This afternoon, has me daydreaming and reminiscing of my old hometown. I miss it but don't want to go down there, due to the crime and a friend had their brand new truck stolen just a month ago. Parking has always been an issue. I'll wait till things get better - I hope and pray they do.
I've heard that most stores on Market St., where my mom used to take us shopping have closed and moved out. There are just a handful of stores left...they are all empty.
It is a breathtaking bridge - When we Lived in the Bay Area I made it my goal, to walk the bridge every new season. I haven't done that in almost 10 years -
And I've really been missing it.
I miss the way it was when I was a kid...more than anything.
About 10 years ago, when we living up here, an old friend from my church down there - her 19-year-old son jumped off the bridge. They never recovered his body.
That was the first time, I actually knew one of the victims. Now, I can't help but think of him, every time I see that beautiful bridge.
Who knew, this beautiful landmark would take so many lives?
I saw that today is San Franciscan Barbara Eden's 92nd birthday.
(Barbara Huffman) -
She was also Miss San Francisco in 1951 - Before I was born!
She was 20 years old.
It almost doesn't look like her.
Do you still look like you did, at age 20?
I think she must have had some plastic surgery along the way.
Okay now for some fun. (Fun for me) 🙃
Since I am not going down there anytime soon, I took a Google trip to the old neighborhood...
We only lived in this flat for 2 months - the landlady gave us this place while we waited for the larger one to vacate and that was down the street.
I don't have too many memories of this place. It came furnished - and I remember the sofa was wool and itchy.
This had 3 floors - and we had a backyard with flowers and grass. We were on the bottom. We made a lot of lasting friends in this section of the neighborhood that my parents kept for years.
We'd all sit out on the stoop - on weekends and in the summer, watching the interesting people walk by. One lady dressed in all black - Victorian style and she chewed tobacco. She would walk real fast and then spit. We called her the Spit Lady. She looked like the wicked witch and all of us kids were afraid of her. Heck, even our folks were scared of her - after all they were only in their mid to late 20's. Hard to imagine.
The school I would go to was around the corner.
And this is the laundromat my mom used. And to my surprise it still is.
We also had a wringer washing machine on the back porch but Mom would use the Laundromat on occasion.
The school was up this narrow street. Unfortunately, they tore down my school and rebuilt another one. I don't like it so I didn't snip it. Too modern and doesn't match the neighborhood.
My mom started in wanting a brand new tract home across the bay near Oakland. Dad worked in the city and the only bridge at that time was the Bay Bridge and a rickety bridge down by Palo Alto called the Dumbarton Bridge. (Where Facebook Headquarters is at now)
They bought the House and we watched it being built - every weekend we'd have picnics in the framed house and then we finally moved.
I had a hard time there in school, being the new kid.
We lived there for just 12 mos. Mom missed the city and her friends.
After 3 rear-enders in those 12 mos, commuting across the bridges, Dad agreed to sell.
So we moved back - right across the street from the first house. This time they bought it.
We lived on the first floor flat - at 839. There was a 2nd-floor apartment and then a small one-bedroom that a single mom and her daughter lived in. She was my age.
The house was built in 1900 and survived the 1906 earthquake. I absolutely loved living here and some of my best memories come from this neighborhood and home.
It had an old carriage house that was converted into a garage for my dad which was rare to have. Plus we had a long driveway as well. There were horse stalls in the back that the girl and I turned into our clubhouse. NO BOYS ALLOWED!
Looking toward Haight St. a couple of blocks away
The building on the left was our pharmacy.
Now it is a restaurant.
You can see the blue house - we lived to the right of it.
Haight St was just a few blocks down and I used to walk from my house, down Haight St, past Ashbury, and to Masonic for Brownie Scouts at St Agnes Church.
It was that safe back then and when you live in a busy city, you just naturally acquire street smarts. I was never afraid although one time I did have an encounter at the park on a slide. It was gross and I think every single Mom that was there ran that creepy man away and called the police.
It just made me a bit more aware. I think city kids might grow up a little faster by the things they see.
Across the street was this Five and Dime. I loved spending my nickels and dimes there.
Just a little feel of the neighborhood - Kinda reminds me of Sesame St.
It still looks the same - some buildings are new and I don't care for that but realize that one day, it will never look like it does now especially not how I remember it from my childhood.
This used to be the Alphas market. My mom would order over the phone and I would go down with our shopping cart and pick it up. They would bill her. No money was exchanged.
Everyone knew everyone back then.
Finally, when we went downtown, we took the N Judah - it took us to Market St. or to the Beach. My mom didn't have to drive - although we did have a car and a truck - my dad was a contractor. The car we used on the weekends.
I found two of the three places on Zillow and WOW...they are now very expensive. If my dad knew what our 3rd place went for now he'd kick himself. He always said, he should have never sold out to move to Pacifica. He should have kept it and rented it out. But the Hippie Movement was in full swing and they trashed everything - real estate took a major hit. It wasn't a good time to be the owner of a property so many sold out and others bought and just waited for it to end.
That's it for me. This post was more for me, I know...so many people hate San Francisco and California. But to me, it's home and I still adore the City. Yeah, it is going through some really disgusting, times - not that it doesn't deserve the negative attention because as much as I love my city by the bay, it caused it all on themselves. It's been on the decline for longer than the rest of the nation knew - I always kept wondering when it would be a National shame. Finally, it has.
