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“Just Thinking"
I had my topic picked out and had been holding onto it for a couple of weeks, an article I came across in SFGate back in May. I’ve been keeping it in my back pocket, like a bullet in the chamber, ready to fire at the right moment. But before I get into that, there were several impactful events that took place during the first week of June throughout history. I’ll share a few of them and you can decide if they resonate with you as much as they do with me.
June 2, 1935 — Babe Ruth retires from baseball, marking the end of one of the most transformative careers in the history of the game. Yet even as he stepped away, his influence continued to shape generations of the ball players who followed. The first time I remember hearing about Babe Ruth was in the 5th grade, I was a little late to the Babe’s story, but still not as late as Smalls. We had a weeknight game at Balboa Field, one of those cold, foggy evenings in SF. A coworker of my dad’s came out to watch us play. Later that night, the phone rang, the only phone in the house, I answered it. My dad’s friend was on the line and asked, “Is this George Herman Ruth?” I had no idea what he was talking about and said, “Who?” He said, “That’s Babe Ruth’s real name.” I just said, “Oh,” I had to get filled in by dad later. What I did know was that Ruth had 60 home runs in a season, Roger Maris passed him when he hit 61, with an asterisk. He also finished his career with 714 home runs, a record until Hank Aaron passed him in 1974.
June 5, 1968 — Robert F. Kennedy was fatally shot shortly after delivering a victory speech in Los Angeles following his win in the California Democratic presidential primary. It was a profoundly tragic following the loss of his brother, President John F. Kennedy, just a few years earlier, and came only weeks after the killing of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As a young boy, I remember hearing that Rosie Grier, one of the Los Angeles Rams’ famed “Fearsome Foursome” was there that night, serving as a bodyguard for RFK and helped subdue the gunman.
June 6, 1944 — D-Day: Allied forces storm the beaches of Normandy in one of the most pivotal events of World War II. This day remains deeply impactful for all of us, as it reflects the extraordinary bravery and sacrifice of thousands of young soldiers who risked and often gave their lives for freedom. Their courage marked a turning point in the war, shifting momentum in favor of the Allied forces and ultimately leading to the liberation of Western Europe. It is a legacy of valor and sacrifice that must never be forgotten.
June 9, 1973 — Secretariat wins the Belmont Stakes, becoming the first horse since Citation in 1948 to capture America’s coveted Triple Crown. Secretariat accomplished this feat in breathtaking fashion. Ridden by Ron Turcotte, he finished the 1.5-mile race in 2 minutes and 24 seconds, a dirt-track record for that distance that shattered the previous mark set by Gallant Man in 1957 by nearly three seconds, a record that still stands 50 plus years later. What is even more astonishing is that he won by an incredible 31 lengths.
Here’s the story I was holding onto. About 50 years ago, there was a remarkable piece of artwork called Running Fence, a 24-mile installation by artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude that stretched across Sonoma and Marin counties, weaving over rolling hills before finally dropping into the Pacific Ocean. It wasn’t really a fence at all, but more like a massive curtain, 18-foot-high panels of white nylon suspended between 2,050 steel poles. It looked like a long, flowing ribbon draped across the landscape, gently billowing in the coastal wind.
A funny thing about it is that I remember seeing it firsthand before I had any idea what it was. We were driving up to Clear Lake, probably a Memorial Day weekend trip in the old Country Squire when we suddenly passed right under these huge white sheets spanning Highway 101 outside Petaluma. We all looked at each other like, what in the heck is that? This was long before the internet or smartphones, so it took a few days before we finally learned what we had seen.
The installation itself stood for only two weeks, but it was the result of a four-year effort. The artist navigated a maze of permits, community meetings, and negotiations with local ranchers, all while facing strong opposition. The project required a 265-page environmental impact report, a workforce of 300 people, and more than $2 million to complete. Along the way, the artists even dealt with vandalism and a bomb threat from frustrated locals. So now you know.
Let me know what you think.
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