It Will Always Be Yin and Yang

The true nature of San Francisco is vampiric, sucking the life of what was once innocent and beautiful; gripping its victims’ strength, will, and life with sharp influential fangs; controlling their every move with the intent to harm or destroy. San Francisco is also filled with dauntless heroes and attractive scenery.   The road trip that I embarked on would reveal the yin and yang of San Francisco.

It was late May 2008. My best friend, Bobby, joined the United States Coast Guard. He was stationed in Eureka, California and wanted me to drive out there with him. I just had surgery on my right knee. Being cramped in a small car was not my ideal process of healing, but I could not pass up an opportunity like this so I went.

The third day of the road trip we reached the end of the Golden Gate Bridge. The brilliant sun, drown with a thin silk curtain of clouds set at high noon, welcomed us to the coldest city in summer: San Francisco. The ocean glistened where the minuscule rays seeped through the clouds.   We drove through the undulating hills looking for an economical place to stay the night. Traffic was not as bad as I had imagined it would be-and not as badly as TV had described: bumper to bumper traffic, horns blaring from the impatient driver who was late for work again, and cars jumping over the top of the hills trying to escape the undercover detective. Bobby ultimately found a hotel we could stay at.

When we stepped out of the hotel, the moon relieved the sun of duty. Across the street a sleeping bag hugged a man tight against the building, the man hugged his most precious memories, and they hugged the last bit of delectation in his life. A little further down the street a homeless man was given a warm dinner instead of the money he had asked for.

The next morning we took a tour bus to get a better look at San Francisco. The bus dropped us off at the bay. The warmth of the sun on my back and the light breeze, which moved with...