200 Fridays in the Apocalypse

AKA One Good Thing From the early 2020s

The Pandemic sucked. It still sucks. Whenever anyone asks how I made it through the lockdown, and all the assorted ills the Early Pandemic gave us, I tell them I was lucky to find a weekly party that started out as a coping mechanism for COVID but ended up evolving into one of the few good things to come out of the early 2020s.

This past Friday, neighbors in the Inner Sunset celebrated 200 Fridays of an informal meetup that gathers weekly out front of our friend John’s place. Every week people stop by to have a drink, a snack, and talk to neighbors for a little while at happy hour. Also, a lot of dogs stop by as well. So many dogs!

Thanks to this weekly meetup, we survived a global pandemic, a few wars, an insurrection, apocalyptic smoke days, Hollywood awards shows and whatever else the early 2020s threw at us. At a time when it was hard to count on much, we could all count on at least one weekly refuge from it all.

For me, it became a lifeline to the land of the living. I had just moved into my current apartment just a month before the lockdown, and hadn’t even fully unpacked the boxes when the crazy started. When the talk of a “lockdown” was starting, I didn’t take it seriously, and got to be one of those people mobbing Andronico’s at the last minute

The people working at Andronico’s that day were truly awesome, and kept things moving when everyone was starting to freak out.

So, when my friend John texted me inviting me to stop by for a “socially distanced, COVID safe happy hour” in front of his place in the Sunset, I gladly stopped by. I figured this lockdown thing would only last a few weeks - a month at best, and then things would be sort of ok again. Right?

As weeks turned to months, this weekly informal meetup was often the only time I saw anyone outside of a delivery person, or maybe my brother when he’d drive through town and take me to the grocery store. I can safely say that had this not been around I don’t know how I would have survived all that time on my own, without the usual places to go and people to see.

The structure of the weekly meetup was simple and informal. People would stop by and hang out for a bit, then go on home or to wherever they were going. Some would bring some snacks or drinks to share, but it wasn’t required - it just happened. The emphasis was on keeping things relaxed and fun, but not let things get chaotic and noisy, out of respect to others on the block.

I spent some of the lockdown era walking across San Francisco, and when I’d find unique or internationally sourced snacks, I’d buy some to share with the group. Everyone would bring something, even if it was just a good joke or a fun story.

Also welcome were SO many neighbor dogs! Many of the dog “regulars” at the Socially Distanced Happy Hour became mini celebrities of the Sunset as the weeks wore on. I had to pic a dog photo at random for this post because I had so many, trying to choose one was actually impossible so here’s one of Blanca:

I would often cap a night with the neighbors by stopping on the way home at Yo Tambien Cantina, and pick up a chip boat to take home, and my pandemic Friday night was complete. The combination made for a nice bit of calm in an unpredictable world.

Time passed and things went back to something I wouldn’t necessarily call “normal” but it’s close enough, I guess. I wondered how long our meetup would last, but it kept going. In fact, the only times it ever got canceled were due to excessive smoke from various fires. Otherwise, we met up rain or shine, cold or hot, every week. When our 200th happened to fall during that big storm, we moved inside and kept the party going. It was great.

None of this would have happened had John not graciously hosted this with his building neighbors, and imbued it with the kind of laid back inclusiveness that kept it fun. Many people got to know each other who might not have in more “normal” times, and the weekly meetup evolved into a nice constant, when all around is falling apart. We are lucky to have someone like John in our neighborhood, as he’s always there to lend a hand to community efforts that help others.

I didn’t know 200 Fridays ago that I’d be hanging out at John’s with a group of wonderful people I didn’t know yet, and I don’t know where I’ll be 200 Fridays from now, but I was glad to be at the neighborhood socially distanced apocalypse happy hour for a few hours a week for the past 200 Fridays.

There’s a lot right, and a lot wrong with our City right now. This was one of those good things that on occasion are allowed to bloom in our City, and sometimes even flourish.

We could do with a bit more of this kind of informal neighborliness to improve our City. It doesn’t need an app or a lot of money, or an avalanche of junk ads to get something going on your block. All you really need are a few chairs and some friends to get started, and see what happens next.

PS: I just got word late this week that Body Philosophy Club, neighbor to Yo Tambien Cantina, is moving over to a new location at Second Avenue and Clement. Belle has been a wonderful neighbor and her business gave that part of Hugo St. a fun Wes Anderson-y feel to it. However, we are lucky to still have her nearby at her new location! Be sure to check it out when she opens up over there.