the early bird special

Happy 71st Birthday to the Golden Gate Bridge!!

In the third grade, this landmark and personal savior to me was the subject of my ever research project, and thusly here is a short list of the few things I remember from that project, which was written in double-spaced-erasable-ink-cursive on approximately 5 pages of white lined paper:

a. The official hue of the Golden Gate Bridge called "International Orange," a color used only for this bridge.

b. As a result of the natural wear and tear of the salt air and ubiquitous San Francisco fog, the Golden Gate Bridge is constantly being repainted. As soon as the painters get to one side, they must start over again.

c. Before the bridge was completed, people got from San Francisco to their weekend homes in Marin county by ferry boat.

And. . . that's about it. But I'm sure the paper I wrote was as well reasoned and riveting as an eight year old could muster.

In high school I drove the Golden Gate Bridge daily to get to school and extracurricular activities in the city, which is, in retrospect, kind of the most amazing commute ever. Past the Marin Headlands, over the bridge, and through Golden Gate Park to arrive at campus within eyesight of Ocean Beach is something that a person can't truly appreciate until they are completely beyond the snotty teenager phase. The Golden Gate Bridge is also the site of my very first car accident, occuring in the fall of 1999, the first day my mother entrusted with taking the blue Ford Aerostar to and from school on a Friday. About 1/3 of the way across the bridge I dropped a cassette tape on the floor, and leaned to pick it up, smacking cleanly into the grey Jetta in front of me. Luckily the Jetta emerged unscathed. The bumper of the poor Aerostar, however, was shattered and I was in tears for half the day.

The best thing thing of all about the bridge, hands down, is flying into San Francisco sometime around dusk on a clear evening, and seeing the orange spans against the grey ocean, sunlight glittering on the water. I miss home.