Parade of Golf courses

Yesterday was a wild day in San Francisco. The President’s up golf tournament was happening at Harding Park in the southwest side of the city. Roads are closed snarling traffic in that area. On the other side of town there was the parade formerly known as the Columbus Day Parade, but now changed to the more politically correct “Italian Heritage Parade.” The parade goes from Fisherman’s Wharf to North Beach a very congested and vibrant part of town. We watched some professional golf on TV, but really wanted to go to North Beach. There may not be professional golfers, but there is a miniature golf course in North Beach just one weekend a year.

It is particularly close to our hearts because Steve created it.

Before we could visit that golf course, we actually had to get down there. Parking is always a challenge in North Beach. On parade day -- feggedaboudit. So many streets are closed for the parade, you can forget about driving in that area. In fact, the busses are re-routed through the area, so even public transportation is tough. If you want to get there on parade day, you better be prepared to walk. So we did. We drove to Steve’s office downtown and walked a mile or so through the financial district and Chinatown to North Beach. Once you get to North Beach, every sidewalk is filled with tables from the dozens of nearby restaurants. You have to press through even as waiters carrying large trays of food cut you off. It is energizing and entertaining.

In past years, we have taken Maggie. Steve would drop us off as close as possible and meet up with us later. She did not have any fun though. The crowds and the noise are too much for her. Without the car, escape is difficult. Steve took Maggie to Golden Gate Park in the morning and when the nurse arrived, we went to North Beach without her. We had to hit the bazaar at the boys' elementary school, Sts. Peter and Paul (SSPP). Steve had to check on his creation/legacy.

In about 2002, Steve created a miniature golf course for the school to use at the bazaar. It is incredible. The golf holes are miniature versions of the Golden Gate Bridge, Coit Tower, Lombard Street as well as the leaning tower of Pisa, the Nina, the Pinta, the Santa Maria as well as the obligatory windmill. They haul it all out for the Bazaar and the kids love it. One little girl, dressed as an Italian princess, was lying flat on the ground looking through the pipe trying to figure out where the ball went. The course is definitely showing its age now after 7 years of use, but it warms his heart (and mine) to see kids enjoying it still. Couple that with a grilled Italian Sausage sandwich with peppers and onions (I take off the peppers, though) meeting up with old friends and NOT bringing home any goldfish and you have a perfect experience.

Walking back to the car through Chinatown was slow going. The Blue Angels were flying. I kept trying to get a picture --no dice -- those suckers are fast and all I had was my cell phone camera. It was cool to see these jets zooming over the rooftops of Chinatown. The streets are so tight in there that you cannot see them coming, you can only see them for the split second they are immediately over head. You can sure hear them coming, though, and everybody is poised and looking up. Though it is a bit disconcerting to see fighter jets over your city, I have to admit it is thrilling.

We were home after three or four hours. Maggie was calm and happy but we were exhausted. I had to make dinner but because of the food at the bazaar was in no hurry. Poor Tim finally made himself some Mac and Cheese because he was starving.

Today Maggie is off school. For San Francisco Unified School District, today is Indigenous People’s day. In North Beach, it is still Columbus Day.

For me, it’s Monday. Whatever you call it, have a great day.

Using your Head

Maggie has been working on driving a power chair for several years. This is an incredibly difficult thing to master, especially for one with limited motor control. We do not own a power chair but there is one at school. It belonged to a student who passed away some years ago. Repairs and updates to this chair are tricky because they cannot be attributed to a single student. Through the dedication of the therapists, their ingenuity and their endless supply of duct tape, the chair continues to be an asset for Maggie.

Determining how to best maneuver the chair is a huge step. I really hoped Maggie could use a joystick on the arm of the chair, but that was not to be. She gets the concept, but cannot sustain the control over her hand in one position. The movement that way was very start and stop. Roselle and Cliff, two different types of therapists worked together with Maggie and the chair and found the best way for Maggie to access the power of the chair. She uses her head and switches on her tray. Leaning with her left temple makes the chair go and taking the pressure off make it stop. Turning right and left is accomplished by waving or sliding or placing her hands over “proximity” switches mounted underneath her tray. They are called proximity switches because all you have to do is get near them to activate them. They are placed on the left and right or her tray so she just moves the arm on the side of her body that she wants to turn. Reverse is beyond our technical or conceptual capabilities at the moment. (I can make the chair reverse, but we do not have Maggie doing that yet)

Maggie has become quite proficient at this. It is slow going, and certainly, some days are better than others are but she gets it. Maggie can do it herself for the most part but also responds to instructions. For example, “Maggie, you’re going to hit that pole, you better turn right.” And she does it – usually. Occasionally she gets and evil grin and just heads for the pole and we have to hit the KILL switch on the back.

The level of trust between Maggie and her therapists is huge. Maggie has never been able to move herself through space. She has had to depend on others to do that. This gives her the power to control some of that herself, but she has to trust the people working with her to overcome the fear of the unknown, and her limited visual capabilities.

I would say it has worked. Maggie can literally drive the chair with her eyes closed. I received this picture of Maggie leading the Chinese New Year parade at school. The pic is grainy, but Maggie is wearing the Lion Head while driving the chair. Roselle is next to her prompting the turns etc.

Maggie is always using her head!