I come into the world
I was born in San Francisco, February 8, 1942. At U.C. Hospital right above Golden Gate Park. With my baby eyes I could have seen Children's Playground below, to the east the whole Haight-Ashbury neighborhood and to the west from Stow Lake all the way out to the mysterious Farallon Islands hovering on the horizon. The whole mise-en-scene of my early life.
I was taken home during a blackout. It was the early months of the war and anything could happen. I like to think of myself rushing along the misty roads of Golden Gate Park in our big pre-War DeSoto. Dad's in a hurry because, as block air raid warden, he has to make sure all the lights are out on 47th Avenue. We lived on a hill only two blocks from the ocean so the slightest light could be enough for a Japanese submarine to target a torpedo right for the roller coaster at Playland-at-the-Beach. In fact the Scorpion was probably out there right now cruising in his Jap Sub at thirty knots through the icy Humboldt Current, just waiting for a light to pop on. Step on it, Dad!
Actually, one night mysterious lights were seen flickering on and off from my brother's room. Like Morse Code, like some kind of a signal for the Scorpion to attack. The authorities (my father the air raid warden had to work nights) came rushing to investigate. Guys in overcoats and fedoras were banging on our front door, guns drawn. But the enemy agent was only my brother Gary trying to repair his desk lamp.
So you can see, as I began life, I knew right away you had to be ready for anything. Why, one loose wire on a desk lamp could signal the invasion of San Francisco! Step on it, Dad!
Labels: Childhood in San Francisco, Just For Grins, Playland-at-the-Beach, San Francisco
3 Comments:
It's neat how a blog can teach you things. I didn't know Grandpa was the block air-raid warden or that you came home in a black-out. Or that you had a family DeSoto (you should put a link to a picture of one).
This is a delightfully humorous recall of your first days of life/adventure in dear old SF. A torpedo being sent into the roller coaster ride at that time could have discouraged the war effort. The blinking light incident may have been embellished a small bit, I don't recall the guns drawn, but Gary was the guilty one all right and was caught in the act. Thanks for sharing. Your old walrus humor is a good tonic. Gary
My brother Gary is a man of wisdom but in this case he may have been so traumatized by the affair that he doesn't remember every detail. I have it on ineluctable authority that the FBI had their guns drawn, with itchy trigger-fingers! One false move! They couldn't be too careful. After all, this was 47th Avenue, and there were a lot of suspicious people out in that neighborhood that just happened to like living right next to the ocean in the middle of a big war. They weren't taking no chances.
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