A Knight in San Francisco

A few weeks ago Shawn and I went to San Fran for the wedding of a long time friend of Shawn's. They were in the Army together and met in Korea. We had a great time, the wedding was just fabulous and the city....well I am in love with the city.

We had unusually warm weather for April so all of our time was spent outside hiking the hills. If you go I must recommend staying at Hotel Drisco http://www.jdvhotels.com/drisco/?cid=gl_dri it is located in Pacific Heights neighborhood and it is an experience you won't get staying in hotels that are in a more tourist area. It is walking distance to Fillmore, Chrissy Fields, Chestnut and many more cool places.

The wedding was beautiful. Among other cool things like speaking six languages, Joe has been knighted by the Vatican and had the required attire including a sword at his hip. Then off to the dinner at the Presidio officer's club. Joe is Portuguese and has recently moved to Brazil so we had wonderful Brazilian cuisine for appetizers and Caipirinha's!

Then there were the Fado's, Portuguese folk music, one Portuguese guitar, one classic guitar, a bass and a woman singing music that moves you on the inside. It was just mesmerizing.

The next day we spent finding great restaurants and walking Chrissy fields. The sailboats were in full show.

Like I said, I love this place and we will be going back soon very soon!

The View From Gate 14
DECLARATIONS By PEGGY NOONAN

America is in line at the airport. America has its shoes off, is carrying a rubberized bin, is going through a magnetometer. America is worried there is fungus on the floor after a million stockinged feet have walked on it. But America knows not to ask. America is guilty until proved innocent, and no one wants to draw undue attention. America left its ticket and passport in the jacket in the bin in the X-ray machine, and is admonished. America is embarrassed to have put one one-ounce moisturizer too many in the see-through bag. America is irritated that the TSA agent removed its mascara, opened it, put it to her nose, and smelled it. Why don't you put it up your nose and see if it explodes? America thinks.

And, as always: Why do we do this when you know I am not a terrorist, and you know I know you know I am not a terrorist? Why this costly and harassing kabuki when we both know the facts, and would agree that all this harassment is the government's way of showing "fairness," of showing that it will equally humiliate anyone in order to show its high-mindedness and sense of justice? Our politicians congratulate themselves on this as we stand in line.

All the frisking, beeping and patting down is demoralizing to our society. It breeds resentment, encourages a sense that the normal are not in control, that common sense is yesterday. Another thing: It reduces the status of that ancestral arbiter and leader of society, the middle-aged woman. In the new fairness, she is treated like everyone, without respect, like the loud ruffian and the vulgar girl on the phone. The middle-aged woman is the one spread-eagled over there in the delicate shell beneath the removed jacket, praying nothing on her body goes beep and makes people look.

America makes it through security, gets to the gate, waits. The TV monitor is on. It is Wolf Blitzer. He is telling us with a voice of urgency of the Pennsylvania returns. But no one looks up. We are a nation of Willie Lomans, dragging our rollies through acres of airport, going through life with a suitcase and a slack jaw, trying to get home after a long day of meetings, of moving product.

No one in crowded gate 14 looks up to see what happened in Pennsylvania. No one. Wolf talks to the air. Gate 14 is small-town America, a mix, a group of people of all classes and races brought together and living in close proximity until the plane is called, and America knows what Samuel Johnson knew. "How small of all that human hearts endure / That part which laws or kings can cause or cure."Gate 14 doesn't think any one of the candidates is going to make their lives better. Gate 14 will vote anyway, because they know they are the grownups of America and must play the role and do the job.

just funny

This picture has a funny story, I ran across it at work yesterday and it made me laugh. The story behind it is I work in downtown Dallas, but had a meeting in Arlington. When I left for the meeting I headed toward 30 and of course there was a wreck blocking my entrance so my only choice was to go the other direction and exit and turn around, but of course another wreck blocked me there.

So I end up on a different road and I call the office to get some directions there are two or three other roads I am going to have to connect to now to get to my meeting.

Well after some wrong directions and alot of driving I end up about miles past my meeting and many many more miles from Dallas :) If you go from right to left the orange stickers show where I started, where I was supposed to be and where I ended up. Thanks to my colleagues I have this nice map to commemorate the trip, labled "Scarlette travels DFW" :) It was waiting for me at my desk the next day.