As many of you know, we live in San Francisco's Mission District. Allow me to share a brief history of this small patch of land (with a 'thank you' to Wikipedia)... This small area of current-day San Francisco was inhabited for 2,000 years by the Ohlone Indians, who were pretty much wiped out once Spanish missionaries founded a mission in 1776 on the very lagoon where the Ohlone lived. Mexican and Spanish ranches then dominated the area until the gold rush began. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Irish, German, and some Polish immigrant workers moved into the area. After the 1906 earthquake, Mission Street became a commercial thoroughfare.
In the 1940's and '50's, large numbers of Mexican immigrants moved in as whites moved out. Today, the population of "The Mission," as it's called, is half latino, one-third white, and eleven percent Asian. Culturally, The Mission is still quite Mexican/latino, though the neighborhood abounds with hipsters, hipster-ish yuppies, and the establishments which serve them. A recent hand-made sign hung out a third-story window a block away from us read, "Basta de gente rica y sus condominios!" (Enough with rich people and their condominiums!) The sign hung across the street from a newly built set of "green" (i.e. "environmentally friendly") condos.
Luckily, there was no sign of cultural tensions (bad pun intended!) on Sunday, the 29th of March, when the Conways went for a stroll in the 'hood to enjoy the sunny weather.
A rack of lucha libre masks.
Ayla picks her mask... and her future profession?
Swang diddy ding dang!
Her bum is on the swing, but her eyes are on the big kids playing on the merry-go-round.
Look out! It's a dreaded four-eyed Foot Tickler, ready to strike.
Not recognizing us for the rich, condominium-dwellers we are, these cute Mexican boys have a blast spinning Ayla and I around until (a) the centrifugal force almost throws us off and (b) Ayla screams "Basta, papi! Que no soy una peonza." At least, that's what I thought I heard.
The following day, we finally got to meet Melissa's itty bitty niece, Ellie, when she and Momma MaryAnne stopped by for a quick visit, along with Rachel and Melissa's beau, Tim. They sure do make cute babies in The Fres (that'd be Fresno, California, to us outsiders).
MaryAnne takes a call while Ellie and Melissa yuk it up in the Conway kitchen.
Ellie cranks up the charm.Ayla felt the need to show off her ten-month-old skills to Ellie before she left. As this video shows, if Ayla decides not to be a lucha libre fighter, at least she may have a future in track and field.
No comments:
Post a Comment