I'd like to start this diary by asking you, the reader, to participate in a little exercise. Please indulge me on this one.
I'd like you to try and envision in your mind the city of San Francisco. What do you see? Alcatraz? Coit Tower? Cable cars? Hippie drum circles at Golden Gate Park?
Well, if you're like many people, one image that came to your mind was the Golden Gate Bridge. Admittedly, this was not a very fair experiment; the title of the diary probably gave you a pretty strong hint as to what this diary was about.
According to Frommer's, the Golden Gate Bridge is the most photographed bridge in the world. It's a symbolic gateway between the US and the vast blue expanse of the Pacific Ocean. And I can certainly vouch for its aesthetics. And though its traffic is around a third of what the Bay Bridge gets, it's the Golden Gate Bridge that has the allure. Between the aesthetics, the symbolism, and the accessibility to pedestrians, it's understandable that the Golden Gate Bridge is such an inspiring and popular landmark. And, as you may know, the Golden Gate Bridge is the site of the most suicides in the United States and ranks second on the list of worldwide suicide destinations.
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