and yet the spirit

As I was in the final yards of yesterday's arm-wrenching (and joyful) stint as a dog walker, a woman stopped me with a shriek, "Nikki McClure!" Both the pit bull and I jumped. She pointed at my chest.

Yes, I was wearing a shirt made from one of Nikki McClure's papercut designs! Was I just fantasizing about a move to New York? This was a to-live-for San Francisco moment: a stranger gushes about a shared affection for a socially-conscious graphic designer. It would be pure science-fiction in the City.

She said that her son had on the same t-shirt the night before and, lo and behold, she had on a Nikki pin. Do you have her calendar? Yes, ma'am. Right then, she nudged the back of the pin and a hand brushed my palm and 'here's a gift' rolled off her tongue. Gushing and gifting in a thirty second encounter.

Earlier in the day I was in a long line at the post office and the woman next to me grumbled, "I was just in Florida visiting my mom and the New Yorker in me is acting up." All of this following on my glorious run across the Golden Gate Bridge that would make even a New Yorker's heart sing.

Yet, yet, I'm still craving more than perfect sunshine and perfect strangers (!). More than an adventure, I'm looking for a challenge.