Greetings my dear readers. Thanks kindly to those of you who have subscribed and commented. Today before i start the installment , i wanted to remark about how , well, unpolished the writing from 2010 seems to me, now, compared to how it feels when i read back my own current thoughts, etc., ; I am sure some of this is due to the legitimate confusion of all the sundry aspects of that ordeal, now about to get intimate as we proceed; and some due to the polishing of one’s craft as an artisan, .
But i think the greatest factor in the strength of my own ability to think — as the writing reflects, to formulate an opine, that i can declare as mine, is , honestly, the passage of time. As hard as things are, and harder then if possible, the mere perseverance has brought a melody to the qwerty. I resist the temptation to improve upon what i called the Final draft then in 2010, so it will stand as a document of time. If one is so inclined as to edit it for strength, that will change the artifact of the original effort, which i’d wish to preserve. Of course writing becomes sort of a release when one can finally get to it, sort of like letting the cat run around , which he wants to go do now.
[ bottom of page 29 ]
Threat to Public Safety and the Meeting at McDonald’s
Also, the Thigpen Non—Arrest
On July 27th, 2007 , my Grasshopper Taxicab Company was suspended. It was all over. A decade of cab driving, years of working all the time every day to start and keep my business going, and my good name Grasshopper, all gone. It was devastating. But the bills didn’t just disappear. I sometimes would have to resort to begging the cab driver behind me for $5- bucks, talk about humiliating.
Page 29
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[ page 30 ]
Heidi Machen , executive secretary of the SF Taxi Commission , delivered a letter 7 —27 , stating that I was a “threat to public safety,” and thereby being summarily suspended. Again, they’d dropped the charges within several days, but my business remained shut down without any pending conviction or charge. Absent any crime, they had to figure something else out. What could they do? Their tactic was to keep me suspended, and they even got upset that I immediately tried to appeal at the Board of Appeals. They figured if they could keep me shut down long enough , they might find a way to lay some other thing on me, anything at all, so long as it shut me down for good. That was their goal.
Unbeknownst to me at the time, they’d been investigating my cab company, going after the little guy. They tried to get me for crap like not having my way bills filled out, which of course I had filled out, Please. ! Or other petty stuff like that. They could have saved all that trouble of investigating by just asking me for those way bills . I would have gladly provided them.
Similarly , the cops never asked me to leave Ed Jew’s driveway, you know, if there was some reason I shouldn’t have been there. Usually at rallies and actions the police give you a warning and a chance to disperse, like Corexit. Instead, they just arrested my ass, but then for many hours denied that I was under arrest, even when I specifically asked Lt. Daniel J Mahoney, “Am I under arrest?” He fed me some baloney about how he was gonna let me go as soon as he finished recording my greatest hits on his microtape at 5 in the morning. He even had to flip the tape, while I was not arrested, he told me.
Like the way bill thing. Citywide had said I was to hold on to them myself, and they told me- Pattie said, that they did not want to keep my way bills there at the office on Evans, where it might have interfered with their consumption of cocaine to actually follow their mandate to keep my way bills on file at the business office. Oh well. I am fairly certain now that Jordana Thigpen was pressuring Citywide to drop me from their radio service, or otherwise cooperate with the shut down of my business. She said as much during the trial, for which the transcripts are not yet forthcoming {except those Thigpen transcripts erroneously intermingled with the Vandebos.} Plainly stated, there were out to get me, and trying to figure out how to bring me down. I was already considered a pain in the ass for attempting to exercise my freedom to speak at Taxicab Commission meetings and hearings.
So what did they do? When this Vandebos fell into their lap, they thought that had gotten me. But , there just wasn’t enough evidence to bring any charges to conviction, and they had to let me go. But they kept my business shut down.
Page 30
$ $ $ $
[ Page 31 ]
They declared me a “threat to public safety.” They kept me suspended while they figured out how to keep me down for good. Then, they called a meeting at McDonald’s . Well , not inside, but at the parking lot. Now, I’m vegan, ain’t nobody taking me out to eat hot dogs and crackerjacks, and there was no food involved at this very official commission that was conducted on the McDonald’s parking lot next to the Hall of Justice, it might be 840 Bryant - the parking lot itself, if it has an address. This was essentially a hearing on the corner of Harriett Alley and Bryant Street. I’m afraid no court reporter was present , to my knowledge.
I believe it was set for 1 o’ clock, and I recall Ms. Machen was perhaps a half hour late, fashionably, and she was quite eager to get out of there in a big hurry. Perhaps it was not stuffy enough out there for her. She left early, before the meeting was adjourned by the judge. Well, it’s true, there was no judge. Hmmm. Let’s see, I guess I myself was there, albeit begrudgingly - I mean, why couldn’t they at least have had a hooded judge panel for me, as a potential prospective terrorist? That , for being vegan, I gather and must conclude.
And speaking of vegan, why couldn’t they have picked the parking lot of someplace vegan? If it had been at Green’s, Fort Mason, perhaps the only vegan place with a parking lot, then I could have gone swimming afterwards. Imagine that. Or at least a tacqueria, where the beans are sometimes vegan, if nothing else. Ah, but that would have been a different story.
So it was me, my friend Steve, Sergeant Ron Reynolds in all his glory, of the SFPD Taxicab Detail, the acting judge, jury, and executioner, and Heidi Machen ( the executioner’s secretary.) Me, I brought my neck.
They forced me to agree to cease operations of my taxicab company, which of course I agreed to do, feeling compelled to be as generally , well, agreeable as can be. That was basically the gist of the meeting, that they were putting heat on me to stop running my business. It was quick and painless, and there was not too much blood. They did this “your way” at McDonald’s, with the commercial jingling, we do it all for you, and your public safety too. Why McDonald’s ? Because I had worked at one way back when, they wanted to use Ray Kroc against me. Plus, there were no charges pending at that time, only freedom fries in non-vegan “vegetable” oil. That’s why they taste so good. It’s the lard. Hmmmm. When I worked at McDonald’s , I got spots coating my back like polka dots. Grease.
Page 31
! ! ! ! !
[ Page 32 ]
In fact, I’ll never forget that chicken mcnugget I ate with no chicken , just a big grease ball, when I was about 16, which put me well along the path that eventually led to being vegan. But I digress.
I was forced to say that I would be good. And I was. I told everyone whom I was able to provide transportation service to , for free, since I had nothing else to do anyway, that I was not operating as a taxicab, because my business had been shut down. At McDonald’s. Of course, I didn’t say that it had been shut down at McDonald’s , because , frankly , it didn’t occur to me to say all that until just now in retrospect. Plus, I wanted people to believe me and vote for me, so if I had mentioned that I was officially out of service on account of a meeting at the McDonald’s parking lot next to the Hall of Justice, well, that might have defied credibility. But I am begging the question, ain’t I? I always told folks that any contributions were not for my Mayoral campaign, which would have meant paperwork and promises, but only for my personal campaign so that I could eat, and maybe stick around long enough so you could vote for me, basically. Something like that.
As a vegan, I feel speaking truthfully to be of great import, and I’m just not of the mind nor stomach to lie. Is that a direct correlation? The truth — telling tongue of fruits and vegetables. Honest to a fault. I changed my vehicle lettering to read, “Grasshopper for Mayor” and removed all the traces of any signage indicating Taxicab, the airport stickers, etc. I think it was during the Thigpen non-arrest that they stole my actual medallion. That was the year the tin medallion plates actually about matched my background pinkish cab color scheme. I was forced to take the top light off, my name Grasshopper had to come down off the dome, as it were. So I replaced it with a top speaker, and drove around campaigning vocally. I campaigned in my Grasshopper for Mayor mobile, asking for YOUR vote, saying to please vote for me, and transporting my constituency so as to be an useful and productive member of our beloved society. These kind folks were gracious enough to toss me the several few pennies for my personal campaign to enable me to be able to eat so that I could run for Mayor without starving. I thank you all so kindly.
As a footnote, I did receive one actual, $8- dollar campaign contribution from a man who was just too drunk to understand that I didn’t want to accept any; since he had stipulated it as a campaign ( rather than personal) contribution I requested, I reported the donation on the appropriate form with a recording of the gentleman’s name, address, occupation, and sexual orientation, although I had to leave the last field blank without that info available readily to me.
Page 32
* * * * * *
[ Page 33 ]
You know, I want to state at this time that I do not feel that there was anything illegal in my action of campaigning for mayor in my own van, thank you. What , exactly, did Gavin Newsom do for his campaign, other than his best friend’s wife? I mean, how exactly did he campaign? He didn’t . Perhaps my campaign cost me the election. But then, I couldn’t work, anyway, so why not run for mayor? Might as well.
In fact, I’ll argue that I myself, as well as Josh Wolf, were the only ones whom bothered to campaign at all in that election. It was the big secret no one discussed. I drove one woman on election day who said her mother in Texas had called and told her about our election here. Howcome they knew about it there, but nobody did here? Not because I hadn’t tried to tell them. In fact, I was vocally exercising my freedom of speech to campaign upon my own behalf, which I’m sure upset the powers that be to no end. Oh well.
Now, this meeting at McDonald’s culminated in me supposing to be having to sign something, and I said, well, Let me see it , or read it first. ThereAfter was much delay , Heidi had left , and Ron had gone into the 850 Bryant, I guess. It is possible he might really have just snuck into the Ronald McDonald’s while we weren’t looking , but he after about a half hour comes back, Heidi has long gone, and brings out this piece of paper about me being a “threat to public safety,” as I recall, really that same thing they were using to suspend my business in the first place, with no greater or lesser legal weight. Was that any at all? Did they make me sign it?
Mostly it was to intimidate me, and I’m sure the whole incident left me hungry.
This shenanigan went down around the first few days of August 2007, and then came the kicker, the thing they most wanted. Now that they had shut my business down, they could really get me.
So here I am on a Saturday night driving around campaigning, and this woman on Divisadero waves , and I stop , and she asks me, “Are you a cab?” and I say, “No, but I’ll be happy to take you.” At this time I believe that i had the meter covered with a small box to make it clear that I was not a taxi; I was only too eager to tell people my sad story, of how my business had been shut down, but I was running for mayor, and happy to be of any useful service. I felt good to volunteer for my folks, as part of my campaign. I asked people to vote for me, please. Not too many of them did. I also did actual volunteer work at one fabulous food kitchen, St. Martin de Porres, 225 Potrero, earlier in my campaign.
Page 33
_ _ _ - _ - _
[ page 34 ]
I told the woman that I was not a cab, but that I would take her, and then i could talk to her along the way… but no sooner had she set foot in my Grasshopper , then here is this Jordana Thigpen of the SF Taxi Commission out drinking on a Saturday night in an official city vehicle, celebrating her birthday, by helping to destroy my life. Thigpen was not driving that official {marked with the seal of the City and County of San Francisco} vehicle, her friend Margaret Z. was driving, while Ms. Thigpen was navigating and celebratin’.
Luckily Ms. Jordana Thigpen was able to save the day for public safety; when she saw the iron was hot , she acted boldly and did not hesitate to strike. Acting in her official capacity , grabbing that woman by the hand and yanking her out of my cab, Jordana was just jubilant. Ms. Thigpen says, “That’s not a taxicab, don’t take him, we’ve suspended his business.” All this information I was only too obliging to supply and provide from my own mouth, and indeed I took every opportunity to publicly do so.
After that, I said to Thigpen, that now that she had pulled that girl out, she couldn’t harass me about taking her anywhere, which may not have been the wisest thing to say, because that meant she would keep hounding me like a dog all night long, like that song. She used that statement against me in court; but although this appears to be some sort of admission of guilt, it was not at all anything of the sort. I only spoke what I thought to be a fact. The jury did not agree. For our next movie, we’ve got thought crimes, vanishing plankton, swaggering banksters and melted glaciers. While we’re breaking temperature records all around at increasing frequencies, folks are still denying the reality of man-made global climate catastrophe. Republicans, I presume. Sadly, most Democrats are more of the same unmitigated disaster.
The jury thought my statement to be an admission of guilt. Thigpen took it as a birthday present.
Several hours later on that night, I found some guys on upper Haight from another country who thought I was cool and were willing to let me drive them downtown. Of course, I was being followed by the Thigpen and friend entourage. It took me a while to realize that white car with the SF City and County seal was following me, but once I did, I wanted to ditch those dudes so as to keep them out of any possible trouble, that they didn’t have any real reason to get dragged into. Bad enough I myself had. I ducked down Shannon Alley and ditched those guys, and Ms. Thigpen’s driver, temporarily. Pay at this time was voluntary, which was just so I could eat, which I was just barely able to do.
Page 34
# # # # # # # # # #
[ page 35 ]
Empty and vacant, I’m in Japantown 5 minutes later, cruising slowly. The police come screaming up , Jordana in tow, and they get me for driving taxi illegally. They took my Grasshopper mobile. They did not put me in jail that night, but they did take my 4 joints from the cab, imagine that! , later claiming there had only been 2 that they found, well, they smoked them all. At the time, i had an medical marijuana card and was fully legal, so they had to drop the pot charge they tried putting on me at first. Also , they didn’t want any sympathy for me from the marijuana community. Oh well, I hope they enjoyed those joints.
They did maintain several charges on me, not the pot, but some other stuff- driving taxicab illegally, driving on a suspended A-card, driving without a medallion, (which they stole), operating a business without a permit, fun stuff like that. I was convicted I’m not sure of exactly which of these illegal taxi charges, which is, of course, ridiculous and absurd; but they did get a conviction on at least one of these in the Thigpen trial , which was the first one that came to a hearing. That circus trial showed me enough to tell me, for the Vandebos trial upcoming, I would just have to defend my self.
Of course, a reversal of the Vandebos conviction should also mean a dismissal of the Thigpen; ah, if only the law were as simple as the most complicated parts of the rest of life. But logic and the law are two separate and too often disparate entities, sadly.
Although they did not arrest me during the Thigpen, merely detain me in the back of a police car, they did impound my van. They then tore it apart, rifling through the inside , leaving it with things strewn about from their search. They then took photos of it messed up, then showed these to the jury (or was that the taxi commission?) to say that my cab was illegal, because it was not clean enough. They did this to me, the former Reliable Don Sparkle Cleaner….
[ /// to be continued \\\ ]
here is a link to Jordana Thigpen photo current from that time, as well as some of her most fabulous and enlightening literature which SHE HERSELF composed so you don’t have to read any of the garbage from me anymore, as she is so much more beautiful than i am…
http://www.fogcityjournal.com/othervoices/jordanna_thigpen.shtml
Remember, all things fog city journal are no friend of Grasshopper, although i had no way to know that at the time, but only in retrospect…
~ ~ ~
thanks for reading, blessings and Love to all my friends and family…