Library Sing-along Includes a "Downtown" Quite Different from Ours

At a sing-along this afternoon, I couldn't help marveling at the lyrics of "Downtown."  I think even at the time it was written there were some critics who said it represented escapism at its worst, but now "Downtown" is anything but escape!

 We sang "Sing," "Close to You," Blowin' i the Wind" 1962, "Country Road," "Leavin' on a Jet Plane", "The Sound of Music, "My Favorite Things," "Edelweiss,"  Climb Every Mountain," "Getting to Know You," "Que Sera Sera," "As Time Goes By," "Young at Heart," "Today," Tomorrow,"  "Over the Rainbow." "Downtown," and "When I'm 64."
There were a couple of funny "connections" that occurred to me while we were singing.

First, with "Country Road," the John Denver song, I told them that Javier, my MEQUE (Mejor Que Un Esposo), sings that song with a Spanish accent because he's from Costa Rica, and I enjoy his nostalgia about West Virginia!  A singer-along from Taiwan said the Taiwanese sing it too!  West Virginia is wherever the heart is!

The other connection was even funnier:  When I heard "Tomorrow," I remembered who had taken me to see Annie, and it was the husband of a woman who's now a close friend--before they were married.  Then I realized that the woman, Eileen, was the sister of the guy leading the singing, Cliff, and when I shared this with my friend Robert and his wife Shirley, I realized that they knew Eileen because she was the director of Peter's Place when their children were going to pre-school there!  So the song "Tomorrow" reminded us of yesterdays and todays.

I had tears in my eyes at the end of "Blowin' in the Wind" because it's still so on the mark, and I've always thought "Downtown" was a rousing but escapist song, and now the lyrics don't quite fit what we see downtown!  Now we need to escape FROM downtown.

A man originally from France said there was a French version of "Que sera sera," but the words weren't an exact translation, and the only English in the song was "Que sera sera." (!)    I looked it up later and found the words and a YouTube "performance" from 1957.  In our American version, Doris Day asks her sweetheart, "Will there be rainbows day after day?" but in the French version the singer asks whether she'll always be faithful.  In both cases the answer is "Que sera sera."

The sing-along was a lot of fun!  We sang "Sing," "Close to You," Blowin' i the Wind" 1962, "Country Road," "Leavin' on a Jet Plane", "The Sound of Music, "My Favorite Things," "Edelweiss,"  Climb Every Mountain," "Getting to Know You," "Que Sera Sera," "As Time Goes By," "Young at Heart," "Yesterday," "Today," Tomorrow,"  (See link to film by that title)  "Over the Rainbow." "Downtown," and "When I'm 64."
There were a couple of funny "connections" that occurred to me while we were singing.

First, with "Country Road," the John Denver song, I told them that Javier, my MEQUE (Mejor Que Un Esposo), sings that song with a Spanish accent because he's from Costa Rica, and I enjoy his nostalgia about West Virginia!  A singer-along from Taiwan said the Taiwanese sing it too!  West Virginia is wherever the heart is!

The other connection was even funnier:  When I heard "Tomorrow," I remembered who had taken me to see Annie, and it was the husband of a woman who's now a close friend--before they were married.  Then I realized that the woman, Eileen, was the sister of the guy leading the singing, Cliff, and when I shared this with my friend Robert and his wife Shirley, I realized that they knew Eileen because she was the director of Peter's Place when their children were going to pre-school there!  So the song "Tomorrow" reminded us of yesterdays and todays.

I had tears in my eyes at the end of "Blowin' in the Wind" because it's still so on the mark, and I've always thought "Downtown" was a rousing but escapist song, and now the lyrics don't quite fit what we see downtown!  Now we need to escape FROM downtown.

A man originally from France said there was a French version of "Que sera sera," but the words weren't an exact translation, and the only English in the song was "Que sera sera." (!)    I looked it up later and found the words and a YouTube "performance" from 1957.  In our American version, Doris Day asks her sweetheart, "Will there be rainbows day after day?" but in the French version the singer asks whether she'll always be faithful.  In both cases the answer is "Que sera sera."

They sang one or two other songs after I'd left to mail a packet to a friend in need of some cheering up.

Here's a link for Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, the film that came to mind as we were singing the three songs with those titles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6Rrj3LgAPs

Young at Heart, the 1954 film that apparently only I had ever heard of

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFWG0iR3DYc

"True Love" from High Society.

Not a Very Happy Ending but Like a Fairy Tale

There's a homeless man in my neighborhood.  The only thing  I know about him aside from his behavior on the street is that his first name is Larry.

  A couple of years ago, I walked him over to the Manor Cafe and paid for a meal for him, but I didn't really feel good about the way I did it.  I was in a hurry, and I just basically gave the owner of the Cafe money for his meal.

A couple of months ago, when Larry  asked for a handout, I told him I didn't give money to people on the streets, that I give it instead to organizations to help people on the streets. 

He said, "That's phony.  That's an excuse."

So when I heard about HandUp, an organization designed to help specific individuals on the street, I bought a couple of their gift cards--$25 each. 

https://handup.org/members#category/spotlight

 Here's how it's laid out.

I carried around two cards for a while and never saw Larry, so I gave one to a woman who was begging on the street.

Then one day recently, I saw Larry lying on the street and took a picture.

For some reason, as soon as I got it onto my computer, it became my Desktop photo!

This reminded me of a fairy tale in which a woman promises to come back to the man holding her captive because her captivity is part of the bargain--compensation for what her father has taken from this man.   But she forgets, and then she has a magic mirror showing him dying of heartbreak  because she hasn't kept her promise.

A few days ago I saw Larry on West Portal, and I said,  "Hi, Larry.  How are you doing?"  He said he'd been sick, and I told him I was sorry and brought out the $25 gift card.  He refused it!  He wanted a hand out, not a HandUp!

I then gave it to another panhandler.

The next time I saw Larry, he accused me once again of not wanting to help.

 I said, "You refused the twenty-five dollar gift card," but I didn't tell him about his being on my Desktop every time I turn on the computer!

I'm happy to say that with Jonathan's help at 3000 miles away, I was finally able to get Larry off of my Desktop!

Stern Grove Crowds in Really Nice People!

I have to admit that I was disappointed and a little bit put-off by the Stern Grove table-of-twelve configuration at the San Francisco Ballet performance today!

It had occurred to me that my donation of $500 would pay for only six-eighths of the table, but I never thought we'd have only half of a table.  They may say that two tables are put together under one tablecloth, but we were going to be squished!  We had so much food that I wasn't sure there would be room for any people, even us.

It turned out, though, that people were really nice, and having them at the table enhanced the experience instead of making it uncomfortable.  It helped that two women chose to sit on a rock behind us--close to the mother of one and the husband of another.  (We had set up when they arrived, but we honored their request to move down so they could be closer to their family.)

We were also seated with a couple from Cupertino, who came up from Pebble Beach, where they were house-sitting.  It was her birthday, so it worked out really well that I'd made a chocolate cake!

We shared our food, which was plentiful and delicious!  Olga made eggplant wraps and a carrot salad, and Eileen made a farro salad.  I made veggie kebabs, corn bread, sauerkraut with apples and vegan sausage, and Olivie Salad.

Here are, starting with Olga and going clockwise, Olga, Mikhail, Sue, Mike, Charles, Eileen, Javier, me, Jim and Louise.

 A better view of Jim and Louise.  Can you believe he's 82?!

Sue, Mike, Charlene, Debora(h)

Mike and Charlene

Music Is Secure at Kaiser

I heard piano music when I got to Kaiser for a bone density test, and I was so glad that my hearing was unimpaired (as far as I know).

I followed the music to the third floor and found out that the pianist was a security guard.  He plays the piano every day before he begins his shift.

I told the other security guards lined up around him, "I guess you all are waiting your turn at the piano?"

Hand-Up and Desktop

I've become so self-indulgent in retirement, that I've added a "something unselfish" to my list of things I want to do each day, and there are a lot of days I can't check it off as done.

So yesterday I decided than I'd take a half-mile walk just to see whether a postcard to my brother could get there on Saturday instead of Monday, and in front of the post office I saw the woman I'd given a $25 Hand-up gift card to asking for handouts.

"Did you cash in the card I gave you?" I asked her.

"Oh, thank you for remembering me," she said.  "I called Glide."  But no, she hadn't cashed it in.

I asked her what her name was, and she said, "Jackie Robinson" and added something I think I heard as "and I have one hundred and eighteen children and three hundred grandchildren with there on the way."

I then crossed the street and saw Larry, the person I'd really gotten the Handup gift cards for.
Now I've located my second card, and should I hope that he'll be on the street again so I can give it to him?

Housing Crunch "Spurring Legislators into Action" in today's news

I'm grateful to have a roof over my head.  I wish everybody did.

Today's SF Chronicle front page story (to the left of the bigger "Frustration in Chinatown as new subway is delayed) is "Housing Crunch spurring legislators into action/with 130 bills in pipeline, vote is possible soon."

Here's some of what I learned:

This past decade, developers have build 80,000 houses a year, but 180,000 are needed.

In prior years 160,000 were built each year.

Of the 10 least affordable counties in the nation, 7 are in California:  Marin, SF, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa.

Home ownership in CA has dropped to 1940's level.

https://www.pressreader.com/usa/san-francisco-chronicle/20170715/281496456330781

Caution: Senior Crossing

My nieces and I saw " Caterpiller Crossing" at the Botanical Gardens last Thursday, when we were there to see the pianos.

Then yesterday I picked up a copy of SFWeekly because the cover said "Respect (Your Elders)  San Franciscans over 70 do cool stuff (& more)."  I thought we oldies but goodies were going to find out about activities for us, but it turned out to be about octogenarians roller skating down hills and stuff like that.  the "& more" that most interested me was "Caution:  Seniors Crossing."  We are going the way of the caterpillar, not getting the chance to metamorphosize.  We seniors make up 15 percent of the city's population but account for 44 percent of traffic deaths in 2016.  We are four times more likely than people under 65 to be killed by a traffic collision.    

http://www.sfweekly.com/news/feature/caution-seniors-crossing/