Sam Hain Pain

Written at the Argus Lounge, 10/31/07 about 8 pm:

Halloween means different things to different people. To those of us who couldn’t be bothered to buy candy for trick or treaters, it means hanging out in a bar until the little bastards, or more likely their parents, decide it’s time to give up and go home.

This is a big year for Halloween exiles, at least in San Francisco. The party in the Castro has been officially canceled. Last year, some asshole with a gun shot nine people so the powers that be decided that enough was enough. For the overwhelming majority of revelers who who didn’t shoot anybody, well too bad for them.

I imagine there will be some sort of partying going on in the Castro, sanctioned or not. Traditions die hard and the city has not gone so far as to put the neighborhood under curfew. Instead, officials are taking subtler measures to put a damper on the festivities.

The nearest BART station (16th and Mission) is scheduled to be closed at eight. This will dissuade some from coming but will leave others with no choice but to arrive by car and drive home drunk. Also, many watering holes in the Castro will be closed for the evening. My guess is that the city officials made an appeal to the proprietors’ civic responsibility and had the greatest success with those whose liquor license are up for renewal.

As for me, I’m not setting foot in the Castro tonight. The police barricades are up and I doubt the cops are in a tolerant mood.

11/1 update: According to the news, very few people braved the Castro last night.I hope people at least had some fun somewhere.