What's wrong with Houston, pray tell? The Lad spent 15 years of his life there, and as you can see it didn't harm himQuote:
Originally Posted by kenc
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What's wrong with Houston, pray tell? The Lad spent 15 years of his life there, and as you can see it didn't harm himQuote:
Originally Posted by kenc
Now, two postings saying that my point was not clear make me realize that my point was not clear! Actually, I didn't have so much of a "point" to make as an attempt, in the first part of a series, to paint a portrait of San Francisco, which would bring out its great beauties and great attractions as a tourist destination -- and contrast those with daily life in the City, as well as to describe its reputation as a "Gay Mecca" and describe the realities underneath that. But I obviously hit some real hot spots with some people, which makes me think I should carry on. I might mention, for example, San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles as the three large American cities where untrammeled sexual promiscuity spawned the HIV virus which has killed millions worldwide, plus the nonstop attempt to blame that on Ronald Reagan and the long resistance against the attempt to shut down the bathhouses.Quote:
Originally Posted by kenc
But just for now, you're all wrong with your dot.com chronology. I worked in the Silicon Valley for 23 years, and for a lot of that time I has living with a boyfriend from Palo Alto who "hated" San Francisco. He hated the bums, the homeless, and the squalor to be found away from the major tourist centers. So, for obvious reasons, I didn't visit very often. I was a Sunnyvale--Cupertino kind of guy, which -- as I later learned -- the "smart set" in SF sneered at. "Pencil-neck geeks," or something like that. The people in SF never seemed to acknowledge, or realize, that the "geeks" in the Silicon Valley were changing the world. kenc, look at the keyboard you're typing on, and think what your computer connects to. San Francisco played NO PART AT ALL in making that happen, but I did.
In any case, I LEFT the Valley in 1992 to go live in Chiang Mai on a trial retirement, and returned to live in San Francisco from 1994-1998. Then I got a job as a consultant for Forte software which paid $100 per hour, and began commuting to and from such THRILLING places as Salt Lake City and St. Louis. (I should not that my Thai boyfriend LOVED the gay scene in Salt Lake, though!). Then I moved to Atlanta for a year, got a brief gig in Australia, and wound up in Austin, Texas. The company went under and so I RETURNED to the Valley at the exact time of the dot.com mania. I had been renting a 2-BR apartment in Cupertino for $1100; when I returned to the very same place I was told that the rent was now $2800 per month, and a 1-BR was $1870!! Not only that, but the whole apartment complex was suddenly full of Indians -- nice people, but the scents of curry cooking in the evening were something new in Cupertino. I went up to SF on occasion, and my landlord friend was suddenly a Rich Man -- the dot.com explosion had really made his ship come in, and, even after it went POP! -- he had rents at a much higher point then ever before. (SF lives under rent control).
So, to make my point clear, I am NOT a "poster child" for the dot.com people who blew into town in the 90's. I was a resident of the Valley for decades before that. But it was a reasonable thrust in the dark, I guess.
I am glad that you concede the point that Chiang Mai is a much better place to live for 60yo's than SF. What may surprise you is that it's not just 60yo's who have more fun here! But, anyway, liberal swipes at old men are something I am well accustomed to. After all, I'm a nut!!! :-)
I understand Henry's feeling about San Francisco, I feel the same way about Kuala Terengganu. Sometimes things just don't work out and all you've got to tell for it is a nasty bitter memory. It can cloud your judgement completely. An incident of racism would do that for me any day.
In my case it was paranoia fuelled by a rabid anti homosexual nation and the use of anti malarial drugs. Love the rest of Malaysia though.
I'd rather go back to SF than LA. But Santa Barbara would be my first choice, I guess.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cedric
Soon after I arrived in San Francisco (in 1994) I became acutely aware of the fact that blacks hated me.
Now, you can use whatever term you like (blacks/Blacks/African-Americans) but whenever I came into contact with a person of that race, it became clear that he hated me.
And they made it public (on the Muni, where perhaps kenc's Golden Slipper has never trod). They would (voluntarily) sit in the back of the bus, and make such comments as, "Yeah, I really puked my ass off at that party on Saturday" or "Jesus, woman the f*cking never ever stopped."
Do I have to mention that the white passengers never said such things? In fact, the most offensive white I ever met on the Muni was some chick who insisted on showing me her hairy armpit as she grabbed the strap. Another boy-wannabe, which SF was full of in those days.
And then, CRASH! I was heading home on the Muni when some black woman started up a squabble over a PENNY, and dropped her purse right in front of me, and before I knew what was happening, the gang did the following: (1) a huge black guy bumped me and snatched my wallet (2) the bus pulled over for a stop and opened its doors (3) the female gang members fled out the front door (4) the big black guy fled out the back door.
I thought of crying "Stop, thief!" but realized that (1) it was hopeless (2) I did not want to get into a fight with him.
During the time I was there, the City Administration decided to erase an entire Black Slum, and ship them all over to Oakland.
My Thai boyfriend was also terrorized on the Muni. But this time it was the Muni streetcars running out to SF State. He was having a nice chat with his friend from Taiwan when the Negroes came in, and demanded money. They didn't HAVE much money, so the Negroes took their umbrellas, after beating them.
The next year, my Thai boyfriend was robbed by White Boys one block from his home.
Now I understand the current fashion (or is it already gone?) of chains, particularly those chains which chain your wallet to your belt.
By the way, after I had been robbed on the Muni, the other passengers were very wise and comforting: "It happens all the time. Don't carry anything you care about on the Muni."
Some years later, I was posted to Atlanta, and was astonished to notice the difference between the SF Blacks and the Atlanta Blacks. Briefly put, the attitude of the SF Blacks was "F*CK YOU," while the attitude of the Atlanta blacks was: "We're all American and we're in this together." I particularly liked and noticed the four black cops, armed to the nines, having breakfast at the House of Pancakes. Such a thing seems unimaginable in the "Gay Mecca."
Oh, one other detail, not so minor. Atlanta had a functioning boy-bar. Outside the city limits, it offered naked boys dancing, plus the additional fun of a naked boy doing a "table dance" for you -- plus the wonderful pleasures to be had in a "VIP Room."
San Francisco offers NONE of this, and yet terms itself the "Gay Mecca."
Over to you.
I really think that SF is the best city for food in America, and I would boil it all down to one item:
BREAD.
God I miss San Francisco bread. My favorite was Acme.
Coffee? God I miss Graffeo.
Restaurants? Too many to count, my I would probably go with my boyfriend at that time: Greens.
http://www.greensrestaurant.com/
This place was so good that you didn't even realize that you were eating vegetarian!
Not to mention: Chapeau!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/chapeau-san-francisco
Just a nut, but a tasty and well-roasted one!
All blacks in San Francisco hate Henry and/or are bad people?
All blacks in Atlanta are good people and/or are nice people?
I'm not sure of what message you're trying to make here, Henry, and/or why you'd feel the need to post it.
It looks like I'm going to have to pat you down for yaba pills.
It's not the black people, it's the culture. Before you jump in and get your feet all wet with dogmatism...do you know what I am talking about?Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob
Have you lived in SF, and then in Atlanta?
No dogmatism there, Henry, just a slight slap for over-generalizing. I've lived near and with black populations in the past (but only in my state of Michigan) and I find most of them are okay but some of them aren't (hmmm.....just like the white people I've been around).
Well I have never been to SF but I hear Portland is just as bad, I went to a bar there that took up a full city block and had 5 bars of all kinds in it. It was impossible to find someone in one of those bars to go home with you old or not, of course I Was like 45 then but the boys were 18 to 20. I had a great time there. I suppose any cote is what you make it. The best place on the west coast I have seen was Portland the best and most expensive I have seen is New York City, but anything goes there,. You can find older guys for younger guys and younger guys for older men. If you know where to go you can fins what you want.
he cheapest place on the east cost to find a young man was in Norfolk Virginia, those Navy guys wee loving to get it up the booty, I was well able to oblige. they like a good whip on their ass too. the If you can't fund a younger man for older in a place called the Garage in Downtown Norfolk you can't find a man. Of course you have to go to the after bar with them and dance to 4 AM then go to the hotel but its a lot of fun for me.