Heard any good street talk lately? Not from street people, but from the streetside itself. San Francisco streets sometimes speak a language of their own. Lately, there are sprinklings of optimism, such as this mural that recently popped up to brighten a dreary building at the edge of the dreary Tenderloin. It virtually shouts Hello to passersby. (Which is friendlier than one sometimes hears from street people in the neighborhood.)
But there’s also some trash talk going on.
Who, for instance — or what — bashed into the side of Jones Memorial United Methodist Church on Post near Japantown? This was high decibel profanity, so one hopes its site was unintentional.
This is no flimsy building. Tile cladding over reinforced concrete something or other — seriously sturdy steel mesh was visible through the window, along with a scattering of debris from the blow. I think I heard the building — which was unharmed the last time I’d walked by — say ouch!
Still. It’s a mystery.
Another passerby theorized that a small car badly miscalculated as it backed up to turn around for a quick getaway. Which would’ve involved maneuvering perpendicular to the street and jumping the curb. No sign of tire tracks anywhere. A motorized wheelchair with a snowplow front, run amok? There were eventually four of us staring, but coming up with no good answers. One more blues song of the city streets.
