I left my home in Georgia, heading for the Frisco bay.
  I had nothing to live for, looks like nothing's gonna come my way.
  I'm sitting on a dock of the bay, watching the tide roll away.
  Sitting on a dock of the bay, wasting time.

Last year I was a European tourist in San Francisco, standing on the pier, when this song came to my mind. I'd never thought I'd ever find myself in a place described by one of my favourite songs.

When the evening fell I walked back into town and met two gentlemen in an attic who were clearly wasting time. One of them told me he had come from Texas, on foot, to visit a friend of his, only to find upon arrival that his friend had left, leaving him with no place to go.

San Francisco is an interesting place.