Folk, common, local, whatever, history is a fascinating thing (no surprise then, that I grew up listening to [*This American Life*](http://www.thisamericanlife.org/)). I’m [convinced](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interesting_number_paradox) that there is no place you can find that is not interesting, especially if you happen to live in a large city.
I live in the Hayes Valley neighborhood of San Francisco. While it does seem neat, clean, and nice, if you pull things back and look beyond the gentrification, the boutiques, the parks, the disappeared freeway, and the [earthquake](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loma_Prieta_earthquake) – back into the ’80s – you would find the identity and experience of this neighborhood completely different. Back then the neighborhood (but, honestly, most parts of most cities) was pretty “edgy” Indeed, in 1979, Chris Pirsig (from [*ZAMM*](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_and_the_Art_of_Motorcycle_Maintenance)) was [murdered](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/11/19/WBGKJ9SCPS1.DTL) a few blocks away from my apartment.
However, despite all of the drama of the moment, in history, most events are forgotten and stories remain untold. I’d reserve judgment on whether or not this is a good thing, but, good or bad, this does make the discovery of those stories, regardless of provenance, something precious.
Anyways, not to make to too much of it, a while ago I dug up a short history about growing up in this neighborhood – way before I ever stepped foot in it – and I think it’s pretty interesting:
*Chronicles Of A True Hustler*:
[Pt. 1](http://dailymath.ihiphop.com/weblog/?p=78),
[Pt. 2](http://dailymath.ihiphop.com/weblog/?p=84),
[Pt. 3](http://dailymath.ihiphop.com/weblog/?p=90),
[Pt. 4](http://dailymath.ihiphop.com/weblog/?p=100),
[Pt. 5](http://dailymath.ihiphop.com/weblog/?p=111),
[Pt. 6](http://dailymath.ihiphop.com/weblog/?p=120), [*Archived*](http://dailymathematics.blogspot.com/search?q=chronicles+hustler&by-date=true)