The San Francisco corner store

31 Oct, 2024

I've been living in SF for two months now -- going to this corner store called Rudily's nearly every day for four weeks. It's been my go-to shop for everything. Protein bars, apples, Gatorade after long runs, Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. And most of all: the famous “Gus Special” sandwich.

Today being my last day in SF, I decided to have a longer conversation with the guy in charge. He’s this gruff older man, olive skin, long gray hair, kind of wispy and pony-tailed, with an accent I haven’t been able to get to the bottom of.

After mentioning I’m leaving the city, he launched into telling me about how there’s “no place like home” — but that now he has two homes. Ramallah, Palestine (West Bank). And San Francisco. He moved here in 1987. He spent many years as a truck driver, driving all over the US. Passed through “all of the most gorgeous places” -- Colorado, Florida, New England. Everywhere. He always comes back to SF.

He had his reasons... But in the end, this is the place that feels like home.

Anyway, back to Palestine. The moment he mentioned he’s originally from there, I couldn’t believe it. I'm Jewish; he's Palestinian. Our peoples are waging war thousands of miles away. And yet, in that corner store, none of that mattered. Here were two people just trying to make their way in the world - him, an immigrant who'd found his place, and me, wandering, searching for mine.

Before leaving, I asked his name. “Gus”, he said.

Turns out I’ve been ordering that man’s sandwich nonstop for an entire month!