well and it was just great to hang out with them and hear of their stories over the past 18 years. As I was leaving I Patrick walked in the door and I got to give him a last hug.

It truly does amaze me that in the past twenty-four hours here there have been three bridges of the heart that have been constructed in my world. I feel luck for the connections and know that I can stride across those spans as my heart desires. How lucky am I?