I become a

Folsom Street Fair 1998

It was a chance meeting on a San Francisco street that led me to one of the most insightful realizations I've ever made about myself.

The story begins on the evening of the Folsom Street Fair in 1998. It had been a drizzly day for the street fair, but good friend Nello and I were well situated at the Howard Johnsons motel just off Folsom Street.

Clearing weather permitted me to go out for a walk in the early evening. It was on my return to the motel that it happened.

A teenager accosts me

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a teenager accosted me on the street. He was bubbling with energy and seemed very friendly. I learned later that he was 19 and had recently moved to San Francisco from Phoenix.

But at this point, I only knew this cute teenager was walking and talking with me. It is my usual practice in such situations to move on and minimize contact - I've attracted too many psychotic people in my time.

A previous Geezer Pleaser (AKA CDJ Tony K.) who only acknowledged that he was a Bear Chaser. He can now be seen spinning music at parties and clubs in Los Angeles.

Other rowdies appear

My cute teenager didn't seem to pay much attention to my cold shoulder. We were walking side by side when several drunken rowdies approached and made some unfriendly remarks. New Geezer

The teenager, showing he must also be a testosterone victim, instantly confronted them, causing them to move on. I decided I should be friendlier now.

We walked and talked I learned about his Phoenix upbringing and discovered a friend we had in common. I inquired if he knew other "older" guys.

The innocence of youth

He promptly volunteered, without a hint of embarrassment or awareness of the implications, that his friends called him a "geezer pleaser."

Well, there was no denying what that made me.

This site has pictures and weather report on the 1998 Folsom Street Fair. No pictures of me or the teenager.

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