Le Jardin du Centaure: Night and Day

San Francisco at night can be a city of multiple contrasts. On Friday April 15^th, I was fortunate to attend a jazz performance at the Herbst theatre across City Hall on Van Ness Avenue. Munich native Barbara Dennerlein opened the extravaganza on the Hammond B-3 organ. Her talent was evident as she maneuvered with precision, grace, power and dexterous footwork through her original compositions. She was followed by wily veteran Dr. Lonnie Smith who dazzled the audience with his ultra-modern kaleidoscopic and chromatic harmonies. I had the good fortune to meet personally fraülein Barbara and purchased one of her autographed CD’s.

After the concert I headed to famous City Lights Bookstore. Considered a landmark of insurgent thinking and anti authoritarian politics it was, back in the fifties, the epicenter of the beatnik movement. Alas! When I arrived it had already closed so I resolved to explore the surrounding territory. The corners of Broadway and Columbus are surrounded by an eclectic variety of businesses. At a glance you can spot Chinese eatery “New Sun Hong Kong”, a branch of Wells Fargo bank, “Tutti Melon”, “Nizario’s” Pizza, “Big Al’s” adult bookstore and the “Condor Club” topless a go go. Throngs of revelers filled the sidewalks and in a period of about an hour I saw drunks, beggars, glittering stilettos and furtive eyes.

Santa Cruz by day can be a delightful experience. I walked through the hilly meadows of U.C.S C’s campus and the winding paths among the tall redwoods. And then I biked downhill at breathtaking speed. In the afternoon I went to Steamers Lane and Pleasure Point and saw die-hard surfers riding deep blue, frigid and kelp saturated waves.

It was nice experiencing night and day in the northern lands with my son. Only I wished I could have shared these experiences with my dear wife.

Maybe next time. Here’s a song for you darling….