When I was first reading histories of the Great Depression as a kid, I thought the term Hooverville was hysterical. I was still of the mindset that it was imperative to be respectful of the presidental institution and this colloquial usage was so wrong. But also so funny.

Then Lisa Douglas from Green Acres came along and confounded the issue. She used to go to the General Store in Hootersville to buy her Electricable (i.e., extension) Cords. Lisa’s burg sounded funnier than Herbert’s.

In the 80’s when Regan closed all the mental hospitals and the modern surge of homelessness began, there was a missed opportunity to rename these urbanized shanties after a sitting president. Reganville would have been kind of bland. But Nancy Towns has a certain spark.

Similarly, today Trumpville seems blah. Then you think of the daughter with her “let them eat cake” give. We have heard very little from Princess Frozenface during the National Crisis. Probably because she didn’t want to detract from the brilliant work her hubby the Kush-meister was doing on so many fronts.

Until now Ivanka’s crowning White House achievement has been insinuating herself into a photo op with the World Bank President. Christine Lagarde’s look of “who is this turd” is one for the ages.

With the tsunami of homelessness caused by Daddy’s inept handling of the pandemic, it’s time to memorialize his little Honey Bucket’s place in history.

My neighborhood encampment

Will the census takers find them?

Like customer service at Amazon during its muti-billion dollar profit quarter, street cleaning has been suspended

Eucalyptus are an excellent repellent for fruit flies.

The muted palette, so hip.

You’ve got to climb Mount Everest to reach the Valley of the Dolls

An overpowering essence

In the tonier, Hayes Valley section of town

Mix-match helter skelter

Island in the stream

Curbside lending libraries are still open.

Charlotte Schultz’s Hospitality Tent

Our beloved Zuni incorporating today’s reality into the future’s facade

But where?

Easy on, not so easy off.

The sun never sets….

I missed the biggest demonstration San Francisco has had in quite some time. I didn’t know. It started at Mission High about 3 blocks from me but it must have been extremely peaceful because none of us heard a peep.

It’s not like my thoughts weren’t with the demonstrators. Earlier this afternoon I wrote to my District Supervisor, Rafael Mandelman, expressing my frustration with police actions and the role of police in our society.

It’s time to start defunding storm troopers and use that money instead in positive ways that rebuild the community. And it’s time to stop subsidizing the Us vs. Them mentality that police thrive on but that make our cities more and more unliveable.

To: Supervisor Rafael Mandelman
June 3, 2020

Re: Defunding the Police

It’s time to fundamentally rethink the role of the police. When I saw how the community came together to get through the COVID-19 crisis, then how easily that spirit was crushed by police actions across the country doing the same old same old, it became obvious that police forces as we have known them are no longer viable. They are not a part of any community I want to belong to.

Get them out of their cruisers and on their feet so they can become part of the neighborhood again. Take their guns away, make them less violent. If they want to live out their SWAT team drug bust fantasies, make them stop practicing on my block. Take it to Hollywood 300 miles away where that kind of crap belongs.

Finally, Supervisor Mandelman, if your response is going to be a canned spiel on how valuable their work is and what an important role they play in our society, spare me. We have listened to that for the last 50 years and the situation has only gotten worse.

Police have become the enemy of, not the servants for, the people.