The Sojourner of San Francisco - 1. LTR/01: You Don’t Have to Be a Stranger, Says the Awkward Turtle

FROM: Sojourner

TO: Perfect Stranger

DATE: FEB-28-2019

Dear Stranger,

I am glad you are reading this. That means you did not throw this letter away and move on with your life. I hope this unsolicited letter doesn’t alarm you or anything, because that’s not what I intended. This is the first time I’ve ever done something like this, too. I mean, sharing my life with a perfect stranger. If you don’t mind spending few moments reading through my letter and the enclosed photos, I’d feel really honored.

In case you’re curious, I found your address from the phone book, and I don’t mean the online equivalent. I mean the real deal, printed on paper in ink, much like this letter. It’s more genuine, I think. Returning to the old-fashioned communication, it just feels more…, tangible, something easier to grasp. Don’t know if you agree with me.

Okay, anyways, here we go. I am going to share everything with you. Everything. Just to let you know, I am really nervous about this, too.

I am currently in San Francisco (if postage stamp doesn’t already give it away), because it’s better for my health. I am enjoying each day so far. As the saying goes, “Happiness is only real, when shared.”* Don’t you feel special I picked you as my pen pal? Haha.

I am going to keep each letter very short, so it wouldn’t interrupt your life too much. On the other hand, feel free to travel with me via my photographic sojournal to the City by the Bay. Here is the first photo, Golden Gate Bridge. What else!

Lovingly yours,

Sojourner

PS. I was there when Golden Gate Bridge celebrated its 75th Anniversary in 2012. Were you there on that day?

*An Alexander Supertramp reference. I know…. But I am not exactly in the wild. An urban jungle perhaps.

Golden Gate Bridge at Fort Point

Golden Gate Bridge is 1.7 miles long. Each tower is 746 feet above water. Construction started on January 5, 1933, and the Art Deco icon of San Francisco opened on May 27, 1937. It costed $23.8 million (about $1.64 billion in today’s dollar). When it opened it was the longest single-span suspension bridge in the world. It was considered an impossible task due the gusty wind of Golden Gate Strait. Total of eleven workers died during the construction, a fraction of people who intentionally jumped to “end it all.”

Fort Point was closed on the day I took the photo, so I didn’t go in. I remembered the last time I was inside the Fort, it was very chilly and windy, even by San Francisco’s usual standard. The Summer fog usually won’t scatter until afternoon, and it will descend to the Fort ground around dusk, obscuring the view of the beautiful red truss arch just above it. The famous saying, “the coldest Winter is Summer in San Francisco” is definitely true, so bring layered clothing if you’re visiting.