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“Let us run into a safe harbor.” Alcaeus

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Saints Peter and Paul Church, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004.

Copyright © 2010 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

Saints Peter and Paul Church- San Francisco, CA.

Saints Peter and Paul Church is a Roman Catholic Church in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood.
Located (somewhat ironically) at 666 Filbert Street, it is directly across from Washington Square,
San Francisco and is administered by the Salesians of Don Bosco. It is known as “La cattedrale d’Italia ovest,”
or “The Italian Cathedral of the West.” This building is very unusual in that the parish school is situated atop
the church itself, around its clerestory level and is accessible from stairways under each of its twin towers.
Because of this feature, the church’s upper stained-glass windows are artificially-lit.

The church is prominently featured in the Clint Eastwood movies Dirty Harry (the Church, and nearby Dante Building,
are the scene of sniper attacks by the “Scorpio Killer”) and The Dead Pool.
Scenes from Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments were filmed at the church while it was under construction.

I heard a woman tell her companions that, ” Joe DiMaggio married Marilyn Monroe here.” However that is not ture. The real story here:
After their civil ceremony in 1954, Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio returned for photographs on the steps of this church.
DiMaggio was married to Dorothy Arnold in the church on November 19, 1939, but later civilly divorced.
Still married as far as the Church was concerned (having not obtained an annullment), he could not be married in the Catholic Church.
In a side entrance, Sts. Peter and Paul Church still showcases a photo in a book displaying proudly DiMaggio’s marriage day photo-but with Arnold, not Monroe.
DiMaggio’s funeral was held here on March 11, 1999, officiated by lifelong family friend and confidant, Armand Oliveri, S.D.B.,
who honors DiMaggio’s wishes by politely refusing all interviews or requests to discuss any intimate details of DiMaggio’s life.

“Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men.” John F. Kennedy

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Photo Credit: Copyright © 2010 Deborah M. Zajac.  All Rights Reserved.
Old Saint Mary’s was built in 1854 as the first cathedral of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. It is the first cathedral in California to be built as a cathedral, although other churches in the state served as cathedrals before it was built. It was used from 1854 to 1891 as a cathedral and was replaced by the first Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption, as the archdiocese was in need of a larger space for the growing number of Catholics in the area. In 1891, Old Saint Mary’s became a parish church still using the same name that it bore as a cathedral.

Old St. Mary’s survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake,
only to be gutted a day later by the fires started by the earthquake.
The fires were so hot that they melted the church bells and marble altar. All that was left was the exterior brick walls and the bell tower. The renovation of the church was completed in 1909.

Ladybugs, Ladybugs, Ladybugs!

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Ladybugs, Ladybugs, Ladybugs!, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004.

Copyright © 2010 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

Lady The Bug
A Poem by Patti Tricoli

One sunny afternoon Lady Luck came my way,
She was bright red and spotted
as I helped her that day.
Her paper wings closing as she landed on me,
I held her up loosely for others to see.
The wind picked up and started to blow,
and I knew Lady Luck would soon have to go.
So I cried; “Lady Bug, Lady Bug, fly away home!”
She opened her wings and left me standing alone.
It wasn’t long that I started to see,
millions of Lady Bugs smiling at me.

Uvas Canyon County Park, Santa Clara Co. California, USA

Lion

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Lion, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004.

Copyright © 2010 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

2010 The Year of the Tiger
Chinese New Year Parade
San Francisco,CA.
Feb. 27, 2010

Here’s a popular character seen in the parade.

Lion Dance: Lions are used to bring joy and happiness. Lion dancing is a traditional folk sports activity. From the fourth day of the New Year to the fifteenth of the first month, there are lion dance groups, each composed of seven to more than ten people, touring from village to village. All performers wear the same kind of coats, trousers, shoes and headgear, with a sash round their waist, armed with swords and clubs to give people an impression of grandeur. The lion’s head is made of paper in a traditional shape; cat’s head, rooster or the bullfighting lion. The lion’s head is complete with painted eyes, nose, mouth and tongue, decorated with bells tinkling on tassels. The body is a motley piece of cloth. The dance is performed by one fellow holding the lion’s head with both hands and another bowing low and hunching his back at the lion’s tail. They will ape the various gestures of a lion to the accompaniment of drums and gongs. Lion dancing has a long history in this country and its performers are all very skillful dancers, some excelling in the head’s movements, some in somersaulting and rocking on the ground, some acting boldly but nimbly to perform stunts.

Gung hay fat choy!