Rite-Aid and Why I Love My City…

I work right across the street from the Rite-Aid drugstore on Market Street in San Francisco, California. Apparently, I’ve underestimated this store’s reputation as a hub of socio-economic diversity and varying levels of mental health services. When I worked blocks away from the store, it was rare that I went in, except for the occassional packet of Eclipse gum. Now that I’m smack dab across from Rite-Aid, I CAN’T STAY OUT OF IT! Like a beacon to a ship in a sea of fog of rain, Rite-Aid beckons to me. Oh no! I forgot to wear socks …just go to Rite-Aid. From electric toothbrushes to curling irons to gum to Pop Tarts, there sits Rit-Aid. Now with all of these fancy things in their inventory, it appears that Rite-Aid is just as attractive to me as it is to San Francisco’s various SRO populations –not that that’s a “bad thing,” it’s just a “contemplating thing.”

Depending on which day of the month I go for a new pair of socks, I can personally witness the after effects of (pick one) meth, crack, heroin or vicodine. Some days are just EXTRA loud. In their quest to be heard above the other loud conversations, shoppers regularly hold conversations ten decibels louder than the normal range. If you stand in line long enough, you’re bound to experience the performance art of catching a shoplifter and then physically interacting with the melee that ensues at the front door when the shoplifter argues with the security guard. (Has anyone else noticed that today’s security guards are adept at ESCALATING a confrontation, as opposed to de-escalating it?) So why does this weekly ritual make me love San Francisco? Well, where else can you stand in line and witness a shoplifter getting caught while the store’s audio plays Beck’s “Where It’s At?” Do drugstores in the mid-west play Godsmack? Does your Rite-Aid sell pantyhose long enough for the trannie population? I surmise they do not!

San Francisco isn’t a freak show, but we’re not freaked out by freaks. Of course as newer populations move in from less tolerant areas, this part of San Francisco culture is quickly changing, but until then –we got Rite-Aid on Market Street!

So the next time you stumble into a drugstore anywhere outside of San Francisco, and you’re relaxed and dreaming about how calm and happy your drugstore appears to be, just go check out the inventory and see who’s more on the ball when your condom selection is less than adequate. Yup, that’s when you’ll be yearning for a drugstore in The City.

The Rite-Aid…the Great Equalizer by Adrienne Anderson, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.