Sunday, March 29, 2009

Haight 'n' Clayton

Actually San Francisco's been loving me lately. Not in that famous San Francisco way per se. More in a sleeping in the sun with hippies all day kind of way.

The road trip down from Olympia was great. We stopped in Arcata, my second time, stayed in Humboldt State for a night. Met up with some people that Luke, Ben and Henri knew. Meanwhile, I found some people I knew from my last stop, groups joined, we left the next day.

Made it to San Francisco, stayed on Sasha's floor on the corner of Haight st. and Clayton st. . . . appropriate.

Next few days we spent cruising around Haight Ashbury meeting hippies we knew from all over the west coast. I found four people from evergreen that I knew, all chilling on hippie hill in golden gate park. I also got to know a few travelers really well and stayed with them after Ben Luke and Henri left for LA, then San Diego, then South Carolina, NY, Colorado, etc. Dead Tour. Best of luck guys!

I went to a Bob Weir show at the Fillmore, it was sweet. Then I crashed with Layla and Turtle, and Driftwood and Sunshine.

Oh I just need to mention Captain and Mama Cat. First night I was in SF, an old hippie with long graying dreads, a beard and aviators asked me if I had 73 cents. I was walking with Sasha and the group to his apartment to sleep, and the guy was standing right on the corner of the Haight and Clayton, leaning on the Clayton st. sign. I didn't think I had any money left (Except for a lucky 50 cent piece Rob gave me about a month ago, which I'm not spending. As long as I have my lucky 50 cent piece I'm never broke) So I just said "sorry man" and kept moving, Ben gave him the rest of the butt he was smoking and the guy thanked him and said we'd meet up tomorrow. I didn't think much more of it until the next day, I always feel bad not giving people change who ask though.

Next day, Ben Henri and I are sitting at a table outside an overpriced greek food place right on the corner by Golden Gate Park. I didn't buy anything, as I only had change, and I don't much go for restaurants unless I'm buying food for someone else too. But as I was sitting at the table I counted out my change (excluding the 50 cent piece) and with all my pennies nickles dimes and a quarter, I had exactly 73 cents. I remembered the night before, I hadn't opened my change pouch since then, and felt really bad for not giving him the 73 cents and I was just blown away by the "coincidence". I sat there for a while, made sure to point it out to Ben and Henri and just said "I wonder why that guy asked me for 73 cents." They weren't as excited about it as me, but that's ok.

We went back into the park and took a little trip around the world under the sun, seeing the arboretum blending from Australian Eucalyptus Forest to American Coastal Redwoods. Eventually making our way back to Hippie Hill. It's easy to find, just walk into the park from the entrance by Haight and Stanyon and go under the bridge, keep straight for about 3 minutes and after you've been offered buds by about 4 different people the hill should be on your right.

Anyway, on the hill I saw that same guy sitting with a group of other people in the sun. So I thought about it for a second and then crab walk scrambled over to him and said. "You asked me for change last night, how much did you ask me for?". At first he shrugged and so I smiled invitingly, he said "73 cents." Laughing I said "You got it right!" and I gave him the stack of coins and everybody in the circle started laughing and clapping. The woman he was with introduced herself as Mama Cat, behind the greenest eyes I've ever seen. She was ecstatic that I had the change. Not for the change's sake, but because of the meaning. We met and it was all love, all meant to be. Then I rolled over backwards down the hill and a bunch of other people started rolling racing with me. Turns out they'd just been talking about how someone should roll down the hill right before I got there.

His name was Captain, and they both have bumped into me everywhere I've gone in this city since, and I doubt this city will be the end of it.

Mama Cat is a healer, and reads minds. Enlightenment, get ready, Captain will bring cookies.

Yesterday Turtle and Layla left, with another guy named Turtle, so I had no one left to stay with for a moment, then my Uncle Harry called, as soon as I plugged in my phone. He called my Aunt Mary Lou, who lives here in San Fran, she picked me up down by the park, and I got to meet up with her for the first time in years, and shower for the first time in even longer.

She cooked an awesome Mac 'n Cheese dinner, we talked for a few hours, and I set it up to meet my cousin Mark for the first time for breakfast the next morning (today).

I went to breakfast with Mark and his partner Ric, at Savor on 24th. It was delicious! They're awesome guys and know the city really well, so they drove me around a little bit and we talked about so much stuff. We ended up at the twin peaks overlooking the whole city, the ocean, Alcatraz and Berkley, stunning...

Then I slept with Mary Lou's cats for the rest of the day, ate soup, watched some shark week on the Animal Planet boob tube plug in zone out static brain not think listen pictures move make feeling like you have ideas really just sit think nothing sit watch listen obey the moving talking box look box look it tells look look flashes of buy buy buy.

Disconnected from Comcast, I decided to plug back in, mercy me, to update you poor lost souls as to the merry wanderings of the voyager named Clayton. It's been great! Sorry it's been so long all.

Love you

3 comments:

  1. Most excellent my amigo, that is what i like to hear. Its inspiring. And i didn't know you had family in San Fran! How awesome that you get to reunite with them! I was talking with an IC student last shabbat and he was talking all about Burning Man and how its a whole 'nother mind set, complete giving society, but only for a week, but you're running your own personal Burning Man wherever you go.

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  2. Yeah, there's always your own little gathering when you're with open people.

    And word always leaks out where the little gatherings are in an area, they quickly get bigger. Burning man is a big big planned gathering, so is Rainbow gathering, any music fest, solstices and equinoxes.

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  3. Hey Clay Ton, sounds like life is lightening up. Sweet. I loved the .73 tracking story, I could feel you leading up to it. Gotta love it! And in numerology .73 is broken down to 7+3= 10, 1+0= ONE.

    Thanks for posting so much about the journey. It is great to tune in. I really enjoyed meeting so many of your mates this Winter up at the Big Red. Great folks. See you there and here. ravi

    No inside No outside. The SELF just shares itself. JB

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