San Francisco is a city with great history and historical characters but neither the history nor the characters are, shall we say, evenly distributed. Noe Valley, home of the door with this historic plaque, evidently prides itself of being a quiet neighborhood.
From the back of the 41 Bus:
Woman: “. . . and then we’ll go out. We’re normally out till 4 or 5 in the morning . . . ”
Man #1: “That’s pretty late.”
Woman: “Yeah, plus he likes to be in bed by 10, especially when he’s going to be drinking the next morning. […]
Li Po is actually the name of a famous Chinese Poet. I’m not sure if the bar is actually named after him, but it seems likely since Li Po was “. . . best known for the extravagant imagination and striking Taoist imagery in his poetry, as well as for his great love for liquor.”
San Francisco, which packages and sells its past with the best of them, conveniently omits the Barbary Coast from much of its history. An area world famous for drugs, prostitution, violence and liquor is commemorated with . . . a pastry shop that isn’t even in the Barbary Coast: instead it’s just off Union […]
The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco is both an aesthetic and engineering marvel, and is justifiably famous for these qualities. These same qualities, however, make it a mecca for jumpers. Walking across the bridge, one sees these signs at frequent intervals:
I’m a little ambivalent about suicides: the right to kill yourself is […]
Eastern European IT Consultant Girl out with American co-workers for happy hour at in North Beach:
EEITCG (loudly): I love money!
(awkward silence ensues)
EEITCG (still loudly, as if it explains everything): I’m from Eastern Europe!
(awkward silence continues until someone jumps in with a “how about those Mets!” style change of subject)
later on in a separate conversation […]
Murio’s is dark all day with no pesky sunlight allowed inside. To brighten up the interior, Christmas lights are up and on all year round. My bartender has a spiked mohawk and is handing me a 24 ounce can of Pabst Blue Ribbon. This is my favorite Haight-Ashbury dive.
Murio’s tends to be […]
Given that San Francisco’s Barbary Coast was rife with crime and criminals, you’d expect it to be a rather well armed place and you’d be right.
Cops on the Coast beat were selected for being big men and were armed with the nightstick and pistol, familiar today, and also with a foot long knife for close […]
Joseph: “Until about ‘89 I had a good life for about 8 years, then I got on the alcohol . . . now I’m homeless.”
When you just can’t face BART without a beer first thing in the morning, Clooney’s is on the job. Don’t expect a lot of conversation, just efficient service and some TV watching since, if you need a beer at 6 in the morning, you’re probably not feeling like happy talk.
