Something New This Morning

I've been going to the City (what locals call San Francisco) for two weeks now, and this morning I saw something that I haven't seen any other morning there. Shadows. Instead of fog and/or overcast, our closest star was actually shining.

The city looks different when there is a contrast ratio to the lighting, where shadows spring from people and lampposts. Funny thing about shadows; they never see the sun. If they could, they wouldn't be there. Something is always between a shadow and the sun. Shadows probably don't realize there is a sun. And, likewise, the sun never sees shadows. The shadows are always hiding behind things.

These past two weeks, the shadows were hiding even from me. I wonder where they all went? Were they hanging out in a bar somewhere, smoking and telling lies? Sleeping under park benches?

This morning, like many recent mornings, I climbed down the steps to the Muni station, and the next four trains going my way were all going out of service. Occasionally I'd see some commuter asleep in their seat, not knowing they were going to wake up at the train yard instead of their station.

This morning a gentleman who worked for BART told me that San Francisco was a union town, that the labor unions were too powerful and that was why the trains would never run on time. He said anyone who tried to clean up the system wouldn't last a week, and that was how people in San Francisco wanted it. He figured they were getting what they deserved.

Sometimes that's my greatest hope, and sometimes my greatest fear: that people get what they deserve. I'm not sure what that has to do with shadows.


Blog Tag: Chatter   Blog Tag: San Francisco