Sunday, September 9, 2001

San Francisco stories

LATER: I'm just back from the day's adventures in The City, with a few minutes to spare before the night's activities kick in.

I began by sleeping luxuriously late (snuggled under a delightfully comfy duvet) and then joining 20 of my dearest amigos for a late brunch at David's Delicatessan, the latest episode of "Break Bread With Brad". Props all around to the inventor of corned beef, our daffy, dishy, swishy waiter William, and to everyone who showed up on too little rest to kibitz and chow down.

As it turns out, there was another gathering of web folk going on over in the East Bay environs almost simultaneously and, though I was frightfully late, I still managed to catch up with a few of the Boys in the Bandwidth, and must thank Bill, Philo and Aaron, the cutest, cuddliest pirates of them all, for waiting around to share coffee and show me all the happening sights of beautiful downtown Oakland (including a dreamy Boy From Berkeley who somehow managed to elude our clutches). Ye-aarr!

FRAY DAY REDUX: Red wine and key lime soda (not together!), sidewalk cigarettes and superb folk music, oracular words and "the best gift I ever got", friends from near and abroad and, best of all, stories, stories, stories: about children's television and chewy mice, love and loss, stalking and shoes, playa transformations and terrifying travel, an incindiery Volkswagen and baring it all on stage.

That's a thumbnail summary that doesn't begin to do justice to Fray Day last night in San Francisco, and can't begin to describe the global celebration that continues through today in Australia and elsewhere.

You can bring The Fray into your life and do your part to promote personal storytelling: share a true tale with someone today!