Ken The Bugman Part 6 - Life and Death in San Francisco in the 80s

When I started working for Crane, I worked day hours.   Most of my accounts were apartment buildings, bars that were not opened yet, schools, mom and pop stores.  I had a few restaurants, but not too many until I started to work the night shift.  I would set up my route, early to Lucca Ravioli, to smell and look at the wonderful deli food and bullshit with the guys.  Safeway was an account.  The grocery stores usually got done early also.  None of these place that I mention, for the record, ever had any problems.  You can feel good about no bugs at your local Safeway!

This was a company that expected you to take your time and do the proper job.  So much different than the first  job in pest control.  At Crane, they want you to be honest.  I like that!  I enjoyed most of my accounts.  Pest control is really a lot of PR.  You will rarely find an inarticulate field rep.  Companies knew who to hire.  Still the same today, if you have you own "bugman" I am betting that he is a very nice and funny guy.  Hopefully, he is actually doing the job.  I say 'he', because I also know that none of you have had a woman pest control rep.  Maybe, but I doubt it.  It is dominated totally by men.  People like seeing a man come to kill their insects and rodents.  It's so manly to kill!  Crane did occasionally hire a woman tech, and there were always complaints because people felt uncomfortable with a woman killer.  A very testosterone laden job!

Apartment buildings were some of my coolest accounts.  I met a lot of people, and most of the buildings were in good shape.  The problem with apartments is the way that a problem can spread.  One person brings a TV or microwave or old box with roaches and, voila, instant  problems.  Or there are the tenants who just don't want us in their apartment for health reasons.  The worst problem apartments were the obvious ones, the filthy tenants!  They kept us on our toes!   I had a lot of apartment buildings on my route.  In the Mission, Castro, and Haight areas, the building I have been living in in Noe Valley since I first came here to service, in 1986.  Fringe benefits, you bet!  I met many good people, found out where the best deli (Lucca Ravioli) and bagels (Holy Bagel), best Chinese, and most of all, found the best place to live. 

I really enjoyed servicing one building in particular.  It was on Page street, in the Haight/Ashbury district.  The manager there was a good guy, as most were, and the apartments were clean and problem-free.  He would give me keys to whoever wanted service,  and I would knock on doors for the rest.  Yes, I was given keys (with tenant's wishes) to apartments.  Which was sometimes quite interesting.   I never felt bad about how I kept my home after doing this job.  Evidently, I am a clean freak, compared to most apartments I have seen.  And I have seen thousands!  

In this building was a very nice man who worked nights and was home when ever I knocked for service.  He always let me come in, I think he had a little crush on me, and he would fill a bong and ask me to join him for a minute.  Although I would NEVER smoke on the job....I did.   I would hang out there for ten minutes or so.  That was it.  Great guy, on to the next apartment, and the next building.  I would see him next month.  I knew him this way for over a year.

And here it was, another service day.  I knocked on his door, and he came and said that he has a lousy cold, or something, but to come in relax, have a hit.  I didn't want to get a cold, though.   He understood and we chatted for a few minutes.  I left, thinking that I will just see him next month and we will party a little then.  Next month, I knock on his door, but I don't hear him.  Then I hear a yell, "come in", and the "door is open!"  I came in and he was in bed, in front of his television.  He told me that his cold seemed to turn worse, he can't shake it and it may be pneumonia.  He was more tired and had lost some weight, since he had not been eating.  We talked and he said that he can't really smoke anything, so I can take his pot.  "Nah", I said, "you will be fine soon, keep it, you will want it soon", and  I left.

It was early 1983.  No one really understood what was going on, yet.  There was talk about a weird disease that is killing young gay men.   It was a very new, very deadly disease.  It was panic time in the US.  Kaposi's Sarcoma?  What the hell was that?  A rare cancer that is now not so rare and seems to be spreading through the gay community very fast.  It was such a fast disease, that men were dying off and no one had any idea of what to do.

As I pull up to the Page street apartment, I look at the windows of the apartment of my nameless friend.  I went to the manager.  He had a very serious look on his face.  The manager knew the man very well, as he was a partner of his once and they are still good friends.  They were good friends.  He died last week.  This new AIDS or gay cancer or whatever, killed him.  He was very healthy just two months ago.   Going to Gold's Gym, partying in the Castro clubs, very funny and nice guy.  Gone in what seemed like an instant.  The first of many in this most horrible of times.  Over 50% of the tenants in several buildings died over a very short amount of time.

About two years later, when the AIDS crisis was in full swing, Crane signed up a new account, The Shanty Project.  This was the first HIV/AIDS clinic that became the standard for treatment of the disease.  Randy Shilts worked there, I believe he ran it for a while.  He wrote, among other books, " The Life and Times of Harvey Milk" ( the movie Milk was based on) and  "And the Band Played On".   I had the pleasure of meeting Randy, and telling him that he is one of my heroes.  Randy Shilts died of complications from AIDS in 1994.  Soon after that, many better, more effective treatments were found that have done excellent work at keeping HIV at bay.



I was a straight man in the middle of the HIV/AIDS crisis, and since I was the only tech who worked in the areas hit most hard, it was very difficult to see this.  Mentioning it at work, well, it was a macho company, so the comments were sometimes upsetting.  I didn't mention it much.  It was very hard, watching as friends and lovers died, apartments suddenly empty from the previous month,  everyone of them way too young.  It changed many lives.  It changed mine.  Seeing so many young people dying.  Very scary.   Most people in San Francisco knew someone who had died of AIDS.  Praise be to the scientists and chemists!  They are wonderful people.  Thank you all!

 Peace,
Ken

Next blog, The Rat in the Dress Shop!