MORE SF HICK

Recently City Powers announced that a few school playgrounds might be opened on weekends for neighborhood kids. They announced this at a remote press availability attended by the Mayor, the local Supervisor, the School Superintendent, the Head of Rec and Park and a few others with short to-do lists.

I commented that so much fanfare for such a pathetically small accomplishment showed how hick a town San Francisco really is.

I’m writing this after picking myself up off the floor where I had fallen after seeing this piece in Pat Murphy’s excellent San Francisco Sentinel about another gathering in my district.

According to the Sentinel, tomorrow’s dignitaries will include:

Senator Leland Y. Yee, Ph.D., San Francisco Supervisor Carmen Chu, Bijan Sartipi, Director, Caltrans District 4; Bon Yee, Director, San Francisco Department of Parking and Traffic; Dr. William Miller, 19th Avenue Pedestrian Safety Action Group (witnessed April 2007 fatal accident); and Manish Champsee, President, Walk San Francisco.

So, what’s the important event? Launching a battleship? Breaking ground on a new community center? No, and no.

They’re installing a traffic light. A goddamn traffic light!

It’s not even at a previously unprotected intersection. They’re just replacing one light with a newer model, or something. The Sentinel’s excellent story didn’t provide many excellent details.

I don’t mean to be too harsh—we don’t want our elected officials to work too hard or actually strain themselves.

But… a traffic light?

They're proud that they do anything.

See for yourself: 19th Avenue and Sloat Blvd., Thursday, November 1, 2007, 10:30am.

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A LOCAL PARK

On Vicente near 28th is a small park where I play tennis two mornings a week. There are four courts, fenced in pairs, with one pair of courts reserved for Tai Chi every morning from 7-10am.

At first I took umbrage, now I’m enjoying the music, which seems about the same every morning, as I hit my winners and losers. I was stood up yesterday morning so I took some pictures, doing a walk around of the courts.

Jim Lee come out to see what the heck I was doing. I told him I was a blogger, but I usually was playing on the adjacent courts. I was the one, I explained, they heard groaning in pain and cussing profusely. Jim Lee encouraged me to come and learn Tai Chi. Jim said he was working on exercises involving swords, and he’s thoroughly addicted.

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