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Posts published by “Penny Skillman”

Under the Barricades

“Remember the void, Chuck. Remember the void.” Dramatically, the woman held his face in her hands, staring deeply into the void of Chuck’s eyes. “C’mon Chuck, let’s go.” We dragged him away from the woman…

The Panhandling Lifestyle

"No kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." This was a 60s saying. And I believe it to be true. But when it comes to street begging, I'm beginning to wonder if giving money…

Naked In The City

Last Saturday about a half dozen naked men came biking down the street towards Golden Gate Park. Two had skimpy jockey shorts on, another had a backpack on, and one had only a hard-on, and…

Pale Riders At The Golden Gate

On the way back from downtown San Francisco the bus stops at the KFC-squared stop at Geary and Sixth Avenue. Kentucky Fried Chicken on the north side and Kaiser French Campus just across from it.…

Going Downtown

This morning on the 38 Geary inbound in San Francisco a woman, head down reading a book, was wearing a black velvet floppy hat with a button that had a message. Dear Jesus, it began.…

Madrid & The Atocha Station Memorial

I went to Spain at the end of last summer, spending most of the time in Madrid, a fabulous city despite patches of air pollution. There's a large park, Retiro, comparable to Golden Gate Park…

A 70′s Story of a House: Radical Roomers

In 1970 editor Dwight Macdonald in Tales of Hoffman referred to the 1969 trial of the Chicago Eight as "the most significant kulturekampf of our time." The Tales book was essentially a copy of the…

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