As we sit here on the street
trying to stay dry with a cardboard sheet
reading scribbles on the wall
we've got just this money bunched in a wet ball
seeing their money and asking for it
over there is "the man", suddenly I think I'm a poet
these people just passed by and gave me their food
left over Thai in this cold's pretty crude
in 3 minutes I spit out these words for you
I think this is something I shouldn't try to do
I was just lookin' and this is what I found
and in 3 minutes this is what I see, it's just what's around
not much in 3 minutes to make a rhyme
unless you're gettin' beat, or commitin' some crime.

My dog Sheba and I are kickin' it here on Broadway trying to panhandle. These f---ng sirens are screaming in my ear. I watch these strippers, some of them I know. They're old friends from when I used to run amuck here regularly every night making money. I remember being here with much more energy. I always used to make sure I had a drink or was in a good mood -- it made a huge difference.

I'd sell jokes, I knew the locals. On the street they're called "regulars". Some are still around as I sit here now. But like anything and everything else in life, this place has changed. And like anywhere else, in it's own little way, the scene is not the same as it used to be.

I remember being out here and having so much fun, even though I was hustling in some way or another for money, and even though my husband was around. I used to meet a lot of men and work 'em, like go to bars, cafes, play pool, whatever it took in that particular situation to "shake that money maker". Like anywhere else, when it becomes a regular place to you, every night is different, in good, bad, and indifferent ways.

This is an election year. I'm listening to KGO 810AM on my walkman, a talk radio station that I grew up listening to on the way to school. Every time there's a commercial break, I notice almost every other commercial is for "Prop this" or "Vote that." And this year, because I'm registered, I've gotten a bunch of voter's junk mail: more "Vote for this" and "Against that."

Anyway, the cops just told me I gotta go so I'd better get my ass moving. (Seems to be something illegal about writing on the sidewalk!) I'll make this quick. Who cares about all these Props? I mean, obviously somebody does because they're on the ballot. But why don't they put something on the ballot that's important? Like why are all these people on the street? And what about Section 8's? Why aren't they housed? Would people vote on this -- would they care? Wouldn't that keep the general public safe right there? I see them roaming around and what they do to people -- no matter what part of town. With all the homeless here, people just think to beef up police. But you can only move people around so much - THEY DON'T JUST DISAPPEAR!!!

I'm hearing these Props and they're sounding just like their predecessors. I can't explain, I really gotta go before I risk going to jail for trying to write a real article.