My Dad moved our family from the Bay Area to Ann Arbor in
1971. A painful relocation for the kids! We ultimately put down new roots in
the Midwest, and after beginning college my dreams of returning to San
Francisco faded along with adolescence.
Then around 1985 I casually pulled a book off the New
Arrivals rack at the public library. An engrossing story about the Cal students
and researchers working on President Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative (aka
'Star Wars') program at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. There was a
passage about driving along the foothills of 580 at night, with a warm breeze
outside + non-stop ideas inside which took me right back to nights with the top
down along 280. In 1970 'disruptive innovation' (at least for a teen!) was all
about music. Today? The article above puts it this way-> 'Perhaps more so
than any other region in the world, the Bay Area produces new companies that
disrupt and redefine entire industries. Think Google (Alphabet), Intuit,
Netflix, eBay, Tesla Motors, Cisco Systems and others.'
We live in an iconic corner of the world. The Bay Area
unreservedly supports innovation, which in turn attracts the most talented
innovators in the world. That's not about to change anytime soon. We're
fortunate to live here. Stop to take it all in the next time you drive down the
Junipero Serra. Despite its esoteric lyrics, America's 'Ventura Highway' (no
such stretch) perfectly captures a drive down 280 in 1970 (and probably any
other year as well).
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