Misplaced Modifiers

I keep seeing what my high school English teacher Miss Graham would call "misplaced modifiers," the bane of her existence.  She warned us against misleading sentences like "Coming to school, the wind blew off my coat."  

"Oh, is the wind a classmate of yours?"  she would ask.

I knew that wind was not.

But I'm astonished at how far away people are putting words from what they modify:

  "She had male DNA on her clothing that was not her husband's."

 

Why couldn't the writer have said that she had male DNA that was not her husband's on her clothing?

We met during del Toro's breakfast with Daniel Kraus in 2011, with whom he later co-wrote the novel Trollhunters

Why not meeting in 2011 during breakfast with Daniel Kraus, with whom he later....?

He meets a woman "after a heroine overdose, who dies the next day..."

Why not meeting a woman who, after a heroine overdose, dies the next day"?

Today I read, "People cared about me that I loved."

Miss Graham must be rolling over in her grave who taught me back in 1962 to never split infinitives, never use vulgar contractions like can't, won't, shouldn't, and to never use a preposition to end a sentence with.

Please help me collect these affronts to our finer sensibilities.

What I love about San Francisco for Heather Knight, Who Asked

https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/For-all-its-flaws-there-s-something-special-13079812.php

In Heather Knight's column today, she asks:

What makes you remember why you love living in San Francisco, presuming you do still love it? From a favorite Muni line to a particular dish at your favorite restaurant to your favorite view or museum, I want to hear about it. Email your own tribute to the city for possible inclusion in a future column.

Like you, Heather Knight, I'm appalled by the homeless in this city you once wrote was more like Rwanda in the income disparity.  

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Income-inequality-on-par-with-developing-nations-5486434.php

Sharing the wealth according to the Gini Coefficient.

But here are some of the things I still love:

I can walk a half mile to West Portal, which still seems like a village to me.  (The Twin Peaks Tunnel is now under construction, but the ambassadors are doing a good job of directing us to shuttle busses.)

I got from there on MUNI to attend the demonstrations for Families Beyond Together, dedication of the plaque for SF's Sister Cities, to meet a friend at Ananda Fuara, see School of Rock, go to scene night at Playwrights Center of SF at the Shelton Theater or at the 42nd Street Moon place on Van Ness near Grove.  

I can walk the city, as I did with a friend in training for our  Camino de Santiago walk in 2016--from Stern Grove to Ocean Beach, from Castro and Market to the Sausalito side of the Golden Gate Bridge.  

I just cross the street to attend a concert at Stern Grove, and when the concerts aren't in session, it's a nice walking place.

I can attend a sing-along or a book discussion at Anza Public Library or another SF public library--celebrating the fact that the SF PUblic Library was just awarded the honor "Library of the Year" nationwide.  That's where I met the amazing women who make up OWL, Older Women's League, who were active in a presentation on "Reframing Aging:  What it means to grow old in America."

On Wednesday evening  for $15 I can get a delicious plant-based dinner at Wellness Central at the Opera Plaza and meet with kindred spirits concerned about being kind to the planet and alleviating animal suffering in factory farms.  

I can take a course at City College in Middle East studies and celebrate Frida Kahlo's 111th birthday along Frida Kahlo Way at the Ocean Campus, and picking up a cake at a bakery, I can meet graduates of CCSF's Culinary Arts Program and a graduate in cinema at a crosswalk on my way there.


I take out-of-towners  to the Tenderloin Museum as well as to Pianos in the Park, and I show them the Tenderloin National Forest as well as the community garden near the downtown Public Library.

City Hall is really beautiful in itself, and there's always something interesting going on as hearings, protests, and weddings mingle.

I can attend meetings of CARA (California Alliance for Retired Americans) at the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, founded by Harry Bridges, which reminds me of San Francisco's labor history, so well described in Daniel Bacon's Frisco.

I can go to book readings all over town though my favorite spots are Bookshop West Portal--within walking distance--and Book Passage at the Ferry Building--just a short MUNI ride from West Portal.

When I get in my car, drivers on 19th Avenue will sometimes let me get out of my garage, and though I hate to drive, I love the view as I go down Clipper Street. Tea at Lovejoy's at the foot of Clipper is a treat, and so is tea at the Samovar at Yerba Buena Center--beautiful in itself.

Even Sutro Tower, so well-described by Steve Rubenstein (the Mark Twain of the San Francisco Chronicle) can be beautiful.  I'm attaching a photo of it caught in fog, when it looks much less like a huge pickle fork than like a ship sailing in the sky.

These are just my first thoughts I'm jotting down this morning.  There's a lot to be alarmed about, but there are still a lot of reasons to love living here in San Francisco.

The City Club--Revisited for Jerry Nachman's Memorial

 

Tom and I marveled at the beauty of the City Club, where I hadn't been for several years. In fact, the last time I was there, I had lunch with Masha Zakheim, who used to give tours there. Here's what she said: 'The two floors of The City Club today seem vintage 1930s "art deco," though Pflueger's interior architect Michael Goodman denied the influence of that European style contemporary to his time. In fact, he said, "The truth is, there is no style here.'" Notice the photo of Jerry Nachman (when he was writing his single's column) in front of Diego Rivera's Allegory of California and his colorfully packaged final book "I'd Like Two Tickets to Yesterday."

Let Us Pray that People Really Do Care--and Signs They Do

I had an awful traffic accident in 2016, so I was grateful that the man I then called my MEQUE (MEjor Que Un Esposo--Better than a husband)  drove me to Martinez shortly after my accident so that I could file papers for the annual renewal of my conservatorship for my disabled brother.

This year I was more confident about my driving--or lets say just less terrified--but when I made the trip alone, I thought of both the sweetness in my MEQUE's  driving me to Martinez two previous years and in his brutality, leading to our no longer having our exclusive club.

Because my brother's declining cognitive condition makes me sad, and my going alone reminded me that my  MEQUE betrayed me, the trip wasn't an especially pleasant one.

 Then on my way back from the courthouse on Tuesday because of construction, I couldn't follow the route I'd looked up, so I stopped at a corner, parked illegally, and approached a couple who were in the square.

I was wearing my I REALLY DO CARE.  DON'T U?" t-shirt, and the woman said, "I like your shirt!  Let's pray that those kids and parents get back together soon!"

I said, "Right!"

And she began to pray.  She prayed for not just a change in policy but a change in heart.

Then she asked me my name, and after I told her, she bowed her head and prayed, "Help Tina get home safely."

I said amen to that one too!

That's when I noticed the Daily Word book in the hands of each of them.  

Then they gave me directions, and I did eventually get home...safely.

Those Who Spoke at the Rembrance of Jerry Nachman Gathering

Here's more on the gathering for Jerry Nachman at City Club. I mentioned the people who spoke, and here they are. Jane McDougle began, followed by his best friend Al Negrin, Michael Krasny, Leah Garchik, Mary McGeachy (the first and only Mrs. Nachman), and Don Miller (who's known him since kindergarten). They all avoided the "generic" and made really meaningful comments. It was a treat to see CCSF music retiree Peggy Gorham with her husband, here talking to Betty Dvorson, another CCSF retiree. And look at all the beautiful Jerry Nachman paraphernalia!

Remembrance for Jerry Nachman at City Club

Jerry Nachman's memorial gathering was just what he deserved, thanks to friends like Sharon Bobrow and Maggie Berke, who hosted, and Rita Abrams and Morrie Bobrow and others who performed or spoke about Jerry at the City Club this past Monday. Tom and I shared in this and even got a copy of Jerry's final book "I'd Like Two Tickets to Yesterday," given to every guest! We all sang out "Jerry" to the tune of "Mame" for very clever lyrics Rita and Morrie wrote and sang. Other performers were Darlene Popovic, Sara Hauter, and Stephanie Rhoads-Bickham. Only one person asked Tom if he was Ben 'bong-Torres, here with Leah Garchik. I found out that Bettina Devin has more movies available on Netflix/Amazon, and I was very happy to see CCSF retiree Peggy Gorham and her husband Bill.