‘Stan The Man’
If you haven’t gathered by now, I recently went on a soul searching adventure to San Francisco, California. I had to get out on my own and just discover new people and places that were unfamiliar to me in order to increase the boundaries of my comfort zone. What better place to accomplish such a goal than the beautiful Bay Area?
I arrived at SFO around 10 a.m., and was charged with the challenge of finding my way to Rosie’s place using public transportation. The technology of today allowed me to map out door-to-door directions on my Blackberry, so I wasn’t so worried…but all stories have stipulations: Saturday, March 12th was SF’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade and all public transportation was shut down in the heart of the city, Union Square…
I traversed the hills of SF trying to find an applicable transport hub to get me and my 80 lbs. of luggage to wherever the hell I was supposed to go. Me, wearing all black, must have stood out like a sore thumb amongst a sea of green and orange, but fuck it, this event is like 5 days early! I finally found a stop, which was inundated with weary St. Patty’s Day Parade attendees; I knew I’d be fighting to get on the bus for at least another hour. While mapping out my plan of attack, I was subsequently approached by Stan, a man living on the streets of San Francisco.
Stan, sensing my confusion and dilemma, and knowing I was from out-of-town, lent a helping hand in directing me to my destination. He explained the in and outs of the day’s transportation woes and informed me that the ‘locals’ waiting at the same stop as me ‘would be there for a long fuckin’ time…’
Thank you Stan the Man! We walked for another 45 minutes and arrived at a less crowded intersection, which included a bus stop. All the way there, Stan greeted the valets and concierges and was well appreciated by his townspeople - I felt like his entourage as he fought his way through the paparazzi clamoring to talk to transient celebrity. I thanked him for his time and guidance, cut him some dough (which, in retrospect, probably wasn’t enough), and promised him I’d share his good deed with a narrative and a photo.
This is that story…
Enjoy.
