YOUR MOTHER DOESN'T WORK HERE EITHER

Up in the majestic stands of trees on these hills there are things you should not see. And in a well-ordered society there would be small shrines there where one could leave food offerings to placate the restless beings. Creatures that lurk and scurry and seek out the avocado skins you leave strewn about, or the discarded slice of pizza from that whole box you ordered late at night when you were "slightly" intoxicated. As, being an urban yuppie, you often are.

There used to be raccoons there. An older pair disappeared years ago -- they went up and down the streets late at night searching out openable basement windows or garbage shutes, alternating for efficiency -- but one of them couldn't dodge the vehicles with drunken drivers speeding, probably because of arthritis, and I haven't seen the other one in years. The last time I saw a raccoon was down in Chinatown on a shop awning opposite Hang Ah.

I am surprised I don't see more of them. Given that the city refuses to deal with the garbage situation by placing more receptacles at busy intersections or in crowded neighborhoods.
Or, for that matter, putting liners in the few of them it grudgingly leaves standing.

Maybe it's the rat poison keeps them away.
There is great faith in rat poison.
Keep your pets indoors.
Rat poison.

In the dark of early morning, before the fog lifts, there are things outside.

Down that shady alleyway between the older houses, with verdant greenery at the far end, would be a perfect place for a raccoon spirit shrine. With offerings of food. Fruit and pizza.

Raccoons, crows, and coyotes never really die. When the body fades, their spirits live on, frequently near human habitations where garbage is strewn about. Replete with uneaten leftovers and good things like pizza crusts, avocado peels, and fried chicken bones.

Altars to the raccoon spirits. Plus the crows and coyotes.

Perhaps near ends of alleyways in Chinatown where the mahjong parlours always dump their garbage there should be burning incense and candles to further lure the spirits. They'll happily deal with all those bags of food scraps. Unlike our local refuse service, which like the SF city administrators, believes that trash strewn about is the natural order of things.
And surely the possibility of disease is a small price to pay?

So colourful! And photogenic!


It's meaningful.



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