Graffiti the Ghost

Tales from the 'loin

We have an expression where I come from: “crazy as a shithouse rat.” I must admit, though, that I never really understood what that expression meant until I spent a year working in the heart of San Francisco’s Tenderloin district. In case you have never been to the 'loin, let me break it down for you- it’s the kind of place where civic pride meets urban decay. City Hall and the opera house overlook soup kitchens and hotels that rent rooms by the minute. During the day smartly dressed government employees rub elbows with the crème de la crème of San Francisco’s down and out, and you can get a $15 plate of pasta for lunch while watching a man smear himself with his own feces. Gotta love this city.



Now, let me just say I’m a pretty big fan of cultural clashes like this one. I think it brings some sort of balance and natural order to a place. And I even got to know some of the residents-without-residence in the neighborhood. They would call me “Red,” and I would call them “If you don’t stop that I’m going to call the police.” It was friendly. Good times.

And it was never boring. You just never knew what to expect on your way to work. Case in point, I once had a man that looked kind of like Jesus on a really bad hair day tell me that I was an angel sent from heaven. Naturally, I started to feel pretty good about myself. Put a little extra pep in my step, namsayin? Of course, then he followed it up by screaming, “AND YOU’RE SPREADING CANCER WITH YOUR VAGINA!!!!” Hey, just because it’s true doesn’t make it ok to scream it at someone in the street, alright?

All these pleasant memories came flooding back when my good friend Colin sent me this link entitled “Ten minutes in San Francisco.” This little slice-of-life features a man who is either crazy as the aforementioned shithouse rat, or just exemplifying the fact that it’s always best to dress in layers in SF cause you never know when the sun will break through the fog and a cold, crappy day will turn as warm and sunny as a tropical island. It’s enough to make you wanna piss on a cop. Unfortch, some of the photos are NSFW, but they are thumbnails, and you can pretty much tell where it's going before you get there. Thanks, C!

posted by Jess @ 11:25 AM