san fran
i spent a few days in san francisco last week. i now understand why so many people love that city. it had escaped me prior to now. though my hotel was in the fisherman's wharf area (very touristy), north beach was just a short walk up columbus avenue.
the highlight of the trip was finally making it to city lights bookstore. city lights was founded in 1953 by lawrence ferlinghetti and peter martin, and served as the epicenter for the counterculture movements of the 50s and 60s...think kerouac and ginsberg.
my purchases were entirely too touristy, but what the hell? i wanted momentos. i purchased a copy of howl. and, since City Lights is also a publisher, i picked up a copy of "hello, i am special" and book about how rebellion has been sanctioned by society...which ties in somewhat to my view of the evils of marketing...the instant corruption of cool. unfortunately, while a good and interesting study, the book is in need of an editor.
in addition to the books, i purchased a t-shirt and a couple of postcards. i seldom gush...for instance, i would never fawn over sighting a movie star...but the emphasis in my previous statement is on the word seldom. i'd wanted to go to city lights for years. i actually told the clerk that being in city lights was "overwhelming". overwhelming? that wasn't the right word. it wasn't "overwhelming". it was a personal accomplishment to be certain. but overwhelming? of course not. he looked at me quickly, as if to dismiss the idiot before him. i mumbled something about city lights being a mecca for english majors, grabbed my black bag and walked out.
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(Diane nee' Samuelson)