Living the Dream

You may think it's all fun and games here at the Flint Expatriates headquarters in San Francisco. But just because there's no crime and the unemployment rate is relatively low doesn't mean there aren't drawbacks to living in the City by the Bay. Take men jogging in Speedo bathing suits, for example. I'm still recovering from this scene which took place just a few blocks from my house in Bernal Heights. My only consolation is that this guy appears to be whiter than I am, and I haven't had a tan since Jack Morris was throwing for the Tigers. The so-called Speedo Jogger is actually attracting less attention than the infamous Bikini Jogger who has been spotted in the neighborhood. Bernalwood, a blog that's similar to Flint Expats except the guys who publish it actually live in the place they're writing about, has been all over this story:

In the Pacific Northwest, they have Sasquatch. The Yeti is said to stalk the Himalayas. In Scotland, searchers seek the Loch Ness Monster. And of course, Ahab had his white whale. Here in Bernal Heights, we also have an elusive creature that is the object of much fascination and conjecture: The Bikini Jogger.

Necks are sore on the west and north slopes of Bernal Hill as residents do double-takes upon capturing a glimpse of the fit and fierce morning jogger as she works through her intense fitness regime.

The fact that she seems to eat the steep grades of Elsie and Stoneman for breakfast is impressive enough, but the truly remarkable (and much remarked upon) thing is that she does so in the better part of her birthday suit. Even on cold, cloudy days, this Wonder Woman look-alike is clad in nothing but a bikini and sneakers.

Why is it that no matter how long I live here, I still feel like I'm just visiting?

San Francisco In Stasis

UPDATE: Here's the reverse view of the photos discussed below, taken from the top of Bernal Heights with the radio tower directly behind me when I took the shot. The gas station mentioned is just to the left of the street in the center of the frame. Downtown San Francisco is in the distance.

A constant theme of Flint expatriates is the radical change Flint has experienced throughout its history. In addition to the boom and bust economic cycles, the place has physically changed so much that former residents who return after a long absence hardly recognize it.

Given the dynamic nature of San Francisco, where I've lived since 1996, I'm regularly surprised at how little certain parts of the city have changed over the years. It's hard to find places in Flint that don't look radically different than they did 20 years ago. That's not the case in SF.

Need an example? Check out these two identical views of the north side of the Bernal Heights neighborhood where I live. (My house is on the other side of the hill.) The shots are from the newly launched Bernalwood blog, which offers an excellent and often unexpected insider perspective on the neighborhood.

Bernal Heights in 1953. (Photo courtesy of the Cushman Collection at Indiana University)

Bernal Heights in 2008, which is pretty much how it looks today. The gas station is still there, as is the tile-roofed cleaners. The hill has a few more trees and a taller radio tower. Otherwise, the neighborhood has been amberized. (Photo by Todd Lapin)