Mid Summer Holiday

The City's temperature range this weekend is 40 degrees, from the high 40s to the high 80s. I find it hard to believe that yesterday, on a hot, windless afternoon near the top of that temperature scale, I actually played soccer barefoot on the turf with my kids.



When my flat is filled up with my kids and grandkids and their friends are coming and going, I'm probably at my happiest. I slow-cooked boneless thick pork ribs in a pressure cooker; they turned out so soft you could pull them apart with a fork.



We've been harvesting plums, dozens of them, but the tree is nearly finished with this year's crop. Lettuces, broccoli, tomatoes, green onions, basil, cherry tomatoes and several other edible vegetables and fruits can be gathered daily.



My 11-month-old grandson with the impossibly huge, bright blue eyes particularly likes sweet peas right out of the pod. The flowers, fish ponds, a few young trees, grape vines, morning glories, sunflowers, and several large rose bushes and herb bushes (rosemary) are all thriving. There are a few specialized exotic plants here and there hidden in our sprawling, chaotic yard.



Every visitor loves it here, especially whilst eating my tender pork with garlic, olive-oil-roasted baby white potatoes. After yesterday's heat peaked, a massive wave of white fog swept in from the Pacific. It rolled in over Twin Peaks and looked like it was a half-mile high. I imagined a real wave of water pushed by a tsunami. If that happened, of course, that would be my last memory.



I feel certain that along with mortal fear, I would think to myself, "God that is beautiful!" The Mission did not disappoint last night. This is one of the best neighborhoods in America for the 4th of July. Latinos, Asians, African-Americans, Pacific Islanders, Europeans, Native Americans, and Middle-Easterners alike lit fireworks on every corner.

Today, fog blanketed even our end of town, and strong winds kept sending more from the west. We were cold as we pursued a reprise of our soccer match; this time, no dehydration! This time, of course, I took a water bottle! This time I wore shoes.

I still can't believe I played soccer. Of course all three of my young kids out-maneuvered me.