Thursday 09/05/2024
At 10am I met with Tom and Ellen, residents who had scheduled a meet the candidate event for monday, but none of the av people signed up to take it. My committee, well 2 of them, had vociferously told me I was not to jump in and fill every hole, sometimes we just don’t have the volunteer manpower, etc. So instead I got the couple to agree to be trained in how to set up the auditorium for a simple event: open the doors, turn on the lights, set up three microphones, and put everything away afterwards. Tom is a retired engineer, or I guess engineering manager? and took a very methodical approach. I had prepared a one-page checklist, and he insisted on working the whole thing through twice. I think they’ll do fine.
At 3pm the Good Times committee met. Progressing nicely; first rehearsal is on the 10th. Nervous? Me?
Afterward I met with Lou on the 11th floor and we went over how to set up microphones there, for an event he has on the 13th. I have plans for the evening of the 13th, so he had to be trained to do it himself. He’s smart; jeez the guy was big in the World Bank and has sat on the board of the California high speed rail.
I had supper at 5 and at 5:45 met with Kandis to go to a concert. This was the first of several concerts at SFJazz for which I had bought pairs of seats. I offered the spare seat to several people who couldn’t accept, then I put out a general announcement, and Kandis was first to reply. Minor problem: Kandis uses a walker. So my normal SFJazz itinerary — drive down Franklin to Grove, turn into the Performing Arts Garage, walk 5 blocks back to SFJazz — wouldn’t work. I determined that there was a passenger drop off zone outside SFJazz on Fell street (thank you Google Street View), so the plan was to drop Kandis off with her walker, drive around a big circle (one-way streets) to the garage, walk back, probably 12-15 minutes to rejoin her and go in to the concert.
All went smoothly up to the point where I got in a slow-moving line at the garage entrance, and finally reached it to see a sign, FULL Monthly rentals and pre-paid only. Well, shit. Now what?
The only alternate I knew was the Civic Center Plaza garage, on the other side of City Hall, a quarter mile walk from SFJazz. And I realized we are so old-school that we hadn’t exchanged phone numbers, so I couldn’t tell her. Also, I had both tickets.
So I drove around another one-way circle, back to the drop-off zone outside SFJazz, ran into the front door, handed Kandis her ticket, said go on in, I’ll be late. It was now 7:20 with the concert starting at 7:30.
Back to the car, around through the one-way streets over to Civic Center, park, take the elevator back to street level, walk fast back to SFJazz, and find my seat at 7:40, which was not bad going. Only missed part of the first number.
The concert was superb, two master musicians at the top of their game, and so in tune with each other. It was just a joy to hear. This (Three Wrong Notes) was the first number, which I missed part of.Apparently they had put out an album together some time ago, which won a Grammy. Well-earned.
Concert over; leave Kandis with her walker in the lobby, fast-walk across Van Ness to the Plaza, get the car, come around more one-way loops, back to SFJazz. Twenty minutes again. Kandis had apparently been shmoozing with the security people because as I pulled up, one guy in a da-glo vest came running out to say, “Are you picking up Kandis?”
And drive home. phew.
Codgerville 