San Francisco

One of the most beautiful spots of Highway One in California is the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Built in the 1930’s, the bridge has seen millions of travelers cross it’s span and millions more walkers travel the walkway. But the bridge has a dark history as well. It has been the location of almost sixteenhundred suicides since it opened. Giving it the reputation of being the second most “popular” place in the world to commit such a dreadful act.

On this day, a young man by the name of Kevin wanted to become one of those statistics.

Kevin had grown up in the city in the Tenderloin district. His father left him and his mother all alone when he was only six. That left his mom having to take a job as a waitress working sixty hours a week to try and make ends meet.

With his mom working so much, he was left alone most days. When Kevin would get home from school, he would cross his fingers hoping there was some food in the fridge. Most days, there was not.

When Kevin got to high school, he struggled. He tried to fit in with different clicks, but never found one that he could fit in with. This made him resent going to school. Not only did he struggle to learn anything, he struggled to make, and keep, any friends. Kevin ended up dropping out of school his sophomore year. He never did tell his mom. The few times he saw her during the week, she was more concerned with chores getting done. And since Kevin would leave every morning, she just assumed he was going to school. It never dawned on her to ask for a report card to see how he was doing.

Since Kevin never finished high school, he would struggle finding any kind of work. He would apply at fast food restaurants, but they did not want to hire him without a high school diploma. He would sometimes find odd jobs down by the docks that would pay cash. He made just enough that he could pay for a meal a two, but it was not enough to survive on.

Kevin would often think if life would be better if he were dead. Now that he has hit the age of twenty, he felt he was more of a burden to his mom than anything else. And the one thing he learned from his dad was how he could give up. That way he would not have to worry about responsibilities. Or having someone be responsible for him.

Today, Kevin woke up and thought to himself. He thought about his mom and how he was a burden to her. He thought about his future and how awful it looked. He thought that there was nothing more. He had failed at life and there was no reason for him to continue living. It was just after 2 AM and he decided to take a walk to the Golden Gate Bridge.

He had heard stories of the bridge and how popular it was as a place to take your life. But he never thought that he would be one of those looking to do so. But when he would evaluate his life and his future, this seemed to be the best

thing he could do. Not only for himself, but for his mom as well.

Because of the popularity of people trying to jump off the bridge, the city had put up video cameras and posted signs of phone numbers to call for suicide prevention. Kevin ignored them. His mind was made up. “Today,” he said to himself, “I will die.”

As Kevin approached the center of the bridge, he noticed a tall man wearing a black trench coat and a black fedora hat. The man was looking directly at Kevin. As they got closer, Kevin drew more and more nervous. He did not know who this man was or even why he was on the bridge this early in the morning. Maybe he was going to try and mug Kevin. Maybe he was just going to jump. Maybe he was just out for a walk. Kevin had no idea. All Kevin wanted to do was walk on by the man so he could finish what he came for.

As they crossed paths, the man looked at Kevin and said, “Kevin?” causing Kevin to stop in his tracks in astonishment.

Your turn. Finish the story:

Stinson Beach

James is a photographer living in Stinson Beach, California. Living in such a beautiful part of California, he does not lack any subjects to shoot. He will take landscapes photos, pet portraits, or photo shoots down on the beach. He never knows what his subject is going to be from day to day. He just goes with the flow.

His photo studio is downtown on Belvedere Avenue, which just happens to be where his apartment is. He lucked out finding a place where he could have his studio downstairs with his living area upstairs. It works out perfectly.

Today, James is headed to the beach to take some landscape and seascape photos. With the forecast calling for mostly clear skies and temperatures in the mid 70’s, James thinks it will be perfect for the beach. And with it being a

weekday, the crowds should be moderate as well.

James decided to head just north of Stinson Beach to Bolinas. There is a small park that has a great view of Mount Tamalpias along with the Bolinas Lagoon where there are usually plenty of birds to take photos of.

James arrived just in time to see the morning fog lift from the lagoon to reveal the many active birds. He found some nice bushes to sit in to take his pics. Normally, this time of day is noticeably quiet. On occasion, James would see someone on a morning walk, but that did not happen often.

After about fifteen minutes of sitting in the bushes, James heard a car pull into the parking lot of the park he was at. He could tell that whoever was driving was in a hurry. They came into the parking lot driving a bit too fast and ended up using the curb to help stop the vehicle. James thought it was a bit suspicious and unusual, so he decided to point the camera in that direction and take some photos.

Two men got out of the car. Both were dressed as if they had a rough night. Nice blazers with a dress shirt with the top buttons undone on their shirts. They each had five o’clock shadows going on. The two men had exited the vehicle visibly upset. Even though they did not say a word, you could tell neither of them were happy.

Both men walked quickly to the rear of the vehicle and opened the trunk. One of the men started to look around to make sure nobody watching. At this point, James started to get nervous. Since the men acted like they did not want anyone around, James felt stuck and started to pray that the men did not see him sitting in the bushes. Especially since James had already taken several photos of them.

When the trunk was open, both men reached in to grab one end of a large, black bag. It was heavy enough that both men had to work together to get it out of the trunk of the vehicle. James started taking more pictures.

Once the bag was out of the car, the men carried it to the north end of the

park. Out of sight for James. Now he could not get any more pictures. His curiosity was driving him mad. He really wanted to see where they dropped the bag and to get more pics. But James, fearing he would be caught, stayed in the bushes.

A few minutes later, James saw both men walking quickly back to the car. This time, no bag in site. It was obvious that the two men dropped the bag somewhere on the north end of the park. And James wanted to find out where.

Your turn. Finish the story: