After our massive studying at Dennys, Aaron and I went over the Bay Bridge to San Francisco…accidentally. The intersection between the 24, 580 and 880 is too confusing for the driver who has better things to think about.

But going across the bridge (with high winds pushing the car left and right) reminded me of how I always have perceived big cities. Is there any other city in the world where you have to enter it from a bridge…or a tunnel? Maybe New York City.

Ever since I was young, I always thought of the Big City as the city that was across the bridge. You would have to pay some toll to get across the bridge. A long tortous journey across the water. But to be greeted by the massiveness of the city. The tall buildings and the bustle uncommon in the suburbs. It seemed strange to me when I was with my relatives entering Grand Rapids for the first time. We were on the freeway and suddenly there was the big city. It seems as if a city is not complete without a special entrance. Some kind of bridge that you have to cross from the every day mundane to the spectacular life on the other side.

It\’s like taking your first breath of fresh air, after being cooped up in a room with no circulation.