Spirit of the Night

Last night I took the cable car from work.

It was foggy and in the distance Coit Tower was shrouded in mist. I felt the droplets of moisture on my sandaled feet, wondering if I could stand the dreary winter that awaited me in San Francisco.

Finally, loaded with tourists, the cable car started its noisy and rickety travel through the streets, following the Powell/Mason route. Every once in a while the car would stop at an intersection and I made a mental note about how to get off if I needed to.

Two men (always men, never women) ran the car -- one to control the cable car, another acting as conductor and to signal stops and go-aheads. The fare for one-way was $7.00 but I had my Clipper card which was scanned by the conductor.

Foreigners in the cable car from other countries spoke in their own language (I guessed from Europe or maybe Scandinavia somewhere). A couple next to me sat while the man told his girlfriend of all the places that had changed on the route since he last lived around North Beach area.

He pointed to a house guarded by a stone entryway with wooded steps leading up to the lofty residence. "I almost got a cottage there for $2,600." He said to her.

I suppose with the current rent situation that was considered cheap. My friend had a cottage in Cohasset for around $400. More than six times this rent, a similar space in North Beach, San Francisco was available, surrounded by "spectacular views". I don't think I could ever afford such a place and by the time I'm older (if I'm ever retired), it would probably go for $6,000 or more. I've already seen rent that high here.

Taking the cable car is a different experience than the bus or walking. I was sitting out in the open facing the side where one unfortunate slip could gravely injure me. I remember my Grandfather saying how treacherous the cable cars used to be back in his day when he worked in San Francisco.

"A woman was killed..." he said, "... ran over by the car. She didn't survive. Terrible, just terrible." Grandma heard this and shook her head.

On a lighter note, Grandpa told another story, about a friend who had some trouble with the cable car. The conductor told him to sign his name on the card -- and then (to his friend's shock), on the back of the card was a release note -- saying the cable car was not responsible for damages!

San Francisco has always been a shady town, grown up from gambling, prostitution and the false prospect of gold.

I nervously awaited my turn to get off -- what if the cable car didn't stop? But somehow I managed when the car stopped for other passengers to get on.

I walked along the street, seeing the tall skyscrapers covered in fog, obscuring the bright orange lights. Past Joice street I walked then had the urge to go down a deserted alleyway, surrounded by mist and shadows. I looked up into the night sky, watching foggy clouds brush by a full moon.

"So that was it," I thought, "It's the full moon calling out to me in the city shrouded by mist." I couldn't resist the urge to stay out all night. I wanted to, I really did. "Here I am in San Francisco, on this beautiful night, the last full moon of the summer and I'm throwing it away..." But sometimes you can't give in to what you want. I had just gotten over being sick and needed to conserve my energy.

I walked home.

Then suddenly, a black homeless man came out of the alleyway. I couldn't hear all he said as he mumbled a phrase (perhaps in another language?).

"The spirit," I heard him say at last, "It's the spirit..."

What he meant by that I'm not sure. Possibly it was the night, the spirit of the night.

7-11 Repackages Its Beef Jerky To Smaller Size At Higher Price

Good ol' 7-11 the place where you can find cheap eats and if you're lucky enough, cheap jerky. Well, not anymore. The staple $4.99 beef jerky that used to come in the green plastic ziplock bags for 3 oz. (image can't be found online and has mysteriously disappeared), is no more.
 
In fact, when looking online, one can barely find evidence that such cheap jerky existed at 7-11. Only outdated and cached sites now exist, showing the mysterious disappearing act that 7-11 has played with its own brand of beef jerky.

Here are the three sites that have the evidence:

7-Select Beef Jerky - Original ~ Beef Jerky Reviews "Apr 1, 2009 - This beef jerky is among the new entries into the 7-Select brand. ... 7-Eleven sells this original variety at a price of $4.99 for a 3.25oz bag."
7-Select Beef Jerky - Original
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
"Jerky Jam" http://jerkyjam.blogspot.com/
7-11 Select Beef Jerky ($4.99 Per 3.25 OZ)





7-11 has repackaged its beef jerky into smaller sizes, less than 3 oz. for the traditional and original flavored beef jerky and has an even smaller bag for customers to buy. The difference? The price is more expensive ($5.99 in CA).




7-11 stands to gain a lot of money for this ruse they're pulling on loyal customers who must dig deeper into their pockets to shell out the extra money for such luxury goods as beef jerky.

This may not seem like a big deal for those who can shop at Costco or the big super marts in suburbia but for those city dwellers living on a shoe-string budget--whose only diet is a convenience store when you have no fridge, stove or microwave--it's a heck of a sticker shock.

However, such sleight-of-hand tactics only make customers want to shop elsewhere and though 7-11 boasts: 

"Our stores sell more cold beer, cold single-serve bottled water, cold Gatorade and fresh-grilled hot dogs than any other U.S. retailer." -- 7-11 Corporate Site http://corp.7-eleven.com/aboutus/funfacts/tabid/77/default.aspx

they are not the only convenience store around.
 
Familiarity of products, supply and ease of buying makes 7-11 a staple stop for those on-the-go. Integrating technology with the coffee app service and promotion specials make the store even more likable for the younger generation (though there have been complaints about their coffee app not working).

7-11 is no longer the old pit-stop of yesteryear, selling car oil and greasy donuts. Nowadays it has a vast array of goods, including the high-end Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, Starbucks coffee drinks, and KIND snack bars.

In 2003, Investor's Business Daily writer, Kirk Shinkle wrote an article on 7-11's new profits and an overview of how they turned their store image around. 

"7-Eleven Inc. Dallas, Texas; Time To Move Beyond Jerky And Big Gulps?" -- http://news.investors.com/business-the-new-america/103103-392992-7-eleven-inc-dallas-texas-time-to-move-beyond-jerky-and-big-gulps-.htm#ixzz3jEZTr7TL

According to the article, 7-11 Chief Executive Jim Keyes stated, 

"The company is adding new products such as home-made sandwiches and fresh fruit. That part of the business could make up 25% of sales in five to 10 years."

Ten years later, such predictions have come true. According to Convenience Store and Fuel News, CSPnet.com, 

"During 2013, 7-Eleven stores generated total worldwide sales close to $84.5 billion." -- http://www.cspnet.com/category-news/foodservice/articles/7-eleven-birthday-celebration-extends-beyond-711

So with all those billions of dollars in 7-11's pocket, why are they ripping off customers whose lifetime paycheck will never equal such astronomical sums? It can't be supply and demand, since the very existence of so much cheap beef jerky throws that argument out the window. The only reasoning is, more profit. They want to drain every single drop (and every single ounce) from their customer's wallet that they can get.

During this mysterious re-phasing of their more expensive beef jerky, where the everyday staple of green ziplock bags disappeared into thin air, an even more expensive beef jerky line was put on display. KRAVE, a beef jerky that boasts such claims as: "All-Natural", "Product of USA", "No Artificial Ingredients, Minimally Processed"... (as opposed to the crap customers have been buying from 7-11's own brand?) At a whopping $7.99 for 3.25 oz. (plus Sales Tax of $0.70 in CA), it's definitely more of a high-end choice that few can afford after the $4.99 3 oz. 7-11 jerky.






Perhaps it's a sign of the times, where low-cost food is going the way of gasoline and never-again will we see such reasonable prices for items we use to buy everyday. With inflation exceeding a stagnant and outdated poverty level line, few will ever-again be able to afford what they used to.

Diets of the future will have to adapt. No more: meat, dairy, cold food, perishables, vegetables, fruits, fresh food, etc. For those with Celiac Disease, it's a much more grim fate. Stuck with packaged instant soup, instant coffee, canned tuna (if it's on sale), corn chips ($2.99 for 14 oz.). V8 drinks (if it's on sale because Ensure is far too expensive to drink), peanut butter, and maybe a chocolate bar or two a month. Even the size of chocolate bars have shrunk dramatically but for the same if not, higher price. Good luck trying to maintain a proper body weight (or measure of sanity).

No, I'm not going to "Thank Heaven for 7-11" because 7-11 has now chosen a different side, a very dark and sinister side that worships pieces of paper called money and has a golden idol called Profit. I think instead, I'll do my shopping elsewhere, most likely at a Japanese/Chinese store where gluten-free items are in abundance and fresh food can be sold without extra taxes and fees added on. In these stores, people open and close at decent times and workers are rarely called upon to work beyond their allotted hours or under minimum wage. These stores are often family owned and the clientele are much more civilized and say "Thank You" when they leave.

"ありがとうございました."

* * *

Emerald Behrens, currently resides in San Francisco, where she writes about social injustice, homelessness and human frailty in general. She is a freelance writer, poet and author of "My Private Collection". She may be contacted at: emerarudo83 (at) gmail (dot) com.

Contents of blog and article subject to copyright. Not for use or copy without author's permission.

Send in the Lions

Saturday, August 8th, 2015

"Nouvel an chinois 2015 Paris 13 danse du lion" by Myrabella - 
Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nouvel_an_chinois_2015_Paris_13_danse_du_lion.jpg#/media/File:Nouvel_an_chinois_2015_Paris_13_danse_du_lion.jpg

Last night construction kept me up for most of the hours. The whole street was affected and I wondered how the bus would stop for its passengers on the street.

There were angry voices yelling in the alleyway. I think they too, the homeless rather, were kept up by the racket of the construction as well.

Then in the late morning, I heard the sound of crashing symbols, drums and firecrackers approaching. The lions were awake.

Every once in a while, lion dancers from various Kung Fu associations will go through the streets in front of businesses in Chinatown to bring good luck and chase out bad luck.

They had plenty of bad luck to chase out with all the terrible construction work that affected the businesses. I heard one Boba Tea place was giving discounts during the construction work to make up for the racket and lack of parking which in San Francisco, is already constricted.

The lions (2 people per costume) would dance, some would go in and then two check marks drawn in chalk would mark the entry way. Sometimes firecrackers would also be lit in front. My guess being those who had donated money to the association would be given this extra perk of extra good luck. Not all businesses opened their doors to the lions and not all had fireworks.

I'm not sure what the reason for this is or why these lion dancers continue to go about chasing away bad luck to bring in good luck but it's good advertising. All the tourists took pictures and were gathered around to watch the lions and see what was going on.

Saturdays are usually the most busy in Chinatown (and the loudest). Besides the lion dancers, there are sometimes Salvation Army marchers complete with uniform trumpet players, drums, flag wavers and much ceremony that closes the street while they parade around. Sometimes the police have to direct traffic around them, so I'm guessing this is planned ahead (hopefully).

Then there are also funeral processions that come out from North Beach/Little Italy through Chinatown and up back Kearny street.

In the Chinatown plaza there is traditional Chinese Opera, songs and skits performed by Chinese associations along with the Falun Gong protestors who quietly do their exercises, under their advertised signs of persecution from the Chinese Government (Chinese Communist Party) and its history of abuse. The Falun Gong practitioners also pass out flyers about the illegal organ harvesting done to Falun Gong prisoners and protestors in China. Illegal organ harvesting is another major concern around the world.

In the evenings at the plaza, line dancers take center stage for an hour or two and it's usually every night they do this. The music is lively and at times poignant and it's fun to watch though I haven't had the chance (or the guts) to take part in it.

There is also the sound of the traditional and folk Chinese music playing from various radios of the elderly and homeless as they sit to play Chinese Chess (象棋 Xiàngqí - Wikipedia). This picture isn't Chinatown San Francisco but was taken from Wikipedia.

By David Maximillian Waterman (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

They also gamble and I've seen (and heard) plenty of mah jong parlors around, especially on Ross and Spofford street. I may have already seen some of the famous Chinatown "members" who run these associations. Risque massage parlors with no price sheet, locked doors and "appointment only" signs still have their place here along with the past reputation of the brothels on Waverly Place in the mid-1800's (Wikipedia).

There are also Chinese Opera and music associations too and I've had the wonderful opportunity of walking past while they practice at night.

I am still looking for Dee's Pet Shop of Horrors in this Chinatown at night and I keep expecting to come across it, maybe on those particular alleyways I haven't walked on, those that look like dead ends but really aren't.

恐怖宠物店 (Pettoshoppu obu Horāzu)

Written by	Matsuri Akino
Published by	Asahi Sonorama

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/images/encyc/A2802-4.jpg

Matsuri Akino

Asahi Sonorama