the neighborhood

I'm looking for the Real Foods on 20th and Geary. At least I think there's one around here. I ask someone and she points me to a Russian produce store. No, that's not it. I keep walking. I like this part of Geary. There's a funky old ice cream place. And that place that's a diner and video store in one. The booths are occupied by solo senior citizens eating pie and drinking coffee. I want to hang out there in the future. I ask another person about Real Foods and then the adventure really begins. She doesn't think there's a Real Foods around here. But she know all about Rainbow and their twenty percent off coupons in the Yellow Pages. She tells me at least three times. She tells me about the Tokyo Shop on Clement which has cheaper green tea than in Japantown. The Chinese restaurant with a happy hour. A sushi place. She's third generation Japanese. She keeps all this information inside her for when someone needs it. She tells me to always bless my food. I say okay, but I won't. I thought this would be a five-second conversation but it must be more like ten minutes. After the eighth time I say thank you and wave good-bye she offers me orange. are you sure? Yeah, it's from the senior center. So I take my orange and get back on the 38 Geary.