Ever noticed that if you’re watching a TV show or a movie that takes place in San Francisco, what do you see? Generally, they show the Golden Gate Bridge, for obvious reasons. (I’ll talk about that on another blog) Usually after the panoramic view of The Golden Gate Bridge, there’s the obligatory cut to the city streets, where they focus on a cable car.
Cable cars are huge business in San Francisco, because every tourist has to ride them, just to prove that you were in San Francisco. As a result, these things are often crowded. In fact, the only room I could find was on the outside, where I was practically hanging off the edge. Oddly enough, in today’s OSHA society, there was nobody to tell me to refrain from this unsafe behavior. By the way, my shoulder got hit with the side mirror of a FedEx truck.
I’m okay, by the way, and I have no intention of filing a lawsuit. Because hey, it happened on a cable car! And what a memory it was! I’ve heard rumors that there are several cable-car related accidents each year, but can’t seem find substantiation for this. I am, however, thoroughly convinced that even if these cable cars killed a group of boy scouts every year, the city would still have them. I can just hear the justifications at the City Council meeting: “A group of boy scouts each year is a small price to pay in light of this historical landmark”.
I had to admit, going down some of the trademark steep hills of San Francisco was like going down a roller coaster. A really slow roller coaster.
In case you don’t know, San Francisco cable cars work because there is an actual cable buried in the streets of the city. The cable-car operator operates a lever that clenches onto this cable, and the car takes off. It is essentially like a rope-tow at a ski area. Not only that, the cable car operator has the partially shredded gloves.
I’m quite convinced that cable-car operators are the unsung heroes in San Francisco. I say this because it was the cable-car operator who stood up for me when an old lady yelled at me because apparently I didn’t move fast enough for the disembarking traffic. If he would have accepted tips, I would have gladly tipped him. Got to love those cable-car operators.
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