Made it to Cafe Trieste, nice walk <br />through a downtown where everyone seemed to be <br />'preparing a face for work', till I got here to North Beach- <br /> <br />only place in the world where Italy borders China. <br />Had to run over to China to buy a pen, <br />the storekeepers in Italy weren't up yet. <br /> <br />So I've been here an hour and a half, <br />pleasant atmosphere, not too crowded, really a nice, <br />Italian, or Italian/beatnik, feeling. Civility. <br /> <br />A guy came up to me, first asked if I need <br />any problems solved, I said I couldn't think of any, <br />then he asked if I might support the arts, <br />and showed me several booklets of his poems. <br /> <br />Rather than reply with, 'BUT I'M GOING TO WRITE <br />A POEM MYSELF IN A MOMENT! ', <br />I just asked his prices, and bought the $5 book <br />rather than a $10 one. Turned out to be <br />'duets', poems he wrote quickly with friends or passersby, <br />not satisfying to read, so far. <br /> <br />I asked him if he'd autograph the book. <br />He brought it back to me a little later with his name <br />and 'Solve any problem, $20 an hour! ' 'Genius idea, $1,000.' <br /> <br />'Hey, wait, I wanted an autograph, not an ad! ' <br /> <br />But he seemed so crestfallen, about to fall over like a stout <br />tower of Pisa. I patted him on the back. <br />'It's ok, don't worry, you did autograph it, it's fine.' <br /> <br />That's what I like about this place.<br /><br />Max Reif<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-morning-in-north-beach-san-francisco/
