Junk Thief TV - Season 2, Episode 2 - The Grand Mission Tour

It’s twilight in San Francisco as the final hours of Labor Day remind us that summer is ending. But we will have a few more sips of summer wine and then stroll these familiar streets and alleys. The smell of lavender Fabuloso comes from the open windows of the freshly scrubbed Taquerias, Pupuserias and Mexi-catessans preparing to return to business Tuesday morning. The walls lit by the setting sun are ablaze with art and social commentary, some scrawled with spray paint as angry affronts on gentrification or just random vandalism.

A pair sorting through recycling polycarts argue loudly over who gets to eat the rest of the burrito. The neon corner is relit, the 48 bus rumbles by, a tinted windowed Camaro rattles dusty bay windows until a Latina in low rise jeans slinks into this low rider as it heads north.

Only now as twilight keeps arriving earlier, do we realize we have had something precious this summer. It was a warm afternoon, but even now a fog looms over Twin Peaks as a reminder that we may have a couple of months before the rains arrive, but change is in the air.

. . .

Thus we present you episode two of Junk Thief TV, somewhat tourniqueted from its full 15 minutes that won’t fit the YouTube format but will be available next summer when we release the DVD of the season.

You'll get a feel of the boho/bobo vibe here in what is still considered a working class neighborhood, though that's a bit hard to wrap a Midwestern head around knowing that the average flat here goes for $750,000 to $950,000 these days.

A few behind the scenes notes for the cinematically inclined. You may recognize these streets from at least two movies shot here – Fearless and The Pursuit of Happyness. The first third of the latter movie was shot within a few feet of the JunkPlex, and the green house with the painted, ancient panel van served as the home of Will Smith and Thandie Newton’s characters, and if you saw the film you may recognize the neon signs of Pop’s bar and the St. Francis Fountain. The JunkPlex itself had a supporting role in the film and can be viewed for seconds in both the movie and this episode, though there are no close ups in either. Columbia Pictures actually compensated us $400 for keeping the lights on in the front bay window during the two nights they shot down our street.

JunkThief did an impressive tap dance number to get the attention of the director with the hope of being cast in the film. Though impressed, he demurred, saying “Thanks, but it’s not a musical.”