It's Been A While... (Part I)

Well, it has been awhile since I’ve rambled hasn’t it! Sort of like Staind’s “It’s Been A while”, yet less annoying I hope. As you all know I have a tendency to ramble. So guess what?! This post will be no exception. Heh, heh, heh…

I gave you a fair warning. Turn back now or lest you be committed to the utter clutter inside my head.

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The weekend of St. Paddy’s I was up at My Wenchy’s to celebrate the good ole Irish day of drinking green beer. I however stuck to my usual, Guinness. That’s about as Irish you can get my friends, without actually going to Ireland and drinking a REAL Guinness. (One of these days I will be able to say I’ve drank a real Guinness. Until then I have to settle for the US import version of it.) Me, Wenchy, and her brother headed to the Pub and proceeded to get our drunk on. For the most part it was a pretty uneventful evening. We just hung out, drank some good beer, played liars dice, a little darts, and some pool.

Saturday we ended up driving to Santa Rosa for shopping. Wenchy had money burning a hole in her bank book and felt the need to torture me by dragging me out to go clothes shopping. Let me just say here that clothes shopping for me is torture. Seriously. I. HATE. SHOPPING. FOR. CLOTHES. I cannot stress that enough. H.A.T.E. I.T. While we were at Macy's though I broke down (not like I had anywhere else to go ANYWAY!) and actually looked at dresses. ONLY because I have a wedding to attend in July. Not only do I hate shopping for clothes, shopping for DRESSES is even WORSE. I was actually really surprised, REALLY, to find a couple of dresses that I liked and even tried on. Even more surprising, they FIT. So, now that I have already test fitted some dresses I feel a little bit more hopeful when I actually do go shopping for the dress. Since the wedding is not until July I think I will wait until it gets closer to the date to go through that torture again.

After having such a torturous day on Saturday shopping, come Sunday I needed a little relax time. First I needed to go and buy some hiking boots though. That was a disaster. I couldn't find a decent boot in my size in women’s so I had to go with men’s hiking boots. I found the narrowest boots I could find. They'd have to do for now. Now it time to go and do my kind of relaxing. Hiking up at Montgomery Woods.

I tried to get The Boy to go with me, but he just wanted to veg in front of the computer and play his game on-line with his friend. I even tried bribing him with Taco Bell afterwards, but he wouldn't go for it. Lazy ass! Too nice of a day to be wasting it indoors. So my Lovie and her friend Samantha went with me instead.

I have never gone up to Montgomery Woods before now. I had no idea what the drive would be like. Hell, the map said it was just a mere 15 miles outside of Ukiah. 15 miles of twist and turns galore! I was the driver and I was asking if we were there yet! After we passed Orr Natural Springs the view changed to beautiful redwoods and I knew we weren't too far off from the woods itself. On the way I made a few stops here and there. One of the stops we climbed down the bank to the little river that ran along the road. There the girls first found salamanders with the deepest orage underbodies I have ever seen. I picked one of them up and took some pictures. I took them with my film camera, so I don't know yet if any of them turned out good.

Montgomery Woods is so beautiful. I heard that parts from Star Wars where they are in the forest riding those jet thingys (I can't remember what the hell they are called right now) all throughout the forest and where they ran into the Ewoks, was filmed in there in those woods. But I can't find anything to back it up. I searched the internet tonight looking to see if I can find any info on it, but turned up nothing. So I don't know for sure if George did his shooting for those scenes there in Montgomery Woods or not. All I can say after walking the woods, it all looked like parts from those scenes. Then again, so did Muir Woods. I'm just saying is all...

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Just this past Sunday I visited the City of the Dead.

"The City of the Dead?” you ask. Yup. Because the majority of the people in Colma are dead. The cemeteries in Colma grew quickly when the City of San Francisco banned all cemeteries in its city boundaries in the early 1900’s. Of course they really call Colma "the city of cemeteries", but I like the City of the Dead better.

First up was Holy Cross Cemetery. Holy Cross Cemetery was founded in 1887 and is the oldest and largest cemetery in Colma. Many graves were moved from San Francisco to Holy Cross when the City of San Francisco banned cemeteries within the city's boundaries.

Joe DiMaggio is buried in this cemetery along with San Francisco Chronicle founder Michael Henry de Young; California Governor Edmund “Pat” Brown; assassinated (1978) San Francisco Mayor George Moscone; Bank of America founder A.P. Giannini; famed sculptor Benny Bufano and many more. I wasn’t really paying any attention to any of the names on the headstones or mausoleums. Had I, I probably would have found DiMaggio’s and taken a picture. Next time for sure.

It was here that I ran across Jesus just hanging out. I asked Him if He knew where Joe DiMaggio was buried, but He seemed a little out it. I guess hanging nailed to a cross, baking in the sun can addle the brains a bit. I asked if I could take His picture instead. I was hoping to catch the 'glow' of Jesus Christ, but it turns out He photographs just like everyone else.

So I thought I'd help a Brother keep his appearance up, lest we dissapoint the masses! (And if I have offended anyone here with my little comments, get over it. I am sure He has a sense of humor so I suggest you get one too!)

Next up was Cypress Lawn Cemetery. Founded in 1892, it spans both sides of the El Camino Real. I think that Cypress Lawn is giving Holy Cross a run for the largest. Cypress is small by no means! I only made it to the West side section of the cemetery on Sunday, I still have the East side section to see.

Cypress also has its share of notable civic leaders, historical figures, politicians, and civil servants of cherished bygone eras as well. However, there is one in particular person I want to mention, Harry “The Horse” Flamburis. Harry "the Horse" was a longshoreman and President of the Daly City Hells Angels motorcycle club until he was shot execution-style. His arms and legs were bound together and his eyes and mouth were taped shut. Two bullets into his brain finished him off.

My trip to the City of the Dead also included a stop at the Golden Gate National Cemetery where General Nimitz is buried among his men. My grandfather, my uncle, and now my Grammy are buried there. I hadn’t been back there since the day we buried her, I needed to visit her and make sure that she had her headstone. I had stopped at one of the flower shops across from the Holy Cross and got a bunch of calla lilies for my Grammy and a nice big bouquet for my grandfather and uncle.

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To be continued...