today i took a bus ride to the inner sunset, and saw, with my very own eyes for the first time, an empty canvas cafe. i did most of my best writing there, and was entertained for hours by terrible stand-up comedy, even worse open mic nights and cliched poetry readings. it never failed to entertain me or inspire me.
i'm gonna miss it terribly.
tonight, i just learned that another place dear to my heart will be closing.
when i first moved to san francisco, i lived in a crazy house. it was so crazy that, for the first time in recorded history, the sanest person who lived there was an actress.
i really didn't want to go home after work, so i would stop in at john barleycorn, a quiet old-fashioned bar on larkin between california and sacramento. it was right off the cable car line, and they poured the finest black and tan this side of ireland. the bartender was a very nice man who was born to tend bar. they had an old wurlitzer jukebox with 50 carefully selected songs from springsteen to chuck berry. the furniture was classic. they had scrabble. and it was quiet enough for me to sit in the corner and write.
i was a regular.
anyways, i've since moved away, and although nowadays i "pick my spots" for my nights of drinking, i still have it in my head to make it back there every so often, although sadly, not often enough, and down myself a black and tan.
i just learned that every so often has to arrive before june.
if you have a moment, check out savethebarleycorn.com. they've got photos of the place, a history of how it was built and, if you are so inclined, a petition to sign to help save it. alhtough, from what i'm gathering, the new landlord seems to be as open minded as our president. still, it can't hurt.
do it for me. i rue the day it closes.
dammit. that's two down. i wonder what will be the next bay area landmark that's gonna tear apart from its precious place in my heart?
oh crap.
No comments:
Post a Comment