I had a nice outing--except
that I was disappointed in my local bookstore, where the clerks/people in
charge used to be much more receptive. There's
a new guy now, and I can't figure out why he's not receptive.
I suffered in verse--and now
I'll make you suffer:
She'd brought in some flyers to hang on the wall
So why, when she looked, were they not there at all?
This was the time the community needed
To all come together.
Was her plea not heeded?
She'd bought her books there, so she'd been a good
client.
So why when she asked them were they not compliant?
The classes would close if folks didn't posthaste
Go to register for them.
What a loss! What a waste!
This was one of those cases when I wished that I hadn't
asked and had just posted on the bulletin board they have at the back. (I brought in material again today in case
they'd "accidentally" recycled what I took a couple of weeks
ago--which they said they'd post after they painted the area, which has now
been painted. ) It's in an
easy-to-access area, and clearly three people had taken it upon themselves to
post things. When I presented material,
he said, "We already have the material you brought us. But we did some painting, and I don't know
when we'll put things back up." I
offered to do it for him, and he said, "No." Usually people are very receptive, but other
times it's like pulling out of my garage on 19th Avenue. I have to be assertive but careful. In this case, I don't want to alienate
him. But I'll tell you something. If I go in again, and nothing is on that
bulletin board, I'm going to start boycotting them. I'm sorry because I like that store and it's
within walking distance of my house. I'd
rather support them than Amazon. But
that lack of responsiveness upsets me. Today I bought the book
they'd ordered for me, A Literary Christmas.
But I'm not going to buy anything else there if they don't put up any
CCSF flyers.
What a contrast to
the Russian Hill Bookstore, where the guy in charge said, "Sure. Take down whatever is out of date. There's always something." Their bulletin board is right by the door,
and the only way to access it is to block the door a bit, but no one complained,
and I was there as an obstruction for quite a while because I had to keep my
foot in the door while I was taking down and putting up flyers! I took down West Coat Craft for December 6
& 7 (which was at the Herbst Pavilion at Fort Mason Center, where we'll
continue to have classes, I think, because they found out that it costs less
than some other sites), a flyer for a Z space presentation, The Totalitarians, which ended last
Sunday, Deck the Hall, which seemed to have everyone performing on December
7--the SF Symphony, Beach Blanket Babylon, the SF Boys Chorus, the SF Ballet
School Trainee Program, and MORE. I'm
thinking that I might steal their design for my Christmas card and substitute
photos for the Christmas balls they have on their tree. ..Dancers, Prancers &
Vixens" with the "Well Strung" Singing String Quartet, part of
the SFGMC that Randy Larouche has just rejoined. Oh, and I took down a flyer saying
"Study English with ELI at a great new location, Park Presidio Church"--that's
the one on Geary and 7th Avenue where some of us used to teach a class or two
in addition to the ones we had at John Adams.
I took it down because it said
"Classes begin September 22nd."
But one of the flyers I put up for the Civic Center Campus had a nearly-expired
date too--December 19. We know that
these classes continue, but I'm afraid my flyer will be taken down because it
seems to have expired. ..Tim Guydish, Artists
Reception for "The Oddists", which was back on October
24th..."Santa Claus in the Japan Center Malls" was over December 14...An
art show at Holy Trinity Cathedral, where my first husband and I went a couple
of times and found nobody else in attendance--sort of like the Stonestown
Theatre. That was over December 14. (Oh, I'm mistaken! The one we went to was on Bush and Gough Street, not Green. Could there be two Trinity Churches? I guess there really should be three!) I put up the flyer that Susan Lopez created,
"A More Amazing You" because it's catchy and gives the beginning date
and link to the schedule website, English classes in the Sunset, the
"expired" one about the Civic Center, one about French classes at the
Downtown Camus, one on Music at the Ocean Campus, and a
schedule of classes--just one because there wasn't space for more. But people everywhere are telling me that
they've gotten a schedule of classes in the mail, so that's good. They've gotten it and they're aware that
they've gotten it!
Once I got my foot out the door, I realized I was right
next to Cole Hardware, so I went in to get the oil-based sealant for grout that
Small Property Owners advised me to use to "back up" the work
done. ..I rarely go to that part of town, so I enjoyed
seeing the old Alhambra Theatre, which advertised Crunch Fitness right next
door to a place called "No Judgment," as if they wouldn't make any
comment on whether the fitness place created results! (In a protest in Sacramento, we held our
banners and heard speeches right across the street from the Beauty Center, and
there was a sign nearby saying "Dreamers welcome," as if implying that
you'd have to be a dreamer if you expected results.) I noticed that Boulange was across the street
from Cole Hardware, and that's where Javier and I had wound up one day long ago
when we were trying to find some other place--maybe a restaurant that turned
out to be closed...Then I left Polk Street and realized that on Van Ness going
back home, I could stop at Staples near Sacramento and get some of the sheet
protectors I need for my pages of recipes. So I stopped there, and I asked the manager if
he had room for some CCSF material. He
said he'd put it in their break room.
But the trip was also nostalgic. I saw the Episcopal Church on Van Ness at
Clay, where Jonathan and I went briefly after my divorce from his dad, and the
First Old Church, where we saw a performance of Amahl and the Night Visitor, with someone we knew as Amahl. Jonathan was a toddler and, before (not
during) the performance, he climbed around on the pews. As I thought about all the personal history,
I realized: I'm old!
