But as usual I find a good deal of visual entertainment along the way. It is, for example, absurdly pleasing to get a passable photo of lettering on glass, where the reflections generally end up defeating me.
This stenciled address is executed with such incredible tidiness that I feel a longing for the awkward improvisations that are so much more abundant and endearing (as below).
There seems to be an increase in beggars, where they were already plentiful, but I suppose that's only to be expected with the economy falling apart. And San Francisco has always attracted more than its share, even in the best of times. A weary-looking kid holds a cardboard sign with red block letters.
18 & HOMELESS & NEED A JOB
Call me squeamish, but I try not to think too much about the kind of job he expects to be offered, having positioned himself within a few yards of the world's largest gay flag. (Readers outside the U.S. may not be aware that sex with anyone under 18 is a felony in this country, and rigorously prosecuted. Non-Americans are often surprised by this fact, since the "age of consent" (as it used quaintly to be called) is 16 according to the laws of most of our peer nations. So this boy is in effect offering a sort of safety assurance to potential employers, knowing that they will require him to prove it.)