Whole Lotta shakin’ going on

Where were you on April 18th, 1906 at 5:12am?

(If I really had any "kompyuter-no-how", here is where I would have had a cool video link of "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On" by Jerry Lee Lewis; but, unfortunately, "Eye bee ign'ant" when it comes to these thingys ~ Sorry, J.T., one of these days I might "figger it owt".)











Lotta's Fountain is where the survivors of the 1906 Earthquake met and left messages for their loved ones; and now it is where they hold the annual commemoration of the earthquake. I have been attending (off and on) since 1994 when my brother ("Hi, Kerry!") came out for a visit and talked me into getting up at 4:00am to check it out. What sorta idiot gets up at that hour while on vacation?

This year there was a pretty decent turn-out for the 104th Anniversary. The weather was beautiful for a change (clear and warm). There was even a large (20+ piece) German Oom-pah band playing bright (well, actually it was before sunrise) and early. Unfortunately, actual survivors have been attending less and less each year. This year only Bill Del Monte (104 years young, I think they said he was only 3 months old at the time) was able to make it; they did mention that there are one or two others still alive that just couldn’t make it. Wild Bill is pretty spry and good looking for 104, and he seemed to be having a great time, too.



There was free coffee, tea, or hot chocolate provided by the American Red Cross along with informative brochures for just such emergencies. They used to provide donuts, too, but didn’t this year. And years back, there was even another volunteer van (I can’t remember who it was, though) that had $1.00 Bloody Marys and Screwdrivers. I don’t know why they stopped doing it, maybe the City decided people getting drunk and disorderly (for under $10.00) that early in the morning was not exactly the best way to celebrate this somber and sobering occasion.

I even ran into someone (a customer) I used to know from my old job (about five years ago now). Fred owns a moving company called One Big Man, One Big Truck ("… and one big dog, Beau", I always used to say to Fred; as he used to have this great big, friendly Golden Retriever, Beauregard, that rode with him when he was working; Beau passed away several years back). Fred actually has a number of trucks in his fleet now and doesn’t actually do much of the moving himself any more.

http://www.onebigman.com/

Speaking of dogs, there were several in attendance with their humans. There was this really cute dog that seemed to care less about the happenings. As his human put it: "Dogs have no sense of history…" (Can you blame them? This event would have happened 728 years ago to them.) I asked what breed of dog it was and was told that it was a Tibetan Terrier ~ I had never heard of that breed; heck, it could have been a "Buddhist Beagle" or "Dalai Dachshund" for all I knew.

As for the breakfast portion of this posting, Lefty O’Doul’s Restaurant & Piano Bar* (three blocks West on Geary near Union Square) opened early at 5:30am today for their "Annual Bloody Mary Survivor Breakfast". It was really nothing special; I simply had two eggs over medium, home fried potatoes, sourdough toast, and orange juice, as that was the extent of what they were offering at this ungodly hour... at least they were open and the food was hot.



 
I could just picture Jeanette MacDonald standing in the rain and singing proudly:

"It only takes a little corner of
This great big world to make a place you love
My home upon the hill
I find I love you still
I've been away, but now I'm back to tell you

San Francisco
Open your Golden Gate
You let no stranger wait outside your door
San Francisco
Here is your wandering one
Saying 'I'll wander no more'

Other places only make me love you best
Tell me you're the heart of all the golden west

San Francisco
Welcome me home again
I'm coming home
To go roaming no more!"


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Coffee ~ 5.2; Breakfast ~ 5.4; Earthquake ~ 7.9


*(Francis "Lefty" O'Doul was a local San Francisco Baseball hero. He played professionally for both the Boston Red Sox and the New York Giants… as well as those D*mn Y*nkees and da Brooklyn Bums ~ no one is perfect.

http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/historical/individual_stats_player.jsp?c_id=mlb&playerID=119941&HS=True

Lefty still holds the record for 3rd Most Hits in a Season, 254, behind only Ichiro Suzuki, 262, and George Sisler, 257. He was one of the first Major Leaguers to come out of the San Francisco Bay Area ~ he predates some skinny Italiano kid named Joe; Joe is best known as the slightly less talented brother of Boston Red Sox Legend, Dom DiMaggio, and being married to Marilyn Monroe.)