One of my gay friends, in Bellingham, wondered if I met any cute clerks at the big Safeway on Market St. 

Yes, I remembered meeting one.  As soon as I walked into the store, he ask if he could help me find something.  Then, rather than pointing out the aisle number, he walked me all the way to the far corner of the store where the item was located.

Love at first sight?  No, I think he thought I might be "trouble."

There are a lot of homeless people in that area and merchants are constantly monitoring who steps into their stores.  At least he was friendly about it.  Keeping an eye on the store.  A lot of riffraff in parking lot.

My 2004 Bike Tour

Out of the closet second hand store in the Castro area of San Francisco,

After finding the first item, I think he would have trusted me and gone back to being a box boy, but he got interested in my trip.  We discussed bicycling.  He escorted me all around that store to the other items I needed.

At night, near my hotel, a bicyclist taunted a homeless person.  Then the homeless guy chased the bicyclist for several blocks yelling profanity.