This delicious upside was soon downgraded by the realization that every venue we stayed at was not accommodating to our friend, the wireless computer network. The first night in the city by the Bay, we stayed at my brother Marv's house in San Francisco. No wireless access was to be found but this venue did offer all the video games you'd want to play and some killer Kauai dope (legit, thanks to the state of California). Oh, and a lovely sunset from the guest room window.
We swilled some wine, watched bad television, grilled a couple of steaks on the Weber and just had a good laugh over old memories. The next morning, we were off to South San Francisco to the home of my in-laws. They're Polish and sweet natured; in many ways, they're substitute parents to me. We went for the prerequisite breakfast at the veteran eatery of the Peninsula, The Milbrae Pancake House.
Then we took Fang's mother out shopping, an event unto itself. Suddenly, it was Saturday afternoon and we had a memorial service in San Francisco to go to.
If you read this blog, you'll know that our friend Greg recently lost his partner Tim. Tim was taken in the vigor of his life (that would be at age 46) due to a heart condition. Fang and I have known Greg for over 20 years so we arrived at his house prior to the commencement of the memorial. The house was already teeming with activity. That morning, the assembled group had scattered Tim's ashes in a quiet cove in Marin off a small boat in untroubled seas. The weather remained spectacular and pristine. We wandered in, accepted a copious glass of wine and after some quiet time with our dear friend, we began to become reacquainted with some old friends.
Greg gave an eloquent speech in loving memory of his beloved partner. His yoga teacher gave a benediction and tempered the need for love. Someone lit a pipe filled with stinky dope at the yoga master's final "OM." We congregated and swapped stories from decades past. We laughed over Tim's insouciance. It was nostalgic and warm and a tad bittersweet. If our darling Tim had been there, he would had approved...although he would have disdained the potato wraps with cheese. The caterer used goat cheese and Tim would have used brie. I just know he would.We toddled back to South San Francisco late that evening. A wedding was still ahead. Stay tuned.
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