26 September 2013

February 20, 2013. Sodom-by-the-Sea.

This just in from Sodom-by-the-Sea, Family Values Department, in today's Chronicle:
Blessed city: San Francisco's long-standing reputation as a modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah has taken a serious hit.
The conservative Family Research Council's Marriage and Religion Research Institute has just issued a report ranking San Francisco third among the 45 largest cities when it comes to "the health of the U.S. family." Fifty-three percent of San Francisco's 15- to 17-year-olds are in households with their biological married parents, according to the Family Research Council. At the bottom, by the way, was Cleveland - where just 15 percent of teens are being raised by their biological, married parents.

February 18, 2013. Haight Street.

On the side of a building on Haight Street, near Stanyan, appears a sign which reads, "Listen to this wall!"

February 7, 2013. Bridge Cinema.

A Sign of the Times, on the marquee of the shuttered and much-lamented Bridge Cinema: So long, and thanks for all the popcorn.

February 7, 2013. Retirement

A year and a half ago, just after I had retired, I was talking with a friend about my new situation. I expressed various anxieties. "This is the end game, isn't it?" asked my friend. "Act 5, Scene 1," I replied.

February 7, 2013. Berets

Wednesday, at Kaplan's on Market, I bought two new wool berets, of the type I usually wear, to replace my worn and faded beret, which I bought at the same shop at least 10 years ago. The new caps should last as long as I do, probably longer.

February 6, 2013. Streetcar

A man boarded the F Market streetcar at Van Ness, and asked the motorman, "Does this car go to the airport?" "No!" was the reply. "Good," said the man; "I don't want to go to the airport!"

February 3, 2013. Harry S Truman

Emblazoned on the gable of a house on 46th Avenue, are the words of Harry S Truman: The only thing new in the world is the history you don't know.

February 2, 2013. Classy mustache.

Tonight, on the 5 Fulton bus, a teen boy gave up his seat for me. His buddy, sitting beside me, remarked on my "classy mustache." He went on to say that I "look pretty good for a 60-something!"

February 2, 2013. Wavy Gravy

On the radio, someone said, "You are what you eat!" Wavy Gravy replied, "You are what you don't p--p!"

16 September 2013

January 30,2013. Bulletproof.

On Caltrain yesterday morning, I heard the not-quite-reassuring announcement that "each window weighs about thirty pounds and is made of bulletproof lexan!"

January 25, 2013. Stories.

A shop on Balboa Street is offering 'Long-winded stories.'

January 21, 2013. Ocean Beach.

At the moment, on this sunny, clear, rather chilly and windy afternoon, three helicopters are flying over Ocean Beach, one or two hovering here and there, another patrolling close to the water, up and down the Beach. The surf is high, and, presumably, the rip currents are strong. The water is no place for a surfer, or a swimmer, or anyone in a small boat.

January 20, 2013. Dude.


This evening, on the 5 Fulton bus, a young man gestured toward my faded black beret and said, "Dude, I like your hat!" Thanks!" I replied. He took off his baseball cap, held it out to me, and said, "Wanna trade?" "No thanks," I said. "My hat keeps my head warm." "You have a nice head," he replied, as he left the bus.

January 12, 2013. Waltz time.


This afternoon, outside an entrance to Lake Merritt BART station, a middle-aged couple were dancing a slow waltz, in elegant, slow, formal, ballroom style, to music audible only in their imaginations. They stepped and swirled and flowed around the space, unworried and unhindered by others passing by.

January 6, 2013. Canadians


Overheard at lunch, at a restaurant on Church in San Francisco: "Canadians are a simple people, a friendly people!"

January 2, 2013. Apocalypse

The 'Apocalypse Survival Seminar' sign has reappeared outside a local shop. Does the shopkeeper know something that we don't?

14 September 2013

December 28, 2012 A Sign of the Times

A Sign of the Times, outside a shop on Valencia Street: 'Gangrene: Threat or Menace?'

December 22, 2012. Apocalypse.


Outside the local shop where the sign 'Apocalypse Survival Seminar' had appeared for some weeks before the solstice, now appears a sign that reads 'Still here!'

December 14,2012. Crime scene.

I arrived in San Rafael early Friday evening, to find the Transit Hub surrounded with crime scene tape. Evidently there had been a shooting. This was more than disconcerting, with the events in Connecticut fresh in my mind.