I get to the Kezar Bar at 6:15 to watch Scotland play Italy, followed by Ireland versus England.
It is one of the best parties! The place is packed with Irish having the best time, gulping down Guinness and gobbling Full Irish Breakfasts. It is 7:30 in the morning. They are hilarious!
The anticipation of an Irish victory over the Saxon strangers is very high. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really go that way as the English essentially smash them. It gets quiet apart from, “Red card, Ref !!” each time an England player tackles an Irishman.
I am walking/stumbling home on Haight at 10:00 ish in my dirty travel clothes, stinking of Guinness. There is an old black lady leaning against the wall of Amoeba Records, who is having trouble getting a cigarette out of the pack. I think she has Parkinson’s. She finally succeeds, but drops the cigarette on the sidewalk. I pick it up and hand it to her.
“No, baby, you keep that one and wait, here is another.”
I thank her and shuffle off. She calls me back. “This is for you, baby.” handing me a small roll of dollar bills.
Red eyed, filthy clothes, homemade sandals, stinking of booze at 10:00 in the morning; she had every right to think I was homeless.
She was adorable. So Haight St, San Francisco solidarity.
The Quiet Ripple Defines The Pond 
Seems that the truck has turned into Doc’s car in Back to the Future. Any chance of letting me know next week’s lottery numbers (by email, of course – don’t want everyone to know).
Pretty nifty looking sandals for a DIY effort – maybe that could be your next money-spinner?
Yay Alan, don’t get the first reference but the sandals were homemade in Huatabampo by someone else. The lady in the story was very, very sweet.
It has been a fascinating trip. The weather is all to hell up North in the USA and In Aus too, although P Trump does not get it we gather. Well done for completing the drive more or less intact.
I thought you looked smarter than usual in the photo, nice trousers, jersey, pixie hat. Course we don’t get the smell, which can make a difference.
The grime does not really show up well in the photo. I also kept falling over. 3 pints of Guinness is more than I can handle these days!
The date on your posting device (iPhone?) seems wrong. It’s the 4th of February today yet I was reading your 4th Feb post on the third – hence the Back to the Future reference, Doc had a De Lorean.. Did you get the nice lady’s phone number?
Where to now with the truck?
Ah so. The truck is being pampered at the moment; oil change, new brakes, new ball socket housings. She deserves it.I think I will be back in June July for some Northern adventures. I return to Nihon at the end of the month.
Hobo life…
When you come back we can compare white Toyota trucks.
Yay! Tacoma?
1994 dual cab 3L diesel 5MT Hilux. Lift and wheels. And tow bar. Oh, and over 200,000 miles lol. According to Top Gear, this is the unkillable beast.
Whoa, a beast! 200k miles means it will be coming up for its first oil change soon. Congratulations!