Local Places I Never Go
There’s this phenomenon of black holes- that there are places you never go in your neighborhood. Some impression you got a long time ago, and you still hold it. You walk by and it just isn’t in your vision. A neighbor pointed out this VCR Repair shop across the street from us, and said, “Have you ever gone in there?” Me: “Uh, why?” She: “Because it’s so cool!” I guess there are boxes upon boxes stacked everywhere, and the owner is nice and chatty. Include in this list: the knife sharpener on Grant St., the key maker on Columbus near L’Osteria, the liquor store at Lombard and Columbus that I’ve never been in, the gelato place up Filbert (or is it Greenwich?). So weird. Does anyone else have these in their neighborhood?
The Blue Muse in Hayes Valley (Gough & Hayes). I’ve lived in that neighborhood upwards of 10 years, and I’ve never been inside even though it’s been there the whole time.
For me, it was Gramaphone Video on Polk Street. Passed it everyday for a year and a half; never went in. Thought it was host for a catalog of videos that, uh, wasn’t exactly my cup of tea.
Then a friend wandered in there waiting for me in the neighborhood, and discovered that it chock full of hard-to-find foreign DVDs (so much more than you’d imagine, from countries like Russia and the Ukraine), full HBO series, and a whole section on Manga.
Who knew? They are now my backup to my Greencine account, for impulse DVD watching.