This morning I had my hair cut by Wallace, my long-time barber (he recently started calling himself "hair-stylist"), on Clement Street; San Francisco's number 2 Chinatown.
At Clement and 6th Avenue I came upon it. A bicycle decorated with flowers, and totally covered with white paint. Chained to a metal post. I immediately sensed this to be a shrine, dedicated to the victim of a fatal accident (this was later confirmed by Wallace).
Two signs were attached to the bike. One said "Who is this ghost?" and contained a message to, and about Derek, the victim of the accident. From the message I gathered that he was twenty-two, probably of Philippine descent, loved sports, and was a popular young man, whose passing saddened many. The other sign read "WE LOVE YOU DEREK", and consisted of a collage of pictures showing him at various stages of his young life.
I wonder whether this was the bike that Derek was riding. I also wonder about the white paint. White is the color of mourning in China, but I don't know about the Philippines.
Makes you think.
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