Dennis Peron goals met in his lifetime
Reader Bill Quist kindly forwarded a copy of the “memorial and celebration of life” program for marijuana legalization advocate and gay activist Dennis Peron, who died in late January. The gathering was at Cafe Flore on March 11, and there were 21 speakers.
Among them was Tom Ammiano, who said the event went on for more than four hours, with people coming and going. There was a tent over Noe Street alongside the Flore, and Ammiano estimated that about 1,000 people showed up over the course of the evening.
“It spoke to Dennis’ life,” said Ammiano, “especially to his work on marijuana and his colorful history.”
Peron was the first person to open a cannabis dispensary in the United States; he became a strong advocate for medical marijuana after it was determined that it alleviated suffering of AIDS patients.
Now that marijuana has been legalized, the former pro-pot allies and gay community luminaries were joined at the gathering by politicians: Scott Wiener and Mark Leno were among the speakers, too.
“Dennis was a very kind person,” said Ammiano, “even with all his eccentricities, and going to the trenches on the marijuana issue. People wanted him to get that kind of tribute and acknowledgment.”
Ammiano said he hoped “that some day they will name a street, or put a plaque up about him. Someone is making a documentary about him. We suggested that Frances McDormand could play Dennis in a movie.”
P.S. At the Westfield Mall in San Francisco, Oliver Hernando was eavesdropping on a conversation between two young men. Observed one, “There ain’t no more fun in doing marijuana now that it’s legal in California.”
As to last week’s note about the collectibles that might be found in the gap between seats and windows about the typical Muni bus, Dave Studach suggestions that “instead of stuffing pizza crusts” and the like into it, it “would be nice if people used the cracks for a more information and personal Wailing Wall kind of way.”
He suggests leaving notes to the finders that say, for example, “Dear Reader, I do hope you will have a wonderful day” ... “Dear Reader, You look absolutely fabulous today.”
In other feel-good news, Jack Jackson made note of the Craigslist posting in Petaluma: “Various house plants. Mostly dead. Pots are nice.”
Vigilant censors at the DMV seem to be all over what they perceive as obscenity, but I guess they don’t mind a good time. Marsha Cohen spotted a Mazda on Hyde Street with a license plate that read “YAY BEER.”
Educational tip: Reader Russell Stanaland, who says he’s heretofore been “intimidated” by reading such difficult classic novels as “Ulysses,” has found a motivator that works: He swore off alcohol until he finished it. “Total reading time was two and a half weeks,” he emailed. “I began the final chapter with my martini shaker at the ready.”
Naomie Kremer’s name for the new silhouette dominating the skyline: Sales Forcekin Building. And shopping at Safeway on St. Patrick’s Day, Dan Wohlfeiler came across a package of what was labeled with a shamrock-adorned sticker identifying it as Jewish rye bread, kosher, and wishing consumers a “Happy St. Patrick’s Day.”
Matier & Ross reported on Monday, March 19, that San Francisco is likely to ban sales of new furs. And just a few days ago, PETA Senior Vice President Dan Matthews announced a “major turning point” in its antifur campaign: Versace and Furla have pledged to use faux fur only.
“Facebook has just changed its relationship status with its users,” says Janice Hough. The new description: “It’s complicated.”
Less than a block away from Crocodile French Cuisine in Petaluma, writes Lyndi Brown, Gator’s Rustic Burger has just opened. “I hope people don’t think we’re eating our way through a zoo,” says Brown.
PUBLIC EAVESDROPPING “Every house needs a Buddha or a Yoda.” Woman to woman, overheard at Julie’s Coffee and Tea Garden in Alameda by Lynn Lassalle-Klein
In praise of heroes: Taking note of an encampment of homeless people at Van Ness and Bush, David Landis contacted the office of Supervisor Jane Kim, whose mayoral campaign includes promises to clean up the city, and asked for help. He received a timely response — saying the corner wasn’t in Kim’s district.
So Landis asked the beat cop, Tom Minkel, about it. Minkel emailed him on Sunday, March 18, that he’d found only one man on the corner, and that he was no longer there. The officer had secured help for him with social services.