What You Miss When You Stay Home

San Francisco’s Financial District is like a dying coral reef: the structures remain but the color has faded and the dazzling fish dashing in and out have nearly vanished. Life as it used to be is different. Forever? I don't know. No one does. Things change, and rapidly. Or slowly. Predictions are almost always wrong. Sorry, you who confidently claim that workers will always want to roll out of bed and press their fingers against keyboards and phones, only drifting away for the occasional coffee, cocktail, or meal. This is still a time of anomalies, of unsettled business. Anything can happen. 

The word “remote” is succinctly defined as “situated far from the main centers of population; distant.” Antonyms include accessible, warm, and friendly. It’s no surprise, then, that mass depression has set in.

Even if you love working from your living room, being remote too much, for too long is unhealthy. Isolation is getting to us and making us sick. Even natural introverts have become agitated by the monotony. Companies are touting hybrid environments, occasional get togethers, but will it really be sustainable or consistently attractive? 

Don't answer just yet. This is what you miss when you stay home. 

THE BAD

First, there are the negatives that the powers-that-be would rather you not witness. They prove how badly they’ve bungled this situation and you just may vote them out (if only there were better people to elect, but that’s a different story).

Humanitarian crisis

Thousands of people, tens of thousands perhaps, (nobody knows for sure) are living on our streets in terrible mental and physical conditions. It’s horrifying and immoral. Consider how you would be without a warm bed to sleep in; if you subsisted on a diet of harmful chemicals or you didn't have your critical psychological or physical needs met. San Francisco’s network of nonprofits and politicians have exacerbated - not solved - homelessness. Money, housing, and drug consumption sites won’t help. You'll see. Unless you don’t.    

Gone forever businesses

Countless retailers, cafés, lunch spots, restaurants, and bars that used to be vibrant, important parts of the community are now boarded up. “For lease” signs are prolific, block after block. Their loss is our loss. These were the places we grabbed sandwiches, enjoyed happy hours, and bought things. Their closures are not entirely due to Covid. It's largely because the city allowed — encouraged — corporations to stop functioning as normal. It disrupted the delicate economic ecosystem that nourished the smaller businesses. 

Drug dealers and other criminals

If the journey to your old office takes you through the Tenderloin, Civic Center, or South of Market neighborhoods you will see plenty of capitalists making money. Hundreds of drug dealers are on the streets 24-7, exchanging toxic substances for fistfuls of dollars. All in plain view. The city won't shutter these illicit businesses. Mayor London Breed promised to crack down on dealers in her emergency order, but without prosecution (vote yes to recall District Attorney Chesa Boudin) they freely operate. You need to view these guys in action, but be cautious; they’re dangerous. And you absolutely must see all the people pilfering from stores. The videos don’t do them justice. They’re not satisfying a hunger for food, no matter what you’ve been told. It's for profit or addiction. 

Garbage, vandalism, and grafitti 

The streets of San Francisco are disgusting. So much is broken, scrawled on, neglected, or destroyed. Trash blows around the sidewalks, into doorways. Without workers to watch, the city has let the Financial District fall into filth. You may have once been proud to live or work in San Francisco. I was. Walk around now. It's embarrassing.  Experience the failure of your city government in real life, real time. Thankfully this problem is somewhat easy to fix - but it won’t happen unless the community insists.

THE GOOD

Now for all the positives; the things that motivate and inspire. After your downtown trip, you may find ways to be confident that the financial center of the city can be wonderful again. An indelible beauty exists and persists underneath the squalor, despite the emptiness and tragedy. It’s there, I promise. 

Our stunning city

San Francisco’s architecture is something to behold, especially in the Financial District. Some of the most incredible buildings, old and new, rise before you. Look up and down. You’ll spot walruses, lions heads, and ghostly goddesses. Gleaming towers. Lobbies that are still carefully decorated. There is charm and history. Walk along Market Street and gaze to the Ferry Building with its gorgeous clock ahead. Just beyond it is the bay, with the Blue and Gold fleet at the ready for visitors and commuters. All this and much more is ours. Yours. Claim it, get vested. Ownership is critical to preservation, care, and vision.  

Businesses that have survived 

On the precipice of the Financial District is the lovely Belden Place, home to such restaurants as Cafe Tiramisu (by the way, there is a statue of me there. Well, the back of me, anyway. You should go see it, and give Pino, the owner my regards) and Sam's Grill & Seafood, est'd 1867. Order the cioppino, which is meant to be eaten seconds after it’s served. Patrick & Co is, by some miracle, hanging on. Take the rickety elevator to floors containing some of the coolest items. The Royal Exchange, Schroeder's, and House of Shields are still slinging drinks. Return to all those special places you used to go so you don’t have to wonder where they went. 

People you haven't met

At some point 300,000 years ago Homo sapiens started to evolve and we never would have made it to 2022 without being social. We are hardwired to be in the company of others. That means you should be talking to cashiers, greeting bus drivers, chatting with coworkers and bosses and having innumerable other face-to-face interactions with colleagues and strangers. Seemingly minor connections are invigorating! After all, these are your potential friends, lovers, and life partners. Remember being intrigued by the cologne of a man who stepped into an elevator? Or grinned at a woman who then smiled back, and then disappeared into a crowd? You do; I know you do. 

THE FUTURE

Question why we are being encouraged to be as remote as possible, to not stray too far. To not travel; to avoid dining in and driving out. It’s not merely to protect against a virus. What do city servants not want you to experience before they can alter your world according to their vision? This is your future, not theirs.

So fellow San Franciscans, take a shower, apply fragrance, put on real clothes and leave the comfortable confines of your walls. Be courageous and bold with your expeditions. If you’re allowed to go into the office now, do it. Press for answers about when it will be more universal. Because you are not just missing out, you are dearly missed.