What a Month Can Do

Hi All,
This blog has been a really great exercise in writing for me, and though I thought about letting it stay as it is, an imperfect record of my time in Antarctica, I've decided that I want to maintain it so that I can keep up with the practice of writing.

Oh. And I also want to keep in touch with my people.

So here goes, an abridged version of the last month, with pictures, ta boot! Let's start with November 10th, and go backwards from there. It all started at the Swearing Festival at the Edinburgh Castle Pub in the Tenderloin District in San Francisco. Gwen and I were working the door at this annual literary event hosted by Alan Black, the proprietor of the Castle. Basically, the event is pretty straightforward: Local writers get up on stage and swear/curse in what is (generally speaking) a creative manner. My job (volunteer, of course) was to rubber stamp everyone with an identifier and assist Gwen, who was collecting the cover charge, with a bit of crowd control at the door. Easy enough, but all of the sudden there was a huge noise that sounded like a shotgun going off, and like the good First Responder that I am, I ran up Geary St. to the intersection at Larkin. An accident had taken place:









It had been raining all evening, and the driver of this vehicle had somehow forgotten the Cardinal Rule of Driving: Shiny Side Up. When I got to the accident scene, I sized it up and crossed over to the car to look for the victim/s, but the victim was all ready out of the car and walking around with his cell phone to his ear (probably the cause of the accident in the first place). I asked him if he was alright (he was), then waited for the FD to arrive.

Back to the Castle, and more swearing/cursing. The evening went well with lots of funny monologues and short skits demonstrating the human need to use the seven words you're not allowed to say on television (unless you're on cable, of course).

Earlier that day, I gave Gwen the beautiful engagement ring that I had bought for her, officially sealing the deal in her efforts to make me an honest man. We went out for a walk in the rain at Crissy Field, and standing near the Bay under our umbrellas, I placed the ring on her finger and told her once again that I love her.
More later...Dave