Unclear on the Concept
When I last left off, I had just finished a week with two visiting Australian guys and one local Chinese guy. A weird combination and definitely a weird week. All in that one week I experienced such varied emotions ranging from excitement to frustration to meloncholy to confusion.
At my last blog, I was still quite upset that the visit hadn't gone quite the way I envisioned and planned it. I had spent hours researching places to take them on the Internet, and planning routes, parking, etc. But in hindsight, they didn't seem to mind what they missed, and I guess will never know.
For instance, one day we were walking down in North Beach, where it is rich in the history of the Barbary Coast, the Gold Rush days, and the Hippie and Beatnik era. Mark wanted to visit a brewery he saw on the corner, which is actually sort of a modern dive and rather plain. I tried to suggest to him to instead try out Vesuvio's or Spec's which are both steeped in and part of the North Beach culture and extremely interesting to visit. But he was insistent on visiting this particular brewery, so I thought, ok, what the hell, I guess he wants to try some local beers. So we get in there, and what does he order? A Coca Cola! I asked him why he HAD to come to this bar of all the interesting and famous ones in North Beach, and he said he like the 'decor' and that he doesn't drink! ... uh..... Then why go to a BREWERY??? HELLO? And the only decor was some mundane slow-moving fans on the ceiling! That is what I call 'Unclear on the Concept'.....
One evening I told them we were going to a famous 'Happy Hour' at the gorgeous Fairmont Hotel's famous Tonga Room. For the price of one drink, you can pig out on a tropical happy hour buffet for $7.00 with as many refills as you want. So the evening arives, and only Richard shows up at my door. Says Mark doesn't want to go, doesn't feel good, not his thing, etc. Ok, fine. Well, Richard enjoyed it, I think, but the happy hour idea was a foreign concept to him, and he didn't want to try any of the buffet! Would not even try so much as one bite! That was one of the main reasons to go there as it was a VERY cheap dinner! (Looking back now, I suspect that Russell, the Chinese guy, had taken them for a large lunch/dinner before he came to take me out!! Nice!! Never occurred to them I guess that I'd be hungry after work all day!) The Tonga Room is one of San Francisco's best and oldest hokiest environments and institutions still left, offering a thunderstorm and rainstorm with sound and lighting effects that repeatedly takes place as you sit and savor the tropical exotic drinks they serve in there ! Also, they have a lagoon in the middle of the huge room and a floating boat comes out with a live band on it. I wanted him to try out one of the famous drinks they serve in there, but what did he order? A BEER. A plain ol' Budweiser beer! Oy vey.
Another time, we were walking through Chinatown and, by happenstance, ran into a Chinese funeral procession and following that, a unique funerary ritual going on in a small nearby alley. I myself, who have lived in this neighborhood for over 28 years, have NEVER even seen anything like this ritual in ALL THOSE YEARS! It was awesome! Yet, both Richard & Mark stormed through it and by it like it didn't even exist. They were both in such a hurry to get to a car show we were going to, they never stopped for one second to look, observe, take a photo, NADA! The beauty and meaning of San Francisco history & culture that was happening right in front of them was lost on them. They could have cared less. I think they even were slightly perturbed that I slowed down to take some photos myself and watch what was occurring for a few minutes.
Mind you, there were some really fun times. That same day, the Chinese fellow took us all down in his van to San Jose to a T-Bird car show there. What a sight to see about 25 mint condition Baby Birds (1955 to 1959), all in different pastel colors, gleaming in the sunshine. Each one is valued at at least $50K, so my mind was blowing at envisioning the amount of money that was sitting there in that parking lot! After the show, everyone went for pizza, (which I got treated to!), and a good time was had by all. The next day it was time to say farewell, as Richard & Mark were heading back to Australia. Mark wasn’t feeling too well, so on the last day , which happened to be a gorgeous summer day, just Richard came over and we sat and had drinks out on my deck and yakked and yakked. Got a bit emotional when it came time to really say goodbye. Nowadays, you never know when or if you will see someone again when they live on the other side of the planet.
At my last blog, I was still quite upset that the visit hadn't gone quite the way I envisioned and planned it. I had spent hours researching places to take them on the Internet, and planning routes, parking, etc. But in hindsight, they didn't seem to mind what they missed, and I guess will never know.
For instance, one day we were walking down in North Beach, where it is rich in the history of the Barbary Coast, the Gold Rush days, and the Hippie and Beatnik era. Mark wanted to visit a brewery he saw on the corner, which is actually sort of a modern dive and rather plain. I tried to suggest to him to instead try out Vesuvio's or Spec's which are both steeped in and part of the North Beach culture and extremely interesting to visit. But he was insistent on visiting this particular brewery, so I thought, ok, what the hell, I guess he wants to try some local beers. So we get in there, and what does he order? A Coca Cola! I asked him why he HAD to come to this bar of all the interesting and famous ones in North Beach, and he said he like the 'decor' and that he doesn't drink! ... uh..... Then why go to a BREWERY??? HELLO? And the only decor was some mundane slow-moving fans on the ceiling! That is what I call 'Unclear on the Concept'.....
One evening I told them we were going to a famous 'Happy Hour' at the gorgeous Fairmont Hotel's famous Tonga Room. For the price of one drink, you can pig out on a tropical happy hour buffet for $7.00 with as many refills as you want. So the evening arives, and only Richard shows up at my door. Says Mark doesn't want to go, doesn't feel good, not his thing, etc. Ok, fine. Well, Richard enjoyed it, I think, but the happy hour idea was a foreign concept to him, and he didn't want to try any of the buffet! Would not even try so much as one bite! That was one of the main reasons to go there as it was a VERY cheap dinner! (Looking back now, I suspect that Russell, the Chinese guy, had taken them for a large lunch/dinner before he came to take me out!! Nice!! Never occurred to them I guess that I'd be hungry after work all day!) The Tonga Room is one of San Francisco's best and oldest hokiest environments and institutions still left, offering a thunderstorm and rainstorm with sound and lighting effects that repeatedly takes place as you sit and savor the tropical exotic drinks they serve in there ! Also, they have a lagoon in the middle of the huge room and a floating boat comes out with a live band on it. I wanted him to try out one of the famous drinks they serve in there, but what did he order? A BEER. A plain ol' Budweiser beer! Oy vey.
Another time, we were walking through Chinatown and, by happenstance, ran into a Chinese funeral procession and following that, a unique funerary ritual going on in a small nearby alley. I myself, who have lived in this neighborhood for over 28 years, have NEVER even seen anything like this ritual in ALL THOSE YEARS! It was awesome! Yet, both Richard & Mark stormed through it and by it like it didn't even exist. They were both in such a hurry to get to a car show we were going to, they never stopped for one second to look, observe, take a photo, NADA! The beauty and meaning of San Francisco history & culture that was happening right in front of them was lost on them. They could have cared less. I think they even were slightly perturbed that I slowed down to take some photos myself and watch what was occurring for a few minutes.
Mind you, there were some really fun times. That same day, the Chinese fellow took us all down in his van to San Jose to a T-Bird car show there. What a sight to see about 25 mint condition Baby Birds (1955 to 1959), all in different pastel colors, gleaming in the sunshine. Each one is valued at at least $50K, so my mind was blowing at envisioning the amount of money that was sitting there in that parking lot! After the show, everyone went for pizza, (which I got treated to!), and a good time was had by all. The next day it was time to say farewell, as Richard & Mark were heading back to Australia. Mark wasn’t feeling too well, so on the last day , which happened to be a gorgeous summer day, just Richard came over and we sat and had drinks out on my deck and yakked and yakked. Got a bit emotional when it came time to really say goodbye. Nowadays, you never know when or if you will see someone again when they live on the other side of the planet.
posted by LADYGOLD at 11:37 AM
