“It takes two men
to make one brother.”
Israel Zangwill

When my brother Tom and I were younger,… MUCH younger, we occasionally went on bike rides together in San Francisco. There are two excursions I distinctly recall. On one occasion, we rode our bikes around Lake Merced to Brotherhood Way. Being the older brother (he was in high school, while I was still an elementary school student), Tom most often set the course for the day. On this day, we rode up Brotherhood Way to the entrance to Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. The large, circular structure was impressive. Tom suggested that we go inside. Despite my belief, at the time, that Catholics were not allowed to enter non-Catholic churches, we ventured inside. I was amazed by the stained glass windows and the various icons and murals adorning the walls of the worship space.

On another bike ride, Tom and I rode up to the Palace of the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park. Talk about impressive structures! This museum, which is 100 years old, is located near Land’s End and offers spectacular views of the Golden Gate Bridge. It wasn’t until we arrived that I was informed that the reason for our visit was to listen to a pipe organ concert. I have to admit that I enjoyed it. If Tom had mentioned the concert prior to our departure from home, I seriously doubt I would have joined him.

Well, Tom and I don’t ride bikes much anymore. In fact, it’s been more than 15 years since I’ve ridden mine. We met up this morning at the Caltrain Station in San Francisco for a walk in The City. Tom came down from the University of San Francisco, where he is staying for the weekend, and I took the train from Santa Clara. I arrived in The City at 10:00 and we began our walk.

It was a perfect day in San Francisco, which is not surprising as it is this time of year (September-October) that The City gets its best weather. We walked along King Street, past Oracle Park, then along the Embarcadero all the way around to Fisherman’s Wharf. We stopped for lunch at Capurro’s Restaurant on Jefferson Street (directly across from the old cannery building). The owner, Paul Capurro, stopped by our table to chat with us for a while. I met Paul a couple of years ago when we had a Saint Gabriel Class of ’68 lunch there. I also had lunch there with my friend Angellie last Saturday. Paul and my brother had a mutual friend who was close with both of them. Bert Keane was one of Tom’s classmates at Saint Ignatius, and they worked together for a while at the Jesuit Retreat Center in Los Altos. Paul and Bert were long-time friends and handball partners at the Olympic Club. Sadly, Bert lost his battle with cancer a few months ago.

In all, our day was memorable for all the right reasons. I have always been grateful for Tom’s presence in my life. Now that he’s back in California and living at Loyola-Marymount University in Los Angeles (after ten years in Rome), I get to see him on a more regular basis. I’ll be planning another trip south after the first of the year.