Urine and Trash Cans
I know my neighborhood is renowned for crime and vagrants, and the longer I’m there the longer I have to study this quite interesting crowd of people. I mean, if the shit hit the fan and I was in their shoes, the first thing I would ask myself is why stay in San Francisco? Its pretty amazing but this city actually has an economy built around this. The homeless have their own newspaper, called Street Sheet. For twenty years.
Regardless of the good work being done to get deserving individuals back into housing, there is nowhere to take a leak in the city without having to buy something. Really, it’s the homeless’ fault for this as well. I know, everyone needs to have some basic hygiene time and if you homeless the only place to go is a public bathroom. Which there are none of because of the disaster that ensues for everyone else afterward.
This makes me more aware of what not to do while outside. People just piss wherever they might find some modesty. Sometimes they don’t even bother being modest. So its important to never lean up against anything outside. Most buildings are a hundred years old, I’m certain they have all been pissed on by now. Its also important not to sit down unless you are inside where other people are sitting down in the same model chair as you.
This morning as I walked down Market Street, I couldn’t help but notice that the trash can fleecing was just going out of control. In my mile or so walk to the office, I think I only saw one trash can that someone wasn’t in. I think it was empty, I didn’t want to stick my hand in it to check. The people that tend to wear long gloves are usually asian, don’t ask me why I always see old asian ladies picking out trash. I’m just glad they don’t have them in Chinatown or else walking through there would be incredibly difficult with five or six asian ladies standing around a freshly filled trash can. If it isn’t homeless people with their face in the trash then you can bet it is an asian. Sounds pretty stereotypical but I honestly have no connection or understanding of why this happens. Its just fucking weird.
The last trash can I passed I couldn’t help but notice the shopping cart filled with trash, with blankets on top, and only blocking the view from Market. A man about 6′2″ and unshaven for months stood on the other side of the trash can, facing his shopping cart. I noticed his hands move to his hips, and from that moment on I will forever be tortured. Frankly, I never want to see any other man’s penis ever, let alone one that is really fucking filthy pissing into a trash can.