I Took BART to San Francisco for the First Time in Over a Year

Since the pandemic began in March 2020, you could say I took the “stay at home” orders quite literally. I haven’t been on a bus, plane, train, or ferry! So after 15+ months, I was thrilled to take BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) again!

There’s never a dull moment on BART! 😉Here’s a sampling:

A woman sitting next to me on a bench asked me, “Do you smell smoke?”

When I said no, she whispered, “I hope it’s not a fire. Last time I smelled smoke, they evacuated the station.”

Later on, after arriving at our stop, that same woman shouted at the top of her lungs to the people on the escalator, “Stand on the right, walk on the left! Ugh, TOURISTS!” As soon as she said that, the escalator came to a gentle halt.

Then on my return trip, I spotted a bevy of beauties who looked like they’d just walked out of a music video! Sporting sparkly tops and white form-fitting pants, they commanded attention as they sauntered through the station to the beat of the music blasting from one of their tiny designer handbags.

Finally, while I was walking up the stairs to exit the station, I witnessed a man yell “EXCUSE ME!” at another man ahead of him who was apparently climbing the steps at a pace too slow for his taste. They exchanged some lovely hand gestures and colorful expletives before going their separate ways.

“Sisters With Transistors”

My reason for going to The City on Saturday, June 19, 2021 was to see a limited screening of “Sisters with Transistors” at the Roxie Theater in the Mission District.

My elder daughter invited me to go with her to see the documentary that she’d recently learned about in her music history & industry program in college. The 2020 documentary is about women pioneers in the field of electronic music. In particular, I enjoyed learning the stories of Daphne Oram, Eliane Radigue, and Laurie Spiegel.

Daphne Oram (1925-2003) was a British musician who created the Oramics technique, which produced sound through lines, waves, and other shapes written or drawn on film that were then played back on a sound system.

Eliane Radigue (born 1932) is a French electronic music composer living in Paris. Her signature sound is created with an ARP synthesizer and recording tape.

Laurie Spiegel was born in Chicago in 1945. She created the music composition software called Music Mouse.

Ferry Building at the Embarcadero

Before going to the movie theater, we stopped by the weekly Farmers Market at the Ferry Building.

Juneteenth Celebration on the Waterfront

Juneteenth, a portmanteau of the words, June and nineteenth, has been celebrated in various U.S. states since 1866 to commemorate the day (June 19, 1865) that people of Galveston, Texas learned that slavery had ended two and a half years earlier (after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation became law on January 1, 1863.) On June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden declared Juneteenth a federal holiday.

We caught a glimpse of Mayor London Breed visiting the various food stalls!

Reopening of California

On Tuesday, June 15, 2021, the State of California officially reopened and many restrictions were lifted (Visit Safely Reopening California to learn more!)

The state may have reopened, but I believe it would be prudent to keep wearing masks (even if fully vaccinated). It’s clear that the pandemic is not over. Knowing that variants of the virus that cause COVID-19 are appearing and infecting people around the world is frightening.

The fact that many countries are still waiting to receive an adequate supply of vaccines boggles the mind. Meanwhile, vaccine-hesitant people here need to be lured with “Vax for the Win” incentives, like cash or dream vacations! Un embarras de richesse? (Or, just plain embarrassing? Sigh.)

Please stay healthy and safe! 💕😷