San Francisco beckoned again today. This glorious view is from Coit Tower, a landmark of the city. Ironically I never took a picture of the tower, as I was too enamored with the scene from the hilltop.
Our next stop was the Palace of Fine Arts--fully refurbished from the Panama Pacific International Exposition that San Francisco hosted. The World Fair celebrated the opening of the Panama Canal and sought to establish the city of San Francisco as a key port.
Last spring Fred shared a story with me...
In 1915 the World Fair graced the streets of San Francisco. As Tam Shee reminisced about her visit to the famous fair, her second son listened.
Then she turned to him, “You were there.”
“Mother,” Fred Yam gently protested, “I wasn’t born until 1916.”
“You were there,” she insisted.
Quizzically, he studied his aging mother.
Smiling, she revealed, “You were with me. I was pregnant with you.”
Strolling down the sidewalk, the palace came into my view for the first time. I was quiet...awestruck by the massive columns that greeted me. My imagination had not prepared me. We walked in silence. A solemn air seemed to permeate the structure.
Eventually, I heard Fred's voice soft beside me, "I wonder what my mother thought when she was here."
My silent reflections verbalized.
96 years ago.
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