There was a little bit of mist Sunday afternoon, unusual for May, as I walked over to Villa Romano for my year end blog party. I looked around the room as my friends and the people I interviewed this past year for www.inmyhoodsf.com arrived. I began to feel a little misty. Weekly I highlighted an Inner Sunset merchant or employee from May 2008 through this final posting, May, 2009.

“It’s my blog party and I’ll cry if I want to….”

Tony Accardo, owner, Villa Romano was a gracious and generous host. We had the backroom, a cozy covered back porch, which was both casual and elegant; white tablecloths and sky lights. Tony recently became the President of the Inner Sunset Merchant’s Association and he knows many of the shop owners as well as a wide array of his long time customers and some new to him and the neighborhood.

We feasted on fried mozzarella with a zesty tomato sauce, sautéed mushrooms, pizza Bianca, antipasto and wine.

My friend Jean and her son Ben placed the blog stories around the room. Craig and Lyla, Media Solutions, printed my stories and pictures and with a touch of technology, made the colors pop. Jean mounted the stories in cobalt poster board and everyone’s’ story had a prominent place on the wall.

Many of the people I interviewed were San Francisco natives: Glenn, Diane, Lorenzo, Herb (who passed away this year at a ripe 106), Micky, Marinus, Jane Anne, Joe Pon, Ralph, Gilbert, and Robyn.

And other people came from many towns and cities around the United States and the world. They came from China, New Jersey (as I did and Craig and Christopher), Palestine, Greece, Colorado, Korea, South Dakota, Cape Verde Islands, Maryland, Burma, Oregon, Germany, Illinois, Japan, Hawaii, Turkey, Kansas, India, Pennsylvania, Scotland, Southern California, Italy and Syria. And now the Inner Sunset is the place they make their living and call this hood, as I do, home.

My friends Sue, Lloyd, their daughter Jillian were there before the party began with smiles and encouragement. My mother and sisters Kathleen, Regina, Sabina and niece Emily were at the back table and joined by my good friends Wave, Mitchell, Tom and Christopher.

Barbara, from the YES WE CAN fence, was the first to speak. Lots of words of appreciation and gratitude for bringing the neighborhood together. I thanked her for her appreciation and painting her fence with YES WE CAN, long before we knew that President Obama would be our 44^th President.

There were fresh floral bouquets.

More kindness emanated from Murai, Liling, Paul, Micky, Adah, Ann, Diane, Ursula, Gilbert and the Queen of Irving Street, Violet. When asked what her business was, someone shouted gleefully,

“Everybody’s business.”

My friend, Debbie, just recovering from the flu, stood up to tell me how proud she was. She knows where I began with this project. Her son, Justin took many of the early photographs and he taught me how to size a picture, make a folder and the relevance of WYSIWYG.

I had a great run and enjoyed my year interviewing, and sharing- sometimes lunch, dinner, other times coffee or a glass of wine, but always in the neighborhood. Many merchants chose to conduct the interview in between transactions and I obliged, turning my recorder off and on, after the cash register recorded the sale.

People shared intimate stories with me-What it’s like to be an Immigrant, a Native, a small business owner or an employee. One man told me, he knew he would not become a man anything like his father, a convicted murderer.

One woman told me about the pain she endured surrounded by her daughter’s anorexia and her customers concerns as her daughter withered and withered, and the relief she shared with her customers as her daughter regained her health. A silent tear slipped and she said,

“We almost lost her a few times.”

Another woman shared the long ago pain she felt with her husband’s infidelities but after more than a decade, she reunited with him, to raise their daughter.

I was pleased that Chris, told me one of the best things that ever happened to him,

“Getting my wife to marry me.”

More than one man told me that their greatest satisfaction was having children and being a father.

There were a few frustrations and disappointments. I wanted to interview, my Dry Cleaner, Manicurist, Boutique Owner. An unequivocal, No!

I had a scheduled interview with a European Deli Owner. I came at the designated time, with questions, a recorder and curiosity. He brushed me aside and decided to have coffee with a customer instead.

“Maybe come back another day.”

An Esthetician, agreed to meet me, and upon my arrival, decided to have her employee give her a facial, and covered with a thick mud she also said, perhaps, I could come back another day.

The frustrations were few. Most people were kind and liked to tell their story and I enjoyed listening and writing. I always tried to hear their voice, hold their integrity and share the uniqueness of each individual.

Wave got up to share her thoughts. Four years ago, only God knew she’d still be alive, still be living and at a party. She said I always liked people’s stories, I was good at telling their stories and I was building community.

The accolades took me by surprise.

The afternoon ended with a lit bit of sweetness. My sister Eileen sent three homemade rum cakes from her restaurant in St. Croix-Cheeseburger’s In Paradise.

This entire year held much sweetness. www.inmyhoodsf.com gave me joy and a profound sense of purpose.

Thank you all for taking this journey with me.

WITH GRACE... 

San Francisco native, Gilbert Johnson was the oldest of five children. There were and still are four boys and one girl. In fact, his ninety –four year old mother is very much alive and an Inner Sunset resident.

Gilbert’s father had a trucking company and his sons were no strangers to hauling a variety of items off of the trucks at the Pier. One of their favorite treats after their labor was an icy cold Hire Root Beer.

They would often end their day at Chinatown and today Gilbert says of that time,

“I can’t remember a time when I couldn’t use chopsticks.”

His father also took Gilbert and one of his brothers to their first 49er game at Kezar.

“I was impressed with the hot dogs. They had skin on them that popped when you bit into them.”

Gilbert’s father hoped his oldest son would be a football player. Usually it’s the other way around. Gilbert attended Polytech High School where he admits,

“You went there for two things-football or auto shop.”

This was the 1950’s, the era of the hot rod and Rock n’ Roll. And if you had a car, and Gilbert did not, teenagers hung out at Mel’s Diner, which at that time was on South Van Ness below Market Street. Although the lure was to be at Mel’s, but without a car your authenticity was up for review by your peers. Instead, Gilbert wandered into Golden Gate Park, the deYoung Museum or the Aquarium.

“Back then, it was all free.”

He was also mesmerized by the murals on the walls of Villa Romano.

Just this past week, I saw many Inner Sunset residents celebrating at Villa Romano’s 54^th Anniversary. Prices were rolled back to the 1955 prices. I had Chicken Picatta for $3.75 and a glass of wine for 95 cents. I looked around the room, Tony was greeting customers, his wife Natalia was seating people and his father was at the pizza oven, as San Francisco’s outdoor temperature on an April evening hovered above 90 degrees.

I looked around the dining room and saw many people I have interviewed this past year; Adah, Glenn, Violet, Robyn, Jane Anne Sullivan and Gilbert. And it was still early.

When Villa Romano opened their doors in 1955, Gilbert was attending Polytech High School and along with five other students, became a Math major and he took a lot of Art classes.

“I always liked to draw.”

After High School Gilbert said,

“I didn’t have a clue.”

He enlisted in the Army and had a choice of options. He chose Air Craft Mechanics, and was stationed in Atlanta, Georgia where he learned to fly.

“I had a Pilot’s License before I had a Driver’s License.”

In the Spring or 1961, with a little money in his pocket, Gilbert returned to his hometown and enrolled in San Francisco’s Art Institute.

At one point, he and a few fellow artists rented a former Chicken Factory. They used the space for their own art studio and rented out the other spaces. One of their tenants was Santana and his band, which used their part of the space as a music studio.

Gilbert was incredulous when another San Francisco Art Institute alumna got a job as a photographer for an underground magazine. At the time, Gilbert didn’t think anyone would want to read a publication that concentrated solely on music. Annie Leibovitz and Rolling Stone were on their way.

Other fellow artists at San Francisco Art Institute included Ronald Davis, the abstract expressionist widely known for his “perspective grid,” and Dave Getz, a painter and drummer who would play with Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company before moving on to Country Joe and the Fish.

Gilbert has had an illustrious career as an artist. In the 1970’s and 80’s he drew the posters for the Annual North Beach Photographic Art Fair. He produced posters for a variety of musicians; Mel Saunders, Jerry Garcia, Mose Allison, Richie Havens and Ramblin’ Jack Elliot to name just a few. He did light shows for Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead. In 2007, his pen and ink drawing for the 40th Anniversary, Summer Of Love poster captures a unique time and place in San Francisco history.

In the film industry he’s worn many hats. He’s been an electrician, a storyboard artist, a draughtsman, a set designer, a set dresser and a carpenter. Some of the many films he’s worked on, Shoot The Moon, The Abyss, The Princess Diaries, Me and Mrs. Jones, The Wedding Planner and The Assassination of Richard Nixon.

Gilbert has many stories to share about San Francisco, the Art and Music scene and his contributions directly and indirectly.

One of his greatest accomplishments and he doesn’t miss a beat when he says,

“Surviving as an Artist.”

NEXT WEEK: MEET TERRIL, BANK MANAGER, WELLS FARGO.