From Twin Peaks, O'Shaughnessy Boulevard swoops down like an eagle, landing, or one might say perching, in my neighborhood of Glen Park. And with all this avian imagery one would assume that I go swooping too. I don't. I go braking, but not always. In fact, I can remember a fairly recent occasion when I did more or less swoop, enjoying the scenic descent. And it's a good thing that I can remember. Because with some physical medicine help, I am beginning to get on top of at least one aspect of my Read more [...]

It's all an outrage. I have to drive twice in one day, the same day. First there was that midday automotive schlep to 22nd St., an overland journey approaching1.5 miles. Then there was that vast cross-city expedition to Kaiser Healthcare, deep in San Francisco's Richmond District. Furthermore, it was raining. That is to say, refractive drops of water were rolling down the windshield. And, of course, traffic was rolling down the streets. Far too much of it. But that's San Francisco 2016. There's more Read more [...]

The day dawns wet and gray, and what is a man to do on this January morning but go for a test drive? What is being tested, of course, is the driver. And will he succeed or fail? That is this Saturday's question. It is asked mildly. In truth there is little reason for alarm. But it is a work in progress, this matter of disabled driving. One must keep hammering away. Thing is, hammering on the accelerator really doesn't work. As a control, it is not designed for hammer action. A slow and even depression Read more [...]

Thank you, I more or less say to my nephew as we pull away from the house, thank you for driving with me. In retrospect, this seems a little feeble. But I feel a little feeble. And the next thing I say is not so much feeble as frank. I talk about age and anxiety, how they seem to go together. And more to the point, how the quality of being aged seems directly proportional to the quality of being…well, there's no single adjective here. It's the quality of giving in to fear. This is what can kill Read more [...]

In my San Francisco neighborhood Google buses don’t look very much like symbols of gentrification. They look suspiciously like buses. This is the way to understand them, as vehicles that say a lot about us and our future. Some of the ire against corporate buses is not misplaced. Bay Area residents can only gape as techy arrivistes step aboard comfortable transit that appears often…and takes them where they want to go. Imagine. And "imagine" is what we need to do. How can our Bay Area modernize Read more [...]

Somewhere between reality and madness there is driving. I applaud loyal readers for putting up with this tiresome subject. But here it is again. It must be noted that one of the many complicating factors in my life behind the wheel is the growing superfluity of getting behind the wheel. Just in the last few days…our Friday night out was facilitated greatly by BART, the regional metro. And a daylong class near the University of California, damned if we didn’t get to Berkeley the same way. So Read more [...]