Great Day in the City!

Today Amalia and I spent the day in San Francisco, interviewing Michael Smuin and watching the Smuin Ballet rehearse. Amalia was particularly well-behaved, and watched the dancers (for 3 hours!) attentively, with only a couple of breaks to snack, have diapers changed, or to play in the empty studio that Michael Smuin graciously let her run around in (he even provided a couple of those gigantic balls that dancers use in their stretching).

The way there involved two choo-choo's, which, for Amalia, was probably the highlight of the day, even though she really did seem to enjoy the dancing. Walking back (Amalia fell asleep around Civic Center, so I kept walking, all the way to the Embaracadero) was interesting, as I got to pass many of the places I used to pass every day when my office was in the City.

It is interesting what changes, and what does not change, at who is still around (you get to know the regular Market Street folks, from the businessmen who walk the same route, like clockwork to the homeless who shift from one side of the street to the next, depending on the light and the traffic). One of the people who I half expected not to see was there, one of my predecessors as Chairman of the Student Senate in college, the one I tried to model my reign as exactly opposite as possible. This fellow runs a rather upscale magazine shop on Market Street, something he has done for several years. He does a good job, and I am sure that they have a whole bunch of procedures for everything. If Adam (if I told you his last name was Smith, you wouldn't believe me, but it really was (and is, I presume)) was about anything, it was procedure. I, on the other hand, have always believed in the politics of personality. Adam would try to carefully negotiate consensus. I would try to do as much by fiat and out of the realm of voting as possible.

We always got along, and I am happy to see his shop thriving and continuing to carry such a good selection (one of the crucial elements to good civic life is good magazine shops in the downtown areas, along with bars and caffes I would rate this as one of the highest priorities).

Many of the other businesses I knew, at least by sight, are gone, however, and I think there are two more Starbucks on Market Street that I did not know about. The biggest shock was the fact that the Chevron building is no longer the Chevron building. I knew it was the case, but seeing it on foot (always more of an impact than passing in a taxicab or car or bus), really struck me.

Market Street seemed a little grubbier than usual. The skies were gray, and that always makes it seem sad, and it goes in cycles. Some days Market Street is full of life and excitement. Other days it seems more full of broken men, angrily muttering to themselves, to their fathers, to the world in general. Today seemed to be full of lost folks, clearly on ebb of their fortunes, but not energetic enough to even panhandle. It could be the weather, it could just be a cyclical thing, as it always has been, or it could be a new trend. I have been away from Market Street for awhile. As we do our weekly museum visits I am sure we will see more of Market Street.

Anyway, the Smuin Ballet looked fantastic in this, their tenth year. I was impressed by Smuin's views on music and dance and equally impressed by his company. He has assembled some excellent dancers. The current program (that opens Friday), is Les Noces (Stravinsky), Short Pieces by Gershwin, a short piece by one of his dancers, and Tango Palace, a fantastic take on tango, with an Amalia Rodrigues fado and an Edith Piaf song added in. Then they will be doing their annual Christmas Ballet, which will feature a section of Mozart's c minor mass. Yet another reason to make a trip to the Bay Area!

Shortly I will be back in the City for the Transitus of St. Francis, which will be observed at the National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi, followed by an event at Campion College, followed by a fiftieth birthday celebration of one of the Campion faculty members, then tomorrow we will be off to Gilroy and Santa Cruz, so blogging might be light over the weekend (unless I have too much espresso after the birthday celebration, so watch out for those late night postings).

Have a blessed feast of St. Francis. If you need something to meditate on may I suggest the Canticle of Creation and Thomas of Celano's second biography of St. Francis?