Growing up in Walnut Creek, California was a pleasant and enriching experience. It is about twenty-five miles east of San Francisco with a population of about 60,000. As a small town it didn't offer all the amenities of a large city, but it did have its own charms. With one of the best small-community, downtown areas in the country it offered many shops, restaurants, theaters, and nearby parks. As a youngster I spent many mornings skateboarding all through downtown on my way to school. When a little older, I often walked to the Bay Area Rapid transit station to take the twenty-minute train ride to "the City." There was a wonderful diversity of foods available at the restaurants in town but my favorite was a Philly cheesesteak
