Gentrification? No. The City is actually being ruined by Thrill-Parkification.

[albadger]

I went back to my old job and chatted with two of the young ladies I'd worked with. "How are things going?" I asked. Their crestfallen expressions told me everything. We arranged to meet for dinner that evening.

I returned to my apartment to get ready; this seemed like more of a luxury hotel room that was open to the guests of a reception for the ruling class. The suggestion was made that I join my father on the brand-new "environmental roller coaster" that had been built on the hills of San Francisco, so I had my grandfather house-sit, but as I went through all the requirements in the different rooms, he kept wandering off.

The coaster had a number of differently configured cars; we were on the lead car, which didn't have seats, but instead used a static-electricity system to keep passengers attached to its smooth, bulbous surface. Since my dad was using a wheelchair, he was strapped to the side, while I rode on top. The train lumbered slowly through residential districts; past the small cinder-block four-plex where I'd previously lived (vacant and condemned for plumbing problems); past an Asian art extension of the De Young Museum, only one of fifteen buildings on its street with giant Chinese guardian lion statues in the front yard; parallel to the N-Judah tracks in the Sunset district. The train moved slowly, as it was at grade, and had to stop for traffic and pedestrians; we were nowhere near the actual lift hill, much less the drop. "I'm going to miss dinner with my ex-co-workers," I said.

"I dropped some stuff in your car," my dad replied.

"That's not actually possible," I told him. "The car is smooth and bulbous, and keeps passengers attached with static electricity."

And then I woke up, with the indelible image of giant roller coasters covering the hills of San Francisco burned into my brain.

Comments

[dhpbear.livejournal.com]

... and now begins the dream.....:)

[albadger.livejournal.com]

Ah, but you LIVE in San Francisco. You live the dream every day!

[bear-with-me.livejournal.com]

I always thought that the City should be filled with snow making machines and turn into a giant resort. The Marina could be the bunny slopes, with Nob and Russian as the Diamond ones. Lifts could take people up to the top of Twin Peaks.

[albadger.livejournal.com]

SF needs more rides. Right now it's just Muni and the streetcars -- I suppose you could throw in Caltrain but still.

While we're at it, Venice needs more rides. It just has Storybookland Canal Boats and nothing else.

[maxauburn.livejournal.com]

I have only seen SF in tv shows and movies and that was a very unusual dream!

[albadger.livejournal.com]

Movies & TV always give you a warped impression of places, since they cut and paste to meet the needs of the story (or just to jazz things up). Nice place to visit, but you're better off living in the East Bay!