after i killed my feet with brand new shoes, as a man with lots of experience and wisdom i didn't brake them in slowly, no i went straight city street walking for hours for two days, my blisters begged me to give them a rest. so i bought a muni day ticket, muni is the public transport system in San Francisco, i first rode a couple of times the old trams, beautyfully restored machines from old times, rolling legends. for lunch i went to a vietnamese restaurant, *aux delices* on polk. for desert i rode out by trolleybus to ocean beach. when i saw the beach, my pulse went wild. i almost run down to the beach passing Cliff House in a hurry, which hangs on a great outlooking spot overt he pacific. and finally my toes could dip the pacific water after 9 years waiting. it felt good, i also splashed my face with cool pacific water. in the last 9 years i have been in sea water just once in england, Ludlow Cove in Dorset. oh and the weather is so great, just shorts and sandals, as a wage i bought for my feet sandals. on the sand i walked barefoot, mostly in the water. this natural foot massage felt good. my feet cried of joy. on the beachwalk i looked out for sand dollars, but they were all broken. after a half hour, i hit a spot and there i found about 20 sanddollars, i struck it rich. they are all in my hotelroom now, drying. i walked for more than an hour to Pacheba, when at already 5pm was my first powerful sunset since many years, then very moved i boarded buses back to downtown, while the Rolling Stones and Metallica blasted their rock concert nearby on the bay, probably very loud. official ticket prices were from $150 up to $2000..... ! in the sixties i was a huge Rolling Stones fan, i still adore their early stuff with Brian Jones, i saw them live in London, in the Royal Albert Hall about 1965 with the Yardbirds, Ike & Tina Turner, today i prefer: Patty Smith, the day before she played at the *American Music Hall* to honour 30 years of *Horses*, (*Born To Run* by Bruce Springsteen is also 30 years old). now this is a concert i wish i could have heard, it was sold out long ago. she even gave a rare poetry reading at the *Balboa* some days ago.hANS bOLLI :: pAINTER
15nov05
