OP-ED: Television Ads
Paul McDonald My Dad hated to watch ads on TV. In the 1970’s he got a device called “Blab-Off,” a cord connected to the television that had an “on/off” toggle switch one…
Paul McDonald
Vermont Street Drug House Finally Shuttered
After years of complaints about loud noises, mounds of trash, screeching cars and random people coming and going, the occupants of 584/586 Vermont street, some of whom were suspected of…
The Carpet Chronicles
For nearly two years, some 1,500 house calls, I sold, or tried to sell, carpet and flooring in the San Francisco Bay Area. Before taking the job I’d had a…
Arch Returns to Potrero Hill
For nearly 15 years, Arch Art and Drafting Supplies catered to design students, engineers, architects and artists from the corner of Missouri and 17th streets. The more than 7,000 square…
Carpet Chronicles VII
I had a Saturday mid-morning call at a dilapidated apartment complex off Highway 280 in the Excelsior. I was met by a heavyset woman with a pleasant face and demeanor…
Carpet Chronicles VI
I had a call at a single family home off Mission Street near the San Francisco-Daly City border which’d been transformed into an elderly care facility. I was met at…
Carpet Chronicles V
I had a call at a rundown boxy home near the downtown area of Brisbane. I was met outside by a large, hunched over white haired man wearing a filthy…
Carpet Chronicles IV
I had a call in the Tenderloin. I knew it was going to be a no sale once I pulled up to a rundown tenement building on Ellis Street. I…
Verdi Club Celebrates a Century
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Verdi Club, a working class social club whose historic 1935 building sits discreetly at 2424 Mariposa Street, a half-block west of Potrero…
Carpet Chronicles III
I had a morning call at a waterfront home in Tiburon. There were six cars parked in the driveway. Three were under covers – two vintage Ferraris and a BMW…
Local House Busted for Dealing Drugs
On Monday, November 30th, just after 12 p.m., about a dozen men from various S.F. law enforcement agencies batter rammed through the front door of a house on the South…
Carpet Chronicles, II
My 11 a.m. was at a rundown house in the Excelsior, not far from Highway 280. No one answered the door. I called the potential customer, who showed up about…
Carpet Chronicles, Volume One
Five years ago I was laid-off from a sales position at a Redwood City printing and packaging concern that was going out of business. For the next 18 months I…
Drought Impacts
I was on my knees at the back fence of my Vermont Street home, in the dirt among mosquitoes and dog-doo, sucking on a dirty hose with my head as…