bus ride

last night i indulged myself and read about 200 comments in the chronicle written in response to the article about the adequacy for education funding lawsuit against the state. the comments were pretty shocking and about 75% found a scapegoat for the education funding problem. unions, illegal immigrants, and even a little special ed (why should we spend so much money to educate these people's messed-up kids?).

walking up 24th street while waiting for the bus up to noe valley to buy facepaint for my son's school fundraiser tomorrow:

i am drawn to the socialist workers table at 24th and mission. i remember my good friend's parents went to socialist labor party picnics and things, they were really into it. i tell the nice young man there with the earnest thin face that i guess i am not so happy being with capitalism anymore, but not sure i am ready to be a socialist either. he gives me a newspaper to read and i hop on my bus.

noe valley is full of happy wealthy people in the sun. everyone seems to be outside today. at the farmer's market i get some spinach. people are all sitting on chairs outside cafes and restaurants. a lone man in a muscle t is playing electric guitar--santana, led zeppelin, dueling banjos.

i bump into a friend whose kid goes to a public school up here. she said at their school auction last week they raised $140,000 in one day--$17,000 of that in "tequila parties"

on the bus on the way home two middle-aged-older men sit in the united nations line-up that is the 48 going from noe to potrero hill. a woman who turns out to be a man sits next to me and these two men feel fine discussing how disgusting it is when men dress up like women. the bus driver has some stories about how he calls these men sir and they are so offended. the other man asks what this world is coming to and starts talking about the bible.

when i get off there is a wierd incident where a very speed-freaky looking man does something a speed-freaky looking woman does not like and then she is at walgreen's asking the clerks to call 911 because she has been robbed and they just avoid eye contact with her and pretend she does not exist. this is what san francisco is like the woman says. "can anyone hear me? i was robbed and i want to call 911. can you hear me??" as i left a serious faced young manager was coming over to take charge of the situation.