Anyone old enough to remember that song from the vintage files of about 1988??
I went back to Berkeley this week to say a final goodbye to Dad. We had a memorial for him at St. Clements on Thursday, so Chris and I flew up Wednesday and home on Friday. It was a quick trip to say the least, but a good one. We stayed here, at the Claremont. Known as the White Lady on the Hill, the Claremont is home to many memories for me, my family, and scores of Cal grads! (We won't go there - this is a family-friendly site!!)
Steve and I met at this hotel. Steve was the Front Office Manager at the time, and I was working for Mom's store located in the lobby. We've gotten many a kick out of saying that we met in a hotel - sounds far more sordid than it really was...
The hotel has been renovated and the lobby looks nothing like it did when we worked there (and that is a good thing!) and resembles far more accurately the lobby of yester-year when the hotel was in its glory. Much can be said for the former owners, but they "done good" when it comes to the asthetics of the hotel.
It was strange to be back. First off, I had truly forgotten how hilly the area was! I know that sounds odd, but I've seen flat land surrounded by mountains for so long I had plum forgotten that I'd lived in the mountain just a mere 4 years ago. Houses are stacked on top of each other, defying gravity for ages until a big quake or mudslide gets the better of the 50 year old foundation. Imagine this guy after a 6.0 quake...
The other thing that struck me was this sobering thought - Other than my best friend from college, Vicki, I have no friends left in that part of the world. The people I knew well when I lived there were few and far between and are now living elswhere. In many ways I was returning home, and yet I was nothing more than a visitor. A very strange feeling, indeed.
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