“One day if I do go to heaven, I’ll look around and say, ‘It ain’t bad, but it ain’t San Francisco.’” –Herb Caen, former columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle.

Herbie by the Bay

I was going to write about something else, but today was “that day” each year that everyone gets.  It is that day where the weather suddenly changes overnight and the air is so warm and Winter seems so long ago.  Nobody is ever prepared for it, but it sure was nice to have on a Monday.  People were walking around in a daze with their noses pointed in the air and their eyes closed and a little smile on their face as they took in the suns rays.

It wasn’t just a hot day.  It was 93 degrees downtown breaking the record which was previously 84.  By 9 degrees, that wasn’t just breaking, but shattering the record.  Pipes burst, trains stopped, tracks buckled and power grids burnt out ,shutting down about 25% of the city without power. 

Today just happened to be the day when I was finally taking care of myself and heading to the doctor for my annual checkup.  Would this be the year when the doctor said I needed to be put on Lipator or some other cholesterol reducing drug?  I’d say the one good thing about the hot weather was that as I fasted all day, the last thing I wanted to do was eat.  I had to laugh as the receptionists were walking around in the dark and using flashlights  to guide pregnant women around the halls.  This happened to be Earth Day week so I guess we were conserving energy whether we wanted to or not.  It kind of broke up the nervousness for me as having been to the hospital several times over the last year for my wife was a lot simpler than a normal checkup for me. 

The results?  Well I lost 12 pounds over the previous year and now I have to wait to find out if my cholesterol counts are low enough to avoid the drugs.  Ironic that the son of a physician hates needles, but I just can’t watch them go into me,  At least the lady today got my vein right on the first try and didn’t jab me three times like last year.   Finally as I left, the blackout lifted.  It lifted for me too.  There was a relief for me as I have been working all year to make sure I stayed healthy and going to see the doctor was somethin I didn’t want to do until I was ready.  More than anything though was the relief that I think I finally felt I could look after my health after monitoring my wife.  It was a deep sigh.  I found myself closing my eyes and soaking in the sun.  It felt good, real good.  I know my wife was pleased to see me doing something for myself as well.

The next several days will be busy at conferences and for our Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day.

It felt good to put a Herb Caen quote at the top of this entry.  He was always my favorite columnist gwoing up as he captured the essence of San Francisco.  I don’t think he would have enjoyed today’s sweltering heat, but I think he would have found a way to enjoy his Baghdad by the Bay. 

News blip- I just heard that there are over 36,000 people over the age of 100 in Japan!  Holy cow!

Well this is my short entry for the day.  It is too hot to do anything!  Even too hot to go for a run! I earned a day off!