Power Exchange
Day 4
Neighborhoods Covered: A bit more of Hayes Valley, plus whatever we might call what's directly south of Market and West of South Van Ness
Streets Completed: Hickory (last few blocks), Lily, Colton, Brady, Otis, Rose, McCoppin, Elgin Park, Pearl, Pink
Monday was overcast and chilly, which was perhaps the perfect weather setting for the blocks I walked. I finished off Hickory and did a whole mess of other little streets, including several in the odd neighborhood that sits in the crook of the elbow formed by Market and South Van Ness.
Here again, some truly interesting buildings and tableaux run up against a roughness that's not pretty or romantic, really, but just rough. On Brady there's a letterpress studio, a hair salon, an architectural firm, and a sign shop, and there's also a view of the ventilation fan for the Van Ness Muni station (or perhaps for BART as it runs under this stretch--hard to tell). I passed a few people who looked at me vacantly, and then we all went on our ways.
Down Jessie and Stevenson, in the shadow of the PG&E substation (or is it AT&T? I looked right through the signs), there are simple houses that look like they've come straight out of a c.1900 print of San Francisco: low, long, wooden, with a strongly Western feel. They were all dark and quiet when I walked past.
While I'm here, I may as well do...
Day 5
Neighborhoods Covered: None to speak of, though I guess I could count a minuscule slice of Civic Center
Streets Completed: None, alas
Late on Monday, a bit of my world exploded. On Tuesday I was barely functional, though I did manage to walk to the Civic Center post office in an attempt to mail a package, only to turn around and leave after seeing a long, immobile line and only one clerk actually dealing with things other than stamps and money orders.
So I walked in the rain to my car, drove to a client's in Russian Hill, then later drove back through the rain to the PO at Potrero Center. Once home, I was in for the night, my body heavy and weak like it'd be drained of a bit too much blood.
And now a new impetus: walking as distraction. Walking to forget. Walking because my legs can still move, and I achingly need that movement.
Neighborhoods Covered: A bit more of Hayes Valley, plus whatever we might call what's directly south of Market and West of South Van Ness
Streets Completed: Hickory (last few blocks), Lily, Colton, Brady, Otis, Rose, McCoppin, Elgin Park, Pearl, Pink
Monday was overcast and chilly, which was perhaps the perfect weather setting for the blocks I walked. I finished off Hickory and did a whole mess of other little streets, including several in the odd neighborhood that sits in the crook of the elbow formed by Market and South Van Ness.
Here again, some truly interesting buildings and tableaux run up against a roughness that's not pretty or romantic, really, but just rough. On Brady there's a letterpress studio, a hair salon, an architectural firm, and a sign shop, and there's also a view of the ventilation fan for the Van Ness Muni station (or perhaps for BART as it runs under this stretch--hard to tell). I passed a few people who looked at me vacantly, and then we all went on our ways.
Down Jessie and Stevenson, in the shadow of the PG&E substation (or is it AT&T? I looked right through the signs), there are simple houses that look like they've come straight out of a c.1900 print of San Francisco: low, long, wooden, with a strongly Western feel. They were all dark and quiet when I walked past.
While I'm here, I may as well do...
Day 5
Neighborhoods Covered: None to speak of, though I guess I could count a minuscule slice of Civic Center
Streets Completed: None, alas
Late on Monday, a bit of my world exploded. On Tuesday I was barely functional, though I did manage to walk to the Civic Center post office in an attempt to mail a package, only to turn around and leave after seeing a long, immobile line and only one clerk actually dealing with things other than stamps and money orders.
So I walked in the rain to my car, drove to a client's in Russian Hill, then later drove back through the rain to the PO at Potrero Center. Once home, I was in for the night, my body heavy and weak like it'd be drained of a bit too much blood.
And now a new impetus: walking as distraction. Walking to forget. Walking because my legs can still move, and I achingly need that movement.
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