St. Patty's Day and Nude People (blog6)

I decided to wear shorts and a t-shirt at the Castro on Saturday because I knew it was going to be another sunny day. I had this odd claustrophobic feeling after the Metro Muni stopped at one of the Muni stations. A large group of people crammed their way into the train; I can tell most of them were going to the St. Patrick’s Day parade because of all the green and leprechaun hats they were wearing.

I felt as though I was a clown trapped with 50 other clowns in a tiny car, it was not pretty, especially with all the body heat and horrible smell from other peoples’ sweat. One particular odor stood out from all the rest, which smelled of onions, garlic and curry. I turned to see where the smell was coming from. The smell came from a tall heavy-set man wearing “Kiss me I’m Irish” shirt; one of his hands was hanging onto one of the Muni’s handle bars. I was able to see some of the sweat bleeding through his t-shirt; apparently someone has decided to go without deodorant.

When I left the station I decided to get a slice of pizza from Marcello’s Pizza, which is on the left side of the Harvey Milk Plaza. I ordered a large slice of their plain cheese pizza, since I’m not a huge fan of pizza toppings. Walking on Castro Street while eating my pizza, my eyes widened when I caught a glimpse of a random nude man on my right side. I quickly looked away so that the guy didn’t catch me staring at him. The man was not particularly attractive; he was about 5’4, pot belly, graying hair and had a tan dark enough to even rival that of George Hamilton. I’m thankful I never caught sight of his penis because that would have ruined my lunch.

On 18^th Street I saw a jewelry store called Deki Jewels, which is known for its Tibetan handicrafts, jewelry, clothes, and hats. I admired Deki’s animal hats, but was put off by its price. The shop owner told me most of the hats were worth $20.00 because they were hand made from Nepal and Tibet.

I turned around when I felt something moist on my ankle, while I was still going through Deki’s hats; it was a light brown Chihuahua mixed dog. The dog probably smelled the cheese pizza I had earlier. I also noticed the dog was missing its left leg, causing it to limp constantly. The lady who owned the dog told me even though it is missing a leg but the dog is still active and has a lovable personality. Leg or no leg the dog was so cute I couldn’t help but pet it.

Today made me realize that the Castro is much more eventful during the weekend than it is on weekdays. However, as exciting as the Castro can be I hope to never see a naked person in the neighborhood again.