A Tale of Two Sitters

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times …

I walked out my front door yesterday and was immediately greeted by a group of people sitting on the sidewalk.  It was obvious that they were not San Franciscans.   When they saw me, they began talking in heavily-accented English:  “We are just tired.  We need to rest.”

I live on a very steep street in Russian Hill.   The group of people I met when I left my apartment yesterday was a family of European tourists: mom, dad, a son who looked about 12, and a daughter who was maybe 8.   This family, guidebooks in their hands, had probably been wandering Russian Hill all afternoon.  They were tired, and the most natural thing for them to do was to sit down, take a rest, and figure out where to go next.   Before I left, the father asked me if I knew whether Coit Tower was open on Sundays.  I told him that I wasn’t sure, but I assured him that the walk to Coit Tower was worth it, whether or not the building was open to the public.  As I walked away, the father said “Thank you.  San Francisco is so friendly.”

A few blocks later, I passed my neighborhood Wallgreens.  Outside of the store, I saw a man who was about the same age as the father of the family of tourists I had just met outside my apartment.  He was sitting on a milk crate and was bundled up in a warm jacket.  He, like the tourist outside of my apartment,  had a favor to ask me.  “Hello, hello!  Do you have anything for me today?”  I told him that I didn’t have any change for him, but I wished him a good day.  “That’s ok.  Thanks for stopping and saying hello!”

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times …

For the family outside of my apartment, it was the best of times.  They were together on vacation, seeing the sights in one of the world’s most beautiful cities.  Even though it had been raining on and off all day, they were in good spirits.  For the man outside of Wallgreens, it was the worst of times.  He was sitting in the rain and asking people for money until he had enough to buy himself some food.

As San Francisco considers a law that would make innocent behavior (sitting) illegal, I couldn’t stop myself from comparing these two groups of “sitters”: the European tourists asking for directions versus the homeless man asking for change.  If sitting on the sidewalk were illegal, who would likely receive a ticket for such behavior?