AN EARLY EVENING ON NOE STREET IN THE 60'S IN SAN FRANCISCO WITH DOGMAN

The night was young, dogman (actually Bob) who got this nickname from dancing with our house dog, aptly named Sport, who too, had a loving nickname of Port or Portster, for whatever strange unbeknownst reason. When someone rang the doorbell, depending upon his mood, need I mention sport was up there in his years, he would either go to the head of the stairs and peek down or just look up from his spot be it the couch, a chair or the rug section he claimed as his relaxing domain.

THIS IS ABOUT HOW IT LOOKED-ALTHOUGH THIS IS RECENT AS OPPOSED TO THE 1960'S
Now we usually looked out the turret of the front windows in the front living room, which had cool curved windows, which when we closed had a tendency to just drop down, so we had to remember to gingerly let them down, we could not even imagine what curved window glass would cost, which gave us an exceptional view of the not only the street but the marble stairs at the door front .Some would step back so we could see them better, other wouldn't and if we recognized them buzz them in or mess with them until they did make themselves visible to us. We did try a code ring, but that went away (no cell phones and a pay phone was a block or so away) apart from some never remembering the code, There was an incident where the code was used, so I buzzed whoever it was, assuming they knew the code, I would know them. the door opened and I didn't quite recognize him, had a brim on, a hat could be a fashion statement, sadly I was mistaken, it was a detective, infamous at that time who showed his badge and gun as he pulled his coat to the side.and then a herd of uniformed officers came up, one cop stood over me as I sat on the floor and they then proceeded to tear the house apart, thinking about it someone got busted and ratted anyone get out of a sentence  and gave the door code and said they would hit the motherload of drugs but after an ungodly amount of time, the detective said they found nothing ( lucky they were not in the planting evidence mode) but because I wasted his time he was going to make me stay in jail overnight on a humbug charge of some type. (luckily had we had something it was hidden so well, they probably handled it and thought it was nothing) since this wasn't the Columbia connection. Needless to say, it wasn't the most festive of evenings.I digress....

THIS IS AN IDEA OF WHAT THE WINDOW LOOKED LIKE EXCEPT NOT IN THE  1960's
So upon seeing it was dogman, went to the stairs and buzzed him in, (there was was pull handle for the door, but we rarely used it) so I looked down on dogman and he looked up at me with his shit-eating grin. As he trudged up the stairs, I knew that sport would be waltzing with dogman before the night was done. Always fun to see dogman and headed to the front living room (there were two, this one at one point was Blue Cheers bassist Dickie Peterson and his old lady and the bedroom next door Paul Whaley's the drummer and his old lady, which meant they were a couple) Sport was snoozing, so dogman let him continue his deep repast. There were cool moldings and actually shelves created by them, we had odd cool stuff on them from different opium pipes, hookahs and pictures popular at that time Maxwell Parish, Dali and some of the unique concert posters, Avalon Ballroom had some for Denver concerts that were really unique and a harder find that of the local area and were more of an artistic bend as it were and other odds and ends. I sat down and I asked if he wanted something to drink and he smiles,  so I headed down the hallway and passed one bedroom, then a bathroom, and the next bedroom, the cool thing was that they were each separated so that each had windows and faced each other with about 6 feet between each window noting they victorian style homes, there was little footage between each building so the unique design allowed for windows for the center rooms and a bit of an echo chamber to boot like a large E shape design. So the placement made sense and gave relief for some fresh air. You then entered the kitchen with stairs to the back out the rear door and to the right you had the other living room (probably a large dining room too, that had window too) Hadn't been to get the organic (at that juncture-I wasn't too aware of the benefits) watermelon juice and bottled water was thought only for disasters, but there was some orange juice so, poured a couple of glasses and headed back up the hall.

Dogman took a gulp and he starts off with 'check out what happened" and so the escapade begins...
Desoto man had seen me at the carousel (that was the Fillmore's another venue besides The Fillmore and the occasional use of Winterland, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd did bottom of the bill Tuesday nite Jams at the Carousel and occasionally the Fillmore itself) and asked me if I wanted help in a deal to come by the next morning and with no hesitation dogman said yes, Desoto man was named that because he had a cherry classic DeSoto, name was actually Michael. Well this dude wanted 20 keys or bricks (short for kilos 2.2. pounds) of a fresh crop of panama red that had just come up,and it was that panama red where the buds were different colors-light yellow-red and like a dark green and blue so we called it rainbow panama red, he wanted me to bring the dude a sample key and a baggie full for him to check out and he could checlk out the key too, them if he was happy Dogman would go around to the alley and then we can offload  it and finish the deal.

So I had the key in a sandwich bag and a fat baggie with some loose rainbow Panama red. so he could look at it and open a key to look at too. Desoto man had parked up the block, dude living on a bit of a hill and had the other 20 keys in his trunk. so I open the Desoto door key in a brown bag under my arm and a big baggie of weed in my jacket pocket, as I get ready to cross the street, man a cop pulls someone over  about 3 doors down from where I gotta go, so I keep on trucking  down the street to the corner store to wait for the cop then I remember I had changed pants and left my money in them, so I pretend to be looking at the magizines while peeping over at the cop with the car pulled over, man it seems it seems like forever and I don't want the guy at the cash register thinking I'm stealing magizines, There's a bus stop right in front of the store, so i head out and wait at the bus stop, I know desoto can see me -then I see a bus is coming, oh shit, I'm standing here and if I don't get on the bus will the cop notice me!

over the years they have now created this rainbow strain, the one we had wasn't as colorful in the leaves but the buds did have different colored hair and the resin tones: hence the original natural rainbow Panama red! and for an idea of inflation, a four finger ounce, which is 4 fingers high and full of this about $10.00 now via dispensaries  $400.00
I'm holding a key and a baggie full of rainbow Panama red, probably a couple of lids (a lid was a big ounce, called 4 fingers full baggie) man, I was sweating, you know how it feels when you feel like your in a spotlight, and if you breathe the wrong way, everyone knows it. The bus stops and the driver opens the door and I smile and wave him on, scared as shit. So the bus pulls away in slow motion and the cop is gone and I wiped the sweat from my forehead. Truck on to the traffic light, no jaywalking now and then make my way up the block.  Get to his stairs, climb them up and knock on the dude's door. He opens the door.. first thing I see is a triple beam scale (no digital then) on a short table in front of the couch several packages of rolling papers  books of matches and one I ain't never seen, and you know we know our rolling papers, must be some new ones out and a big hubcap ashtray and matchbooks scattered around with a few small pipes. I plop down on the couch and tell him I was held up by a cop who had pulled some car over by his house for a ticket, he nodded and said he had seen that too. So here's the key, I pulled it out of their bag, and here's the rainbow Panama red I put the baggie-full on the table.

 Told him big buds, Panama red, but had that rainbow buds look and taste, a lot of resin and a sweet smoke. A tight brick and didn't have lumber (thick long stems) pressed buds mainly tops and it had the stamp of a local area grower from Panama, (it was a thing of  pride for these farmers and sometimes was the co-op that grew together-some had different trademarks, some put a peso in the middle of the brick, colored wrapping and various stamps be they ink and some actually sealing wax with a logo or family emblem or if it was the distributor.) he took out the triple beam scale, put it on and pushed the weight indicators on the bar until it balanced and it was at 2.4 pounds, which took into account the wrapping and smart growers allowed for any minor shrinkage by adding the extra weight over the 2.2  pounds. put it on the table asked I m gonna open it and I said head on, he peeled the wrapping off, two layers, always helped so as not to be detected in shipping and took off the wrapper looked at it, very little shake a very well pressed and resinous brick he then pulled off a big bud and sure enought it was that rainbow Panama red, rubbed his finger on the bud and alot of resin was there, he laffed and said his hand were sticky , smelled it and smiled, wiped his hands on his pants and grabbed a small pipe bowl (used pipe parts to make small smoking bowl pipes) and broke the bud up so it would smoke better and put some in top the bowl of the small pipe, never really pack it or you lose the flavor and it can burn shitty! He took a hit, waited and passed it to me and I took a hit. As he exhaled, he smiled and said I'll take 19 more and keep this to make twenty. Damn good smoke, been a while since I had any Panamanian and this rainbow I only had once at a party. He handed the fat baggie back to me and said thanks but I always smoke from the brick when a deal is happening. And I'll have a good stash from this. He took a big bud broke it down and rolled it and we had one for the road.
I told him a DeSoto would pull around back into the alley behind his house. He said 19 is fine because he was going to keep the sample key I brought in and he pulled a bag out from under the table and it had the cash, so dude, it was on. I looked at one of the stacks that was banded and it was $500.00 and there were plenty in the bag. I told him he could have the baggie sample again he said to keep it and thank me for having the real product. So we'll come around back, he can weight the bricks (a tried tradition)and finish the deal.
So I head out the door and he says he'll be by the back door waiting by the back door.
Getting down the stairs I head straight across the street and as just I get to the curb, I see the same cop driving by and stops his car and says" you know you are jaywalking"! I say yes sir, as I felt that fat baggie of Panama red in my jacket pocket. and know my eyes gotta be red, and that was smoke heavy resin covered that weed considering I had only about 5 tokes altogether. I know DeSoto man is looking down the block from his car going "ah fuck".
Then the cop says 'this is a warning and man I looked forward to the long lecture about looking both ways and blah blah blah rather than be frisked then handcuffed.
So the lecture was way cool with me!!!
Anyway the deal went smooth as silk, we off-loaded the keys, went up the back stairs and he randomly picked 3 keys and each was at 2.4 pounds and he smiles and handed the money over Desoto man looked in the bag, looked at a couple of bundles to make sure no kansas city rolls there-(nefarious people would cut the ends the corners of dollars bills on the top and bottom of the bundle-on several bills and tap on 100 dollar bill corners instead, you can take up to, at that time 51% of the bill and get another one intaxt.) so you think you have the cash, but don't. All is cool so, he said he'd want more in a couple of weeks and he sees us at the Fillmore West probably by then or before.
Desoto man and I got to the car and he dropped me off down the block and here I am..
Desoto man gave me a baggie of sample rainbow Panama red for you and I just put it away, they gave me the big baggie sample and the dude at the house handed my another big baggie full and said thanks. and dogman pulled of a bunch of 20 dollar bills. And without breaking his stride said-dude, lets hit the store for some munchie goodies, on me!!!

It was just about wandering into the sunset and there were the makings of a sea mist-fog making its way up the street like smokey tendrils slowly making cloudy waves across the houses and the street. So I go to my room to grab a coat (I wasn't a glove-wearing person at that juncture in time) but always had jackets with deep side pockets, leather or otherwise, I had asked dogman if he wanted a coat but he had a scarf he pulled from under his coat and said he was fine. There was the little corner store a couple of blocks down, and we figured it was best to partake in the Panama red after we got back from the munchie run. although I did not take into account that dogman had been smoking and was in full-fledged munchie mode.
Made out way down the stairs and ambled down the marble stairs to the street and we could see the fog was denser and had the bone-chilling bite to it, festooning your whole being. So it had the cool but somewhat eerie effect.
Hadn't traveled very far, when I didn't see dogman walking along turned around and he was stopped and scraping his shoe off on the side of the curb while using some choice words in exasperation. I tried my best not to laff at the situation, but...man oh man, dogman was lamenting, someone brought am elephant down your street..felt like I stepped on a pile of marshmallows, letting me know it was there for something to have me remember this street spot forever  and sure as hell ain't marshmallows and we both were laffing as we continued the ever-thickening fog.

As dogman occasionally dragged his sole on his shoe to lose that which he may have missed he started making the motions of a Frankenstein which fit perfectly all the way to the store. I double checked my pocket to make sure I have some cash (I didn't like wallets either, but in those days I liked well-fitting pants and a wallet just killed the look, so my pockets pants or coat carried everything.
 
 this isn't the market and its a picture from today and not sure who's in the picture- as opposed to 1960's
In the midst of the sea tainted fog, we found the door to the little market, as we entered the and opened the door chimes and bells rang loud enough to wake the dead, or the guy behind the counter had he been in repast by any stretch of the imagination. As dogman started grabbing goodies off the shelves, I realized he must have had the munchies, cause he was loading up, None of us were beer drinkers, more stoners to use a coined phrase. As I looked upon the pile of orange juice bottles, and pastries, being less health conscious, I felt we had the motherload of munchie foods. Then I saw the bags of candy and sad to say a stack of pot pies and Swanson dinners.The little old man behind the counter knew us both and we paid cash money with a smile, we ended up with about 3 bags full of this and that. I was getting out some money but dogman wouldn't have it, said it was his treat and handed the old man some twenties, the little old man smiles and threw in 2 packs of cigarettes for free, think we got like 10 and at that time I smoked coffin nails (old beat expression) it took years and ex-father in law I dispised to get me to quit, motivation is a strange creature at times, he dared me to qiut smoking and my sheer dislike of the turd father in law inspired me and I stopped that day, and haven't smoked since, (don't preach to anyone about it, but if you blow smoke in my face-i will not have a chipper reply)
With our hands somewhat full we didn't lit up a smoke, but Dogman, being dogman, pulled out a monster doobie (the equivalent of a big blunt) and since we had much experience in the art of lighting a smoke in any conditions and with the contortionist acumen of circus de Soleil. So, having three big bags of goodies,

 Dogman had two and yet was able to lit the doobie without a hitch, the sea fog thick but the smoke we exhaled still cut thru in a thicker smoke. and after several deep tokes as we headed up the block, happily lit with rainbow Panama red and glad we hadn't dropped any of the bags. There were times when you could actually hear fogs horns in the distance, a reality not pot induced. We finally got to our marble steps and in those days you would leave your door open, but our door always locked and I was getting ready to fumble for a house key when the door opened and Angela was smiling and said I saw you guys!  Angela had come to visit and I had given her a door key so she wouldn't be stuck outside if no one was home. So she sees the two huge baggies of smoke and had assumed, correctly we might have gone to the store, heading down the hallway, we put the bags on the kitchen table and Angela and I kissed and hugged, we started to put stuff away and told dogman to relax and go one up to the front living room, well bring some goodies up, Angela offered to cook some pot pies and so the night began....