I have better ideas in San Francisco

I loved walking home in New York. I’d start from my office in Union Square and make my way through the crowds of the day - a farmers market or a protest or a flock of pigeons.

I’d say No to people asking if I’d like a blessing, or to make a donation, or to do a street interview.

I’d walk past the chess hustlers and the incense salesmen and the Whole Foods. Past the $2 pizza signs, the grand openings, the jazz musicians, and the NYU students.

I’d step over trash on MacDougal, do a double-take wondering if I just passed Anderson Cooper or Louis CK, dodge delivery bike drivers on 7th, ruin a few pictures in front of Carrie Bradshaw’s house, curse at the lines in front of Via Carota and L’Industrie and whatever the latest Tok-driven craze was.

I’d get a glimpse of the Dante crowd for the night, and then I was home.

Now I start my walk home from a national park.

I pass a couple runners on my way up Lover’s Lane, sometimes see a coyote, and always catch a tourist or two taking pictures at the top of Lyon Steps.

I’m short of breath coming up the hill, but I’m never short of ideas.

Fog is often rolling in from the west. And as I walk along the top of the hill, I get a full view of the deep blue bay.

And when I get home, I think Wow, what a great idea.