Brushes With Greatness: I once saw them filming an episode of the TV show “The Streets of San Francisco” back in 1976. I was actually living on the streets of San Francisco at the time, so it was slightly ironic. They were filming a scene in front of the San Francisco Library. A big crowd of people had gathered around to watch. The actor with the big nose walked towards this guy and said, “Put the gun down, Joey.” They repeated the scene about 10 times. “Put the gun down, Joey.” Pretty soon I got bored and split. I remember thinking at the time as I stood there watching: “I’m this homeless loser bum with no prospects here. And right over there are all these rich, successful, productive people. And there’s this short space between us. But how does one get from here to there?” . . . It was a mystery to me. Still is.
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I interviewed the porn star Carol Connors at the Mitchell Bros O’Farrell Theater in 1979. Carol played the nurse in famous porn movie “Deep Throat.” I also interviewed her manager Jack. . . . So I was mildly shocked to find out recently that Carol and Jack are still married. And they have a daughter who’s a well known Hollywood actress. . . I swear, this life is so unpredictable. You can never predict how any of it will turn out. I mean, its pretty damn impressive that they’re still married after all these years. Considering how, um, unconventional their life style was. I remember one of my favorite jokes back in the ’70s: “Why did Richard Nixon go to see the movie Deep Throat 10 times? He wanted to get it down Pat.” . . . .Unfortunately that joke doesn’t work anymore because nobody remembers that Nixon’s wife was named Pat. I’m not sure if anybody even remembers Deep Throat. Its no wonder comedians have such a hard time making a buck. Back in the 1979 Jack was like a caricature of the sleazy, fast-talking, B-list Hollywood agent. Shirt unbuttoned to the navel to show off chest hairs, coke-spoon necklace dangling from the neck, talking about his latest visit to the Playboy mansion hanging out with “Hef.” That kind of character …. But I liked him and I’m still fond of him. He was friendly and happy to talk to me. I was just a dumb 20 year old kid with my little notepad, pretending to be Jimmy Olsen cub-reporter and hoping nobody noticed I didn’t have the slightest idea of what I was doing. Now I’m told Jack is managing the career of his daughter who’s a Hollywood actress. The guy could have a pretty good cottage industry going here if he keeps cranking out the blondes.
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When I was young man I envied Penelope Houston, the well-known San Francisco punk rocker, because she had my dream job: Rock Star. Now that I’m old I envy her because she has my dream job: Librarian at the San Francisco Library.
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Acid Heroes 
Righteous!