The Slow Drift To The Dark Side

Every day I get Muni transfers that I put in my pocket in case I ever need them. If you don't have it on you there's a steep fine, I'm told, but in the week I've been riding the train nobody has checked. I know if I don't toss them, I'll end up with a pocket full of transfers, which would drive me crazy, so I try to throw them out as soon as I'm off the train.

Tonight I got off the train and the musician at the stairs looked like a homeless guy. A homeless guy with an electronic keyboard he was playing as he sang. Some days there's a sax player, some days a flautist, and some days an Asian guy playing a one-stringed instrument with a bow.

Anyway, tonight I was walking down Market towards the ferry and balling up my Muni transfer in anticipation of tossing it in the trash. As I'm doing this I'm looking at all the trash strewn across the sidewalk and pavement. Cigarette butts, newspaper pages, food wrappers, you name it. I'm looking for a trash can for my little ball of paper, and in the meantime I'm walking through a trash can called Market St.

So do I give in and just add my trivial bit of trash to the existing scattering below? No. I wait until I encounter a barrel and toss my transfer. But it worries me. As you walk around SF, there are people urinating in parks and alleys, copulating, sleeping or talking to themselves without benefit of cellphone. The detritus of society has drifted into piles in this corner of the country, discarded humans, and I'm fussing over a pea-sized ball of paper. People jaywalk, cross against red lights, drive through red lights, spit in the streets. It's been rare to see any of this in the places I've lived.

What worries me is that, in the face of these breaches of the social contract, I'll drift towards the dark side and begin letting myself ignore my goody-two-shoes attitude of doing the right thing and start emulating more and more of these behaviors. I've already started crossing against the light to get to the ferry on time.

I don't want to slide down the City's slippery slope. Stop me, before I err again!


Blog Tag: Chatter   Blog Tag: San Francisco