No Good Trying

This morning I was standing in front of the gallery with two co-workers when this crackhead walked by, asking for money. When I said, no, sorry, dude, he darted across the street - right into traffic - without even looking at me. Then a few minutes later he was back. He walked behind us, right in the doorway of the gallery, shielded on all sides, and pulled out a glass pipe. He was reaching in his pocket for some matches when I realized what he was up to. Right away I said, hey, man, don't do that shit here, and before he had time to explain himself, he dashed away again, ducking in the first open doorway for another try.

For some reason I was amazed by this quick little exchange. I mean it really was bizarre. This guy had thousands of spots to go to, to get away from everything, to not be seen doing something illegal, and he decided to hide by three perfectly respectable adults, on a busy street, people who were just waiting to be let into work.

This isn't about morality or class or how to go about dealing with the homeless population in San Francisco. I'm just saying this guy was spun out, and it was fucking sad and horrific and a bit funny too, just the absurdity of telling someone not to smoke crack next to you.

On a seemingly unrelated note, this is a clip of Civil rights activist Petey Greene - who Don Cheadle plays in the new film Talk To Me - discussing the art of eating watermelon.

And you wonder why I sometimes get cynical.