The view from the Tenderloin

[winetourdriver01]

The View from the Tenderloin:

Half way through April, and closing in on the half way mark for 2020. The years since my retirement in '16 seem like something written in a strange sy/fi novel. Physical trauma from the plague, which lingers still, to a broken hand, getting slugged in the forehead so hard it fractured my skull, losing ninety pounds, and finally, hand moving my possessions last week all adds up to a solid kick in the ass. At my age, all this is brutally hard to recover from. And I'm not even going to start on the mental and emotional wars I've fought. And I was worried retirement was going to be boring!
I never thought social networking was going to turn into something so important to me either. Through it I have grown closer to my relatives, to people I never knew, and to the few old school chums still kicking. The physical gulf between where I am and where I came from seems even wider because of the plague. My new apartment is both elegant and comfortable, but my beautiful San Francisco now seems strange. How I am to deal with all this will keep me occupied, certainly, for whatever time I have left.

Hold those dear to you close
God save the Republic

[MLAA]

1. I am glad your hard won move to the new digs is behind you and you like your new apartment

Plenty more challenges for us all on the horizon, but glad that brutal move is in the rear view mirror 🙂

[winetourdriver01]

4. I do

Settling in has been a real pleasure, they even deliver a nice lunch to the apartment every day!

[MLAA]

5. Holy moly, you are living a dream! San Fran + lunch! 🙂

[NBachers]

2. As a fellow SFer, who's worked in a lot of TL buildings, I like reading your dispatches from the TL.

[winetourdriver01]

3. The TL

The old apartment overlooked the intersection of Ellis/Hyde, it was noisy as hell, but an education. I worked for several of the big housing associations, desk clerked at some SRO's, and was assistant manager at the Ambassador for a time. I never had any trouble from anyone over the years, and I love that neighborhood. SOMA is nice, but seems a bit bland compared to all that! Thank you very much for the compliment, I appreciate it. Take care. B.

[NBachers]

7. I have a Vietnamese friend; we went to Mangosteen a lot when it was open. I love the architecture in

the neighborhood. For all the time I've spent around there, I've never been hassled. But you've gotta keep your eyes open, walk like you're sure of yourself, and know when to avoid eye contact.

[winetourdriver01]

8. Exactly

I'm an old white gay guy, a bit over six feet tall. When I walk through the neighborhood I'm very respectful, but I walk like I own the damn place. Head high and back straight. Working as a desk clerk in and around the neighborhood made it so many of the residents knew me, at least my face, so I felt like I belonged.

[MLAA]

6. I meant to add

I lived on Beale Street for a year and walked to my office on Market Street. I loved walking to the Ferry Building and strolling along the water.

[winetourdriver01]

9. The bay

Earlier this month I did something I hadn't done in a while, I walked down to the Ferry Building. It was so spooky to see that part of town EMPTY. The bay, the smell of the bay, was a tonic. I took fotos and posted them on my facebook wall, and my friends and family from the midwest loved them. Baghdad by the bay indeed.