So this past weekend, I went to San Francisco to celebrate
my pre-birthday. When your big day falls on a school night, there’s really not
much else to do but to claim the prior weekend for your festivities. Instead of
escaping to my desert paradise, I decide to visit the city that gave me my
start in the Golden State.
A lot has changed in the city by the bay – certainly not the
fog or the breathtaking beauty of its 7 square miles. As my oldest friend in
all of the state drove me through the Presido, I found myself catching my
breath at the sight of The Golden Gate Bridge. As a young man, when I first saw
that famous structure, I had a hard time grasping that I was actually looking
at it. It’s played such an integral part of my life here. I had many viewings
of her foggy gates alone and with the potential of romance. Once, after a
particularly heart wrenching break up, I decided to take a walk along it. Two
friends saw me, and the look on their face when they saw me walking alone was
priceless. They knew of my drama and I could only guess what they must have
thought as they saw me all alone looking over at the water below the bridge.
My life really began in San Francisco and on this visit, as my oldest and dearest friends all gathered to eat at our favorite pizza place in the Mission – I thought to myself that I couldn’t remember being this happy. Here I was, surrounded by the friends I’d met and formed into a family. We were laughing, remembering friends gone but not forgotten, slinging the bitchiness so no one at the table was safe from the knife, and relishing in the fact that we were all here – still together though not seeing each other regularly. If they had looked closely at me, they might have seen the water in my eyes.
I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday weekend. I spent
it with my friends who are my family – who will always be my family. No matter
what the distance or the time between visits. And I better start saving now,
because paying for a party in Palm Springs an open bar when I’m fifty is going
to cost a pretty penny. And I know that these bitches may complain about the
heat but they’ll be there. And I’ll put them under a mister and we’ll laugh
like we did when we were all…ahem…twenty-something.
When I was younger, a night and weekend like I had might
have made me want to pick up and relocate. But with age comes wisdom, and with
wisdom, I’ve realized to just enjoy that moment. San Francisco will always be
special to me, and although I don’t know where my life will go as I get older, I
really did leave my heart there.
