Just northeast of the California Pacific Medical Center on Castro Street in San Francisco is Duboce Park. Years ago in 1996 while my friend Jennifer was undergoing a routine physical examination at the medical center, I walked over to the park to read a book.
As I enter the park from Duboce Avenue I began looking for a place to plop down. Immediately, my eyes were drawn to a bench on the high west end of the park that offered an exceptional view of the commons and the surrounding neighborhood. Unfortunately, the bench was occupied by a young woman and her child.
I reluctantly chose another spot nearby, and though the view was adequate, I continued to periodically look up from my reading to see if the bench I preferred was still in use. Eventually, the young woman and her child stood up to leave.
Quickly I marked the page I was reading with a piece of paper and headed towards the bench.
As I was sitting down, I noticed on the bench beneath me an astonishing coincidence. I immediately stood up.
There, carved into the bench where I had just sat down was my name – DEE.
Astonishing!
ReplyDeleteWithout keying my first name (I use my middle name for blogging) I will say that a nickname extracted from it was the name I used in middle-through-high school, then I began using my full first name again. The nickname was Dee! My sister and some cousins, and all my friends from 7th-12th grades call me Dee. You can imagine what my Facebook page is like, with friends and family using my full first name, my nickname, and now Lydia.
That was your real place! You left...but the other bench was noT ne place you were supposed to be. (sorry for my english, it's the best I can do.)
ReplyDeleteAn hug from Portugal.