Halloween in the city

Disclaimer: I am writing this after the benefit of a couple of beers and shots, so suffice to say the literary skills might not be up to usual par.

Now here I was promising a blog tomorrow and although technically it is tomorrow it is still attached to yesterday. I decided to discover Halloween as only San Francisco dares to hold it. Not knowing what to expect or what the norm will be I grab my trust medical uniform and head down Market toward the Castro. Now for those outside the city. Castro is the gay district, now when you consider what San Francisco is known for this is really saying something. Even before I got to Castro I am stunned to find all traffic on Market street (a major artery in the city) at a complete standstill as a Greek Orthodox priest stands dead center of three lanes anointing them with his lit and smoking incense burner. The beauty of this city was no one honked (except for one lone cabbie), in fact most just laughed it out and clapped. I love the tolerance.

Prior to this evening I actually think I have gotten the habit of telling male versus female. Granted the Adam’s Apple is not a perfect test, but I am getting better at it. Yet after tonight all bets are completely off. Normally men are dressing like woman, and the woman as men, but now the men are dressing like women dressing like men. I don’t think I have ever been so confused. Walking down the street following a skirt with two great legs coming out of it, only to turn the corner and find out it’s a guy. That was a fearful surprise even before the alcohol. Took it all in stride because the evening/morning just got crazier.

Further on once I hit Castro any preconceptions I might have had went right out the window. Between a 20 foot inflatable governator (Schwarzenegger) who got the air kicked out of him (literally) by virtually everyone present (he is not well liked in this neighborhood) to the 30 wailing drag queen Arabs in full afghans mercilessly insulting Saddam it was simply indescribable.

Now just in case there is any question (grandparents I know you read this), I am into woman. However if I was into men I would have been in complete hog heaven. I have never had so many people hit on me, and yes now I have heard every line there is when it comes to hitting on a medic. The best thing for the women is this is the one place where the guys were certainly not checking them out beyond their outfits and possibly shoes. I have seen more men in tights and high heels than ever thought possibly but most certainly entertaining. I do love the straightforward manner a number of the guys have, they come up to you and point blank ask, straight or gay. I look them straight in the eye and with a bit of an apology tell them straight, he doesn’t skip a beat and says ‘that’s ok girlfriend no one is perfect, one of these days you join the right team’. Absolutely hilarious.

But the highlight of the evening/morning was walking to the curb to take a phone call and meeting two righteous girls (not in costume at all) who were very cool in a running Joan Rivers play-by-play of the costumes parading by. Ironically they are (or were) at technology companies, one in fact even met people I work closely with, seriously small world. One even persuades a passing male pirate to spank me with his sword, although I think she enjoyed it more than I did. Suffice to say everyone was very open (quite open) but definitely out for a good time. After Castro we hit another club to meet up with their other friends where there was a more normal distribution of gay/straight than Castro. We hung out for just a short time when they headed over to their hotel while I hopped a cab back to the old pad to write this blog and head off to bed.