Sent Nov. 16, 2020: DO SOMETHING, JOE!

 

NOVEMBER 16, 2020 DO SOMETHING, JOE! PREVIOUS BLOGS: TERRYBAUM.BLOGSPOT.COM PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO ANYONE WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED. IF THIS BLOG WAS FORWARDED TO YOU, YOU ARE NOT SUBSCRIBED.

So nice to have a tree next door with leaves that turn. I got out of bed this morning after a not-so-great night, woken up many times by spasms in my back. I gently scolded my body, "Oh you big silly! There's no need to be all clenched up anymore. The tide has turned!" I looked forward to blogging about a Mission ramble, then lolling in the garden with a cup of tea. But I always check the papers first. I get the SF Chron & the NY Times seven days a week. One of the things I love about blogging is being required to read the paper, which has always been one of my favorite activities. So, front page of the NY Times:

It turned out my back was right to be clenching! Silly me to think Der Toddler would give in so soon. If someone like ME know his post-president future looks dim & might include wearing an orange suit to match his orange hair -- then HEknows it too. Also, as Charles Blow says: "Trump has spent his life gaming the system. It is unfathomable to him that this system can't be gamed." -- NY Times So Trump keeps trying and trying and trying, spewing lies and fantasies of fraud. And as long as he's working his scam, he is magic to his base base. He even re-tweeted one of his followers, who said that anyone who DIDN'T vote for Trump is "unpatriotic, un-American and un-Christian." Well, I guess I'm two-for-three, since I'm a Jew who believes, along with Samuel Johnson, that patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels. So it seems Trump won't quit as long as those fucking Senate Republican flunkies continue to rally around his stinking flag....... Hey, how about charging Mitch McConnell with TREASON! Isn't this treason? Undermining the election? Now there's a thought. So this is where we are now: Trump tweets fascist fantasies, & slowly drives by adoring Trumpers gathered outside the White House & waves to them as they merrily tear down "BLACK LIVES MATTER" posters. On Fox News, Giuliani floats YET ANOTHER false conspiracy theory -- that a secret software, designed to shift votes to Biden, kept Trump from a victory of MILLIONS OF VOTES. Says Ms. Sidney Powell, another Trump lawyer backing Giuliani up, "We have so much evidence, I feel like it's coming in through a fire hose." -- says she as she presents no evidence at all. The head of the General Services Administration refuses to give Biden space, funds and information so he can plan his transition --- EVEN THOUGH THIS IS REQUIRED BY LAW! The Secretary of State refuses to forward to Biden the emails he has received from heads of state congratulating him on his victory. Talk about petty! The Trump Administration refuses to give Biden any information on security issues or on the battle against the pandemic. And what is the President-Elect doing? "Keeping a disciplined silence" says the NY Times, with obvious admiration. I did not vote for Biden so he could "keep a disciplined silence." I did not vote for Biden so he could bravely be above-it-all and make do as Trump makes the transition to his Presidency as difficult as possible. In fact, Biden has no right to keep silence, disciplined or otherwise! He said he wanted this job. Now he's got to FIGHT for what he needs to do this job. This "statesman-like" attitude doesn't cut it! I'm not saying that Biden risks losing the Presidency, but while a Biden inauguration is a done deal, Trump CONTINUES doing damage to the whole country! Der Toddler's election fraud fantasies are undermining people's faith in democracy as I write this blog. Biden cannot let that go unchallenged until January 20! And, if things go on like this with Biden being excluded from information and planning about the pandemic, the new President will be starting from zero on this crucial issue. That means that more people will needlessly suffer and die! From my observation, aloofness NEVER works in politics. It simply allows the other side to frame the terms of the debate. It means your own supporters don't have anyone to rally them, to clarify what is happening. If someone is lying and saying that you won because of election fraud, you must say with outrage that they are lying, and passionately declare the truth! If someone is denying you anything that you are legally entitled to, you must loudly demand what is rightfully yours and not meekly figure out a work-around so you can keep going. We don't need Genial Joe at this moment. We don't need accomodating bipartisan Joe. We don't need empathetic Joe who feels our pain. We need the Joe who will stand up for the 78,735,600 and counting people who voted for you in the hope that you would have the guts to change the trajectory of this country, which is still descending into the muck despite your victory in the election! Come on, Joe -- Do Something! Bloggelinis, here's the link to send OUR President-Elect, Democrat Joseph Biden a message about how you think he's doing and what you think he SHOULD be doing. Please express yourself, whether you agree with me or not. Don't be shy. An essential part of democracy is holding our elected officials accountable. Terry (And by the way, Joe, could you please make it easier to contact you? I had to go to the shop on your website to find a way to do it.)

Sent November 13, 2020: SAVED BY GOVERNMENT FUNCTIONARIES!

 

NOVEMBER 13, 2020 SAVED BY APPOINTED GOVERNMENT FUNCTIONARIES! PREVIOUS BLOGS: TERRYBAUM.BLOGSPOT.COM PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO ANYONE WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED. IF THIS BLOG WAS FORWARDED TO YOU, YOU ARE NOT SUBSCRIBED.

View from the Kitchen In the first two Presidential elections (1788 & 1792), George Washington had no serious opposition. He declined to run a third time. The third Presidential election in 1796 was a fierce and bitter battle between John Adams, who belonged to the Federalist Party and Thomas Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican. Adams won and became President. This was NOT considered a transfer of power because Adams was already Vice-President and was the obvious successor to Washington. In other words, the power was not transferred from one opponent to another. It was kind of inherited. In 1800, Jefferson ran again for President against the incumbent Adams and won. As you can imagine, there was no love lost between the two. They really hated each other. Even so, according to a recent article in the Pittsburgh Gazette: "Adams did nothing to thwart or contest the orderly transition of power to Jefferson — the first democratic transition by an elected head of state to a political opponent in world history. In time, the two men even repaired their shattered friendship." This was our FIRST PEACEFUL TRANSFER OF POWER. This has become a crucial aspect of our democracy which has never been violated -- or even challenged -- until now. I remember during the 1992 Presidential election campaign, quite a few people feared that Bush Senior would not willingly hand power over to Clinton if Clinton won. I even talked to people who were considering voting for Bush, in order to avoid the possibility of trouble. Talk about being unclear on the concept of democracy! As it turned out, Bush was gracious in defeat. Which brings us to the present case. President Trump refuses to concede the election, which Biden won both in the Electoral College and the popular vote.Trump fired the Secretary of Defense and filled the Department with his slimy loyalists. There seemed to be no cracks in the wall of Republican support for Trump's delusion of victory. The Secretary of State actually declared publicly that Trump would continue as President. This was causing me to worry --- until I read the paper this morning --that everything was moving toward a coup. You may call me a crazy alarmist (or an alarming crazy person), but with an intransigent President solidly backed by the Republican party, a very base base of 70 million slavering for victory, and a Defense Department filled with submissive lackeys --- frankly, I was worried about things devolving into a civil war. Because that's what happens when the defeated incumbent leader refuses to leave. And we KNOW, if push came to shove, who already owns most of the guns. It seemed like, after saying for over 200 years with some feeling of security, "It can't happen here!", it was finally happening here. Yesterday, I was REALLY SCARED. But, thank the goddess, on the front page of today's New York Times:

&

BIG PHEW! So it turns out that officials in the cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security were responsible for the security of the Presidential election. And, even though they were appointed by the Trump administration, for some strange reason they are honest and competent people. They took securing the election very seriously and worked very hard at it, which included testing systems in all 50 states to make sure everything was A-OK. They did a damn good job! AND THEY'RE PROUD OF THE JOB THEY DID. THEY'RE NOT BACKING DOWN! Kinda weird, huh? Who woulda thunk it? So, strange as it seems, our democracy's ass was saved by... Appointed Government Functionaries! First among them is Christopher Krebs, Director of the Department of Homeland Security's cyberagency: "Krebs had led the charge to secure election machines, registration systems and tabulation systems across 50 states, sending experts to help and testing systems for vulnerabilities. Mr. Krebs also argued that his agency had to counter the 'hacking of minds as well as infrastructure,' and he created a 'rumor control' page in his agency's federal government website. It has repeatedly contradicted Mr. Trump, explaining why mail-in ballots do not lend themselves to fraud, and how states assure that the dead do not cast ballots. Mr. Krebs, a former Microsoft executive with a quick wit and a willingness to resist political pressure, did not back down when these efforts created a backlash in the White House. And he was praised in public recently by the acting secretary of homeland security for the "rumor control" effort." -- NY Times So, faced with strong and emphatic support of the election results from TRUMP'S OWN CABINET, the Republican wall cracked. Gov. DeWine of Ohio said it was time for Trump to concede. "Several Republican senators have begun, in measured tones, to say...that it is time to recognize Biden will soon be certified as President."-- NY Times. Senator Grassley suggested (certainly in measured tones) that Trump should concede at the latest on Dec. 13, the day before the Electoral College votes. At least as important as the Senators caving to reality was this editorial in the Las Vegas Review-Journal: "The president does a disservice to his more rabid supporters by insisting that he would have won the Nov. 3 election absent voter fraud. That's simply false." You see, this paper is owned by Republican mega-donor Sheldon Adelson. And when the NY Times calls him "mega", they mean MEGA! Adelson donated $75 million to Trump's campaign. I'd say when someone, who gave you $75 million to do something, tells you to call it quits --- it's time to quit. So folks..... THE TIDE HAS TURNED! Bloggelinis, I cannot express how relieved I am. Yes, the future looks rocky. But now I really do believe that the winner of the election, the candidate of the Democratic Party -- Joseph Biden,will take office on January 20, 2021. GREAT BIG PHEW! TERRY

Sent Nov. 11, 2020: WHAT IS TO BE DONE?

 

NOVEMBER 11, 2020 WHAT IS TO BE DONE? & A LITTLE FUN PREVIOUS BLOGS: TERRYBAUM.BLOGSPOT.COM PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO ANYONE WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED. IF THIS BLOG WAS FORWARDED TO YOU, YOU ARE NOT SUBSCRIBED.

TODAY IN TREE DAHLIA LAND. ACTUALLY, IT'S TOO COLD TO HAVE ANYONE OVER FOR TEA IN THE GARDEN, SO I'M VERY HAPPY I CAN SHARE THIS WITH YOU. Ok. I wrote this blog in all caps as an experiment. I was hoping to switch to all caps. You know, I'm in search of my graphic style. But all caps doesn't work for me at all. I can't tell when the sentences end. But I'm not going to rewrite the whole damn blog, so you'll have to endure it this one time. Sorry. FIRST, I'M GOING TO DO THIS ALL IN CAPS BECAUSE THAT'S FASTER AND I AM SO FAR BEHIND IN EVERYTHING -- READING NEWSPAPERS, PAYING BILLS, GETTING MY COMPUTER FIXED -- I MEAN, I'M TALKING ABOUT THE ESSENTIALS OF LIFE -- SO I'M TRYING TO BE MORE EFFICIENT. AND IT'S EFFICIENT TO JUST USE ONE CASE. I CHOOSE UPPER. IF THIS DRIVES EVEN A FEW PEOPLE CRAZY, I WON'T DO IT AGAIN. SO PLEASE EMAIL ME AT TERRYJOANBAUM@GMAIL.COM IF YOU CANNOT STAND THIS. ALSO EMAIL ME IF YOU LIKE IT. SO...TWO TOPICS TODAY: ONE: WHAT IS TO BE DONE? TWO: A FEW FUN PHOTOS & LINKS ONE: WHAT IS TO BE DONE? A: FOR CALIFORNIANS ONLY GOVERNOR NEWSOM WILL BE APPOINTING SOMEONE TO REPLACE SENATOR HARRIS, WHOSE ELECTION AS VICE-PRESIDENT MAKES US ALL WARM AND FUZZY WITH HOPE. I AND MANY OTHERS ARE EXCITED ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF LONG-TIME EAST BAY CONGRESSWOMAN BARBARA LEE AS OUR NEXT SENATOR. BARBARA LEE IS THE ONLY PERSON IN CONGRESS TO VOTE AGAINST INVADING AFGHANISTAN AFTER 9/11. THE ONLY ONE! HERE ARE LINKS TO TWO ARTICLES ABOUT LEE: POLITICO & INTERCEPT I REMEMBER WHEN SHE TOOK THAT COURAGEOUS STAND, MANY SAID HER POLITICAL CAREER WAS OVER. BUT IN FACT, SHE WAS TRULY REPRESENTING HER DISTRICT! AND HISTORY, NEED I MENTION, HAS PROVEN HER "PRESCIENT," AS POLITICO SAYS. TO CONTACT GOVERNOR NEWSOM ABOUT THIS, USE THIS LINK. IF YOU SEND AN EMAIL, I SUGGEST CHOOSING EITHER "OTHER" OR "REQUEST GENERAL" AS THE TOPIC. B: GEORGIA "GEORGIA ON MY MIND" IS NOT ONLY THE TITLE OF A GREAT SONG, BUT ALSO DESCRIPTIVE OF THE MENTAL STATE OF ALMOST EVERYONE IN THIS COUNTRY AND PROBABLY FOLKS ALL OVER THE WORLD. IT WOULD BE WONDERFUL IF WE HAD FLIPPED THE SENATE ON NOVEMBER 3, BUT WE DIDN'T. NOW THERE'S A RUN-OFF ELECTION IN JANUARY FOR BOTH SENATE SEATS IN GEORGIA. IF WE GET EVEN ONE OF THESE SEATS, WE WILL HAVE A MAJORITY, SINCE IT WOULD MAKE THE SENATE 50-50, AND THE VICE-PRESIDENT WOULD BREAK A TIE. SO... WE'VE GOT A LOT OF WORK TO DO! TIME AGAIN TO: DONATE MONEY (IF YOU CAN) MAKE PHONE CALLS SEND TEXTS (DON'T HAVE A LINK YET) WRITE LETTERS I GAVE WHAT WAS FOR ME A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY. I THINK IT MAKES SENSE TO DO THAT, IF YOU CAN. IF NOT, GIVE WHAT YOU CAN. THIS RACE IS ALMOST AS IMPORTANT AS THE RACE FOR PRESIDENT. IF THE SENATE STAYS GOP-CONTROLLED, IT WILL BE SO MUCH MORE DIFFICULT TO CHANGE THE SICK TRAJECTORY WE'RE ON NOW. ME, I'M A LETTER WRITER. THAT'S MY FAVORITE ACTIVITY, OTHER THAN CANVASSING, WHICH I'M NOT WILLING TO GO TO GEORGIA TO DO DURING THE PANDEMIC. I'VE ALREADY SIGNED UP FOR TWO MONDAYS @ 10AM OF BETSY'S COFFEE CLUB VIRTUAL LETTER WRITING PARTY. TWO: TWO FUN PHOTOS & 2 LINKS JESSICA CELEBRATING THE END OF THE NIGHTMARE HERE'S JESSICA NOONEY ON THE UPPER WEST SIDE OF NEW YORK CITY, STANDING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET, BANGING POTS TOGETHER IN CELEBRATION OF TRUMP'S DEFEAT, ON THAT GLORIOUS MORNING WHEN THE ELECTION WAS FINALLY CALLED.

JESSICA IS A CLOSE EX. YOU CAN TELL SHE'S A DANCER. EVEN THOUGH YOU CAN'T SEE HER FACE, YOU CAN FEEL EVERY INCH OF HER BODY RADIATING JOY. WE MET ONE DAY IN 1999 IN CENTRAL PARK WHEN I WAS LIVING IN NEW YORK. SHE WAS PAINTING A WATERCOLOR OF A TREE, AND I STOPPED TO TALK WITH HER. WE HAD AN INSTANT SOUL CONNECTION, AND EXCHANGED PHONE NUMBERS. WHEN I GOT HOME, I COULD NOT FIGURE OUT WHERE THE HELL I HAD WRITTEN HER NUMBER. AND SHE NEVER CALLED ME. SO IT'S HERFAULT THAT WE DIDN'T GET INVOLVED UNTIL A YEAR AND HALF LATER WHEN WE ENCOUNTERED EACH OTHER IN A MEETING AT THE GAY & LESBIAN CENTER. JESSICA HAS LIVED IN MANHATTAN HER WHOLE LIFE. WHEN SHE WAS YOUNG, SHE TOURED WITH TWO DIFFERENT MODERN DANCE TROUPES -- LED BY JEAN ERDMAN AND PEARL LANG. WHEN I MET HER, SHE RAN A PRE-SCHOOL IN HER APARTMENT ON 101ST ST. & COLUMBUS, SHE ABSOLUTELY LOVED LITTLE KIDS. SHE ALWAYS SAID, "WHAT COULD BE BETTER THAN WAKING UP, ROLLING OUT OF BED, AND HAVING A BUNCH OF BEAUTIFUL BABIES PARADE INTO YOUR APARTMENT? I'M SO LUCKY!" AND SHE WASN'T BEING SARCASTIC! BUT FINALLY, NEW YORK STATE CHANGED THE LAW AND SHE COULD NO LONGER SHELTER THE PRE-SCHOOL WHERE SHE LIVED. YOU KNOW, LAWS ABOUT FIRE EXITS AND STAIRS AND SUCH. JESSICA IS A VISUAL ARTIST AND, IN MY OPINION, A GREAT POET. SHE SELF-PUBLISHED TWO BOOKS OF HER POEMS AND VISUAL ART. A SPANISH-LANGUAGE PUBLISHER ALSO DID A BOOK OF HER POEMS, WITH HIS TRANSLATIONS ON THE FACING PAGE. BELOW IS JESSICA IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, WHERE WE WENT ON VACATION. WE WEREN'T LOVERS YET WHEN WE PLANNED THE TRIP, BUT OF COURSE WE KNEW WE WOULD BE.

AN ENTIRE CITY CELEBRATING THE END OF THE NIGHTMARE CLICK THIS STILL FROM THE VIDEO, PHILLY DANCES FOR DEMOCRACY TO SEE A HAPPY TOWN. APPARENTLY, PHILADELPHIANS ARE VERY SERIOUS ABOUT THEIR STREET PARTIES. THEY GREATLY ENJOYED BEING THE CENTER OF NATIONAL ATTENTION FOR THE FEW DAYS BEFORE PENNSYLVANIA WAS DECLARED FOR BIDEN. WHY DIDN'T THE NY TIMES SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THIS ROWDY, LOUD AND PEACEFUL PARTY FOR DEMOCRACY?!? A GAGGLE OF BROADWAY ACTORS BEMOANING THE (HOPEFULLY TEMPORARY) END OF THEIR WORLD CLICK THE PHOTO TO SEE THIS VIDEO, BRING BACK BROADWAY, A ZOOM CANTATA. IT'S HILARIOUS. I LAUGHED AND LAUGHED -- UNTIL I SUDDENLY STARTED CRYING. MOSTLY I DON'T ALLOW MYSELF TO MOURN THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THEATER.

ALL FOR NOW, BLOGGELINIS. TERRY

Sent Nov. 8, 2020: NO MORE MALARKEY!

 

Subscribe to My Blog! NOVEMBER 8, 2020 NO MORE MALARKEY! PREVIOUS BLOGS: TERRYBAUM.BLOGSPOT.COM PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO ANYONE WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED. IF THIS BLOG WAS FORWARDED TO YOU, YOU ARE NOT SUBSCRIBED. I was seriously debating whether I should sit while I drank my tea or water the garden while I drank my tea, when I heard Carolyn shouting from the top of the back stairs: "NO MORE MALARKEY!" "Malarkey" is an old slang Irish word for "bullshit." This was our President-Elect's slogan of choice during the primaries. He even had a big banner on his campaign bus that announced boldly to the world: "NO MORE MALARKEY!" I doubt they even use the word in Ireland anymore. As a slogan for a national campaign for the U.S. Presidential nomination in 2020, it was hopelessly clueless and antique. But Joe Biden does grow on you, doesn't he? Well, he does ME, anyhow. And now I find his antique cluelessness very.... how shall I say?.... dear. So Carolyn's resounding "NO MORE MALARKEY!" woke me from the collective nightmare that we have been living through for four years. FOUR YEARS!?!!!*!? We not only won an election, which is a very big deal in itself -- WE DEFEATED TYRANNY! I'm not saying we conquered it. We'll see about that. But this round of the fight, the most important possible round, was won by US! We did this.  All of us, the millions of us who made phone calls and texted and wrote letters and wrote postcards and knocked on doors and sent out emails. No one yet is talking about the UNPRECEDENTED number of volunteers who cared passionately and worked their asses off to elect Joe Biden President.  WE ALL DID THIS TOGETHER. Pretty cool, huh? Carolyn and I went out the front door and yelled. From the backyard, we heard people yelling. It wasn't huge. Our neighborhood's pretty gentrified. I'm not saying they're TRUMPERS, heaven forfend. But perhaps the impulse to cavort with joy in public does not arise with frequency. Then we had a toast, the three of us, Carolyn, her husband Matthew and me. Matthew brought out a bottle of sake and we toasted "To the future!" as we sat on the deck, which now exists in an entirely new world from last week's deck. When Carolyn talked to her daughter Mica, who's due to have a baby in a few weeks, she said "I feel so much better about bringing this baby into the world than I felt yesterday!" And indeed, whenever I saw a woman pregnant or someone with a small child, I couldn't help but think of how crucial this victory was for them. Then a celebratory photo with my pro-mask window display. Then I was exhausted, having slept horribly for the last few days weeks months years. So I took a nap. I was woken up by the doorbell ringing. It was my friend and neighbor Betsy, dropping by for a celebratory almost-hug, and to tell me I HAD to go down to the Castro! THEN I remembered the eagle mask I had bought months ago. You see, one of my guilty pleasures is perusing mail-order catalogs. And sometimes I see some amazing THING that I MUST HAVE. And when I saw the full-head rubber masks of four animals for only $24.99 each, I said to myself, "That bald eagle mask has my name on it!" I figured I could use it, no matter what the outcome of the election was. That's my practical side manifesting. So I ran up the stairs to tell Carolyn I was going to the Castro as a bald eagle, and she of course wanted to join me in her Statue of Liberty costume. I was worried how I was going to actually wear the mask, because it was huge and wobbled all over my shoulders. But I discovered if I first put on the fedora that has been residing in my closet since some unknown person left it at my house ages ago -- the mask fit perfectly! Well, perfectly for a MASK. As we ALL know now, masks are not about comfort. And the more imaginative, the less comfortable. But, quite frankly, if you're wearing a mask for performance, the discomfort is an essential part of the deal because it forces you to transcend your minor itches and snorts by becoming one with the mask. I learned that one Halloween. So 45 minutes later, Carolyn and I met outside, ready to roll down to the Castro. (You COULD actually roll down, I think. Never tried it.) Carolyn couldn't find her Liberty costume, so she came as kind of a jolly patriotic clown. And the Castro was HAPPENING, which is something it does very well. It was a lot more crowded than this photo, but you get the idea. I, of course, could not take photos. There was a truck with loudspeakers and the music played and I danced and danced and danced. Below is me, when I just was starting out. I loosened up as time went on, but have no photos of my more expressive dancing because Carolyn had to leave. Although some areas were jammed, I was able to find spots that stayed a bit more empty where I could even lean my back against a pole or wall to help me avoid tripping, since I couldn't see well at all. I danced a long time -- 17,354 steps worth, according to my pedometer. Then I returned up the hill, totally exhausted. Spent the rest of the evening quietly, reading, talking to friends. I think we all will remember exactly where we were and with whom on this very special day. Bloggelinis: My offer stands that I will send an 8X10 print (Walgreen's quality!) of any of my photos to you -- one photo for every session you worked on the Biden campaign. So if you want to take me up on this offer, just email me and select from previous blogs (they're all at terrybaum.blogspot.com). Or I will soon send an email with selections from my own favorites. Terry

Sent Nov. 6: A Contradiction & A Ramble

 

NOVEMBER 6, 2020 A CONTRADICTION & A RAMBLE PREVIOUS BLOGS: TERRYBAUM.BLOGSPOT.COM PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO ANYONE WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED. IF THIS BLOG WAS FORWARDED TO YOU, YOU ARE NOT SUBSCRIBED.

The View from the Top of the Back Stairs THE CONTRADICTION I am trying to get my brain around these two facts: Joe Biden was elected President The Entire Country, including California, has moved to the right. I really don't want to think about this right now. This is the kind of information that my whole body has to absorb. So let move on to movin' on -- THE RAMBLE I had an appointment yesterday afternoon for my computer at a place near Fisherman's Wharf. And I was very excited to take a ramble there. Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 are places that you NEVER go unless you have visitors. And they're both wonderful. First I came across of some VERY NICE street art.

Then I went down to the Wharf & the Bay. I walked around Pier 39.

And the sea lions were back!

I ate INSIDE a restaurant for the FIRST TIME! It was very very large, there was only one couple there besides me, and it had great bay/wharf views. I highlight recommend it. They also have tables outside, but it was too cold for me. I had linguini with clams -- excellent!

This picture is kinda unbelievable. I can't believe I got it. But I guess if you walk around all the time taking photos, sometimes you get this kind of gift.

Well, Bloggelinis, what can I show you after that? I thank all of you who wrote me such interesting replies to my question, WHY?? I haven't read them all yet. I have to say, I find Bloggelinis very...very thoughtful. Very open. I'm grateful to have such wonderful followers. Don't think your emails don't matter to me. They're what has kept me going. I'm very grateful for your support. Terry