May 6, 2008

Downtown Treats

I remember our trips downtown. Before I was old enough to head off to school my mom would take me along to Seattle for the day, while she did accounting for clients. I don't really remember the office or what we did from here to there, but I do remember hum bow, sweet steamy saucy pork buns, dripping with glorious goo.

Driving into the city I remember the salty scent of the sound, the Jetson-esk space needle, the pleated roof of the kingdome, the stalky skyscrapers and my mom telling me, when she was a little girl the tallest building in Seattle was the Smith Tower.

Downtown, just a hop away from where I grew up, but eons away from our silly suburbia. A place where people carried briefcases and wore high-heels and suits. Ate lunch OUT rather than IN. Rode the bus rather than driving in cars. Where people without homes roamed the streets pushing carts...oh my god, I remember THE bag lady! (I'll leave this for another day)
I remember stopping along the way for my glass apple filled with golden juice. Crisp, sweet, cool...I think it may have been my treat for the ride home, since I often felt like a deflated balloon leaving the city.

I hoped to someday live, breathe, love and work in the city. I eventually did, after high school I attended the U and lived in yes, the U-District for my first year, then commuted from home for my last 3 years. I eventually moved to the city by the bay, where I seem to have left my heart.

San Francisco is to my adulthood what Seattle was to my childhood. Charming, culturally conscious, progressive, much less gray, much more fog, easier to travel around without a car and lucky for me just walking distance to that gooey
hum bow.

1 comment:

  1. Sister, Great memories! Thank you. I cant wait (and I'm sure your readers will agree) to hear more. Especially the bag lady stories! I love you - Jodi

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