The TL

This week in the Tenderloin, I felt like I was actually gaining some insight into the daily events of the neighborhood and what happens during a routine week day and week. There is no deficit of interesting characters to discover in the TL, and originally I was intimidated to try and tap these resources, but this week I found that some of my efforts came back to me.

I went again to serve breakfast at Glide Memorial Church, an experience I wrote about in a previous post. I feel that helping out at Glide gives me a reputable image in the neighborhood and working hard has proven to not only the people who work there but also the guests that I am there for more that just the story. I got some needed praise from another volunteer that I had worked with previously saying he’d never seen someone carry so many trays. Having done volunteer work in the past, this is really the most rewarding experience just because I felt like I was truly of service.

Since serving people at Glide’s free meal program, I have seen many people on the streets during my daily commute. This week two people actually recognized me and called out to me from across the street! One man tried to accost me with kisses, but he was innocent enough and even offered me free baseball tickets. I really enjoyed meeting and talking to these people!

I also went to peruse some art galleries, but found only one that was open and interesting besides White Walls, which I had seen before. I found the San Francisco Art Exchange on Mason and Geary, which is committed to covering a diverse range of artists and characters that represent change and diversity. The also show films, and I am interested in coming back to see the film they are showing on Barack Obama, Dr. Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks, I’ll save the review for another post. They also sell very limited editions prints and originals; the $6,000 price tags fall in stark contrast of the liquor stores and homeless people that crowd the streets outside.