Shundo David Haye – Zen Priest

My birthday was well celebrated in our household. I was very touched by what Ruth put together for me, not least because nobody has made such an effort for my birthday in a few years. It had cooled down by then – the week of intense heat finally having yielded to more normal temperatures – but we were able to eat outside down the road in North Beach.

Over the years I have postponed a few roams due to rain, but for the first time, on the first Sunday of October, I postponed one due to the heat. Most of the people who had signed up had cancelled anyway; one of my regulars was asking if we would still go on in a heat advisory, and I realised the best thing to do was not expect anyone to hike. I felt bad in the moment having to cancel, but it was the right thing to do.

The afternoon before, we had been down at the beach at Fort Funston, which was slightly cooler and breezier than much of the city, and eaten dinner outside in Daly City, which on such an evening, if you squinted, could almost have been LA, with market lights strung across the street, and Mount Tam visible in the glowing twilight distance.

I had a busy weekend last weekend – so much so that I didn’t get a good ride in; nor was there a roam scheduled. On Friday I was doing the last preparation for my Dogen class, and wanted to stay focused. For the class itself, we ended up with seventeen people – just a week after only having a handful of sign-ups. There was a great variety of practice experience, and with that number of attendees, always somebody willing to ask a question that prompted good discussion; it was the kind of class that I enjoy leading.

On Sunday morning I drove down the peninsula to officiate a wedding. This was a poignant affair: the couple had planned to wed next year, but with a relative dying of cancer, decided to have a ceremony that the relative could witness, as well as a celebration on the original date. The house was close to roads I have been riding over recent years, though in this case I rented a car to get down there. It was a very sweet gathering, and as so often happens, I felt touched to be so close to the couple as they were sharing their sincere and heartfelt vows. The groom had his on his phone, which he had left indoors, so he spoke off-the-cuff, and was still perfectly clear in his expression of love.

I drove back, dropped the car off, and was riding through North Beach right in the middle of the Italian Heritage parade. Luckily I was able to pass through. When I stopped to take a quick video of all the fun, I was surprised to see the mayor parading just a few feet away (and, unless I was mistaken) turning to greet one of the neighbours we often meet on our evening walks.

And the rest of the afternoon we had the Blue Angels. We had actually walked a few blocks to watch them on Saturday, but that show was curtailed by the fog; on Sunday the skies were clear, so we got deafened on and off for a few hours.