Under the Lights

Yesterday I got a disturbing message from my landlord, claiming she had not received my February rent, which I distinctly remember mailing as of the 1st of the month. I even remember which mailbox I used -- the main one on my way to work, at Bryant and 18th Streets.

When I got home last night I checked my online bank account and sure enough she had cashed and deposited that very check on Feb. 9th. The bank conveniently supplies a photographic copy of both the front and back of the check.

I emailed her that information but heard nothing back.

Any decent human being would have acknowledged her error! I wonder what the hell she was trying to do. Does she think I am so old and senile that I don't know who I pay when?

***

Just before 5 p.m. yesterday, three colleagues and I went into Studio A, under the lights, and were videotaped having a fake story conference. Except it wasn't fake; we really are investigating a particular "Officer-Involved-Shooting" here in the Mission a year ago.

The TV-friendly episode, however, was what is known as a design-school-thinking approach to developing new types of programming. So we were essentially acting, even though our discussion was also "real."

Once the engineers flip the tape and I can get a copy I will post it here. It might interest my many, many readers to see how I work and also how I look in a suit coat! Not to mention my three very smart and articulate young colleagues.

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May the Beat Go On

Seeing my sisters this week reminded me how different my life as a child was from what it has been as an adult. I grew up in Royal Oak and Bay City, Michigan -- a suburb and a small town. In both places there were large open fields out back -- places to run around, get stung by bees, see snakes, shoot birds, and so on.

So I have always thought of myself as a country boy, even though I was never one, really. Especially not the racist kind. But I loved country music the first time I heard it, which was probably the old Hank Williams tunes. There was some radio station I found on the radio in Michigan and I listened to it a lot.

Then, by about age 8, rock had taken over. I heard Elvis.

Before college, the Beatles and Motown took over. I was taken by that too.

As an adult, here in San Francisco, I went to small joints to see the likes of Hoyt Axton, Jerry Garcia and others. Folk music, deadhead music, Part McCartney.

All of my life, I have listened to music, but these days I have stopped. My CD player is broken and must be thrown away.

But I can still listen on my computer.

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This Week in Review (Nice)

Nancy and Carole landed at SFO within hours of each other Tuesday afternoon and were at my flat by 5 or so. Maybe an hour and a half later, Connie and Julia arrived and we decoded to order food. julia is usually in charge of that in our family and she uses an app called Eat24. It delivers food from restaurants all over the city, most of which do not deliver on their own.

Julia suggested Indian food, because that is Dylan's favorite, and though he couldn't join us for dinner because he was working late, his favorite dish (chicken tikka masala) would be waiting for him when he got home.

We had a great conversation, a lot of it centering around Julia's time at Oxbow School of the Arts. My sisters got to see the pieces hanging on these walls and to hear from her directly about how she felt she changed during her time there last fall.

The next morning my sisters and I took a long walk, up to Mission Street and back, as I showed them some of the iconic establishments of this neighborhood. We ended up at one of our favorites, El Matate, on Bryant Street, where we ordered Mexican food for lunch. Dylan had the day off and joined us via Lyft.

He was his usual conversational self, regaling us with his various political opinions, movie reviews, and musical insights, among a wide variety of other topics. Dylan really is the definition of the life of the party.

Before long there was a knock on the front door and little Oliver stepped in with his wide smile and shy style. Then came Leif, Sarah and James. The boys had so much energy we quickly determined to go to the park that is about six blocks from here.

When we got back home after 5 p.m. we cooked Mac and Cheese for the youngest kids and heated up Indian food for the five adults plus James. Dylan played with the boys, both at he park and here, while the rest of us talked. It was a great chance for sarah to reconnect with two of her aunts.

On Thursday, my sisters and I drove across the Bay Bridge to El Cerrito, where we were greeted by Loic and Laila and a very sleepy Sophia, who had fallen asleep in their van on the way home from preschool.

Soon, Daisy woke up and joined us and finally Luca, home from school. The girls remained very shy but Luca shook hands with his great aunts and talked a bit. He got excited by a "salamander habitat" he is creating in the family's front yard, so we all went there and saw a few of the wiggling creatures.

While I am not quite sure they are actually salamanders, they are good enough playing the part for him. And who knows, they probably are, as he is scientifically inclined.

Sophia discovered that the third of the family's six chickens in the backyard coop had laid a egg and this one was light blue in color. we all decided it was an Easter Egg. we had tea and then a proper Scottish meal -- meat pies and haggis, followed by shortbread.

A wonderful time for Laila to reconnect with her aunts, and for Loic as well.

Back to San Francisco as the sun set and we picked up Chinese food at Alice's and drove over to Bernal. Connie, Dylan and Julia hosted dinner for us and we had a great evening meal together.

On Friday morning, we used Facetime to visit with Aidan and Zaira in Missoula. Today is Zaira's birthday!. Aidan used the video feed to show us their very large apartment and how they are decorating it, plus the views of mountains and snow from their large windows.

All too soon it was time for Nancy and Carole to catch their flighst home to Arizona and Virginia, so we higged goodbye and the visit came to a close.

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Family Time

Two of my sisters, Nancy and Carole, came out to meet four of the iids and all six grandkids. A great visit!

Visits!

My friend Mitra came to the neighborhood On Wednesday night; she is a college professor and novelist in New York and she edited my ebook. We've always had a great connection and our conversations go on for hours. She is about to finish her first novel quite soon.

Then, on the coming Tuesday my sisters Nancy and Carole are due to arrive. I'm so excited to see nancy for the first time since 2009 and Carole for the first time since 2013. The four of my kids in the area and all six grandchildren will visit as well.

So I've been sprucing up this dingy flat best I can.

My mobility is limited, however, because my car has broken down. The ignition system was the cause of the many times the car wouldn't start in recent years, not the battery, which I had replaced two weeks ago.

It turns out that the ignition components were literally broken and very hard to extract. As of the end of Friday I had not heard back from the mechanic whether a repair is even possible, which is scary.

But I hope for the best.

Nice chat with Aidan in Missoula, where he seems settled in and doing well in his classes. Current interest as far as a career: social work.

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Our Talk

Tonight, my youngest and I had a great conversation for the first time in weeks as I was driving her to an appointment. It sounds like she is getting very comfortable back at her old high school and also that she is benefiting from her time away at Oxbow. She recently led a book group discussion about Huckleberry Finn and talked about how awkward conversations about race can be for teens, but she's glad they are doing it. She said she is completely comfortable now with public speaking.

That an English class would excite one of my kids was not a revelation but then she told me she likes Chemistry a lot and also Pre-Calc! I have to go back many, many years since one of my kids (Peter) said they really like their Science and Math classes. She said she realizes she likes the "nerdy" parts of those subjects. Since she is getting more interested in medicine as her career, this might be a very good sign.

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Another Old Friend Gone

Michael Kennedy died today. From his office on Pine Street just around the corner from our office on Fillmore Street, he was our pro-bono lawyer and my personal introduction to many of the leading lights of our generation. He was a passionate progressive, a radical lawyer, defending many of those who faced witch hunts in the Nixon era.

And also a generous friend with a big heart.

May he rest in peace.

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