Testimonals:
Hey M.C. -- a note from Down Under to tell you how much we liked your book. (We're the couple you picked up for a 5 a.m. run to SFO who had sold our house in S.F. and moved to Australia for political reasons.) We're so happy you "just happened to have one copy with you." Best $15 we spent on that trip!
It's a damn good tale, mate. Carol and I are both well-read, and can separate the bullshit from the beefsteak. We consider you USDA Prime. You've got the vibe of Hunter S. Thompson, and the spirit of Joseph Campbell. We both devoured the book, and passed it on to my 18-year-old daughter when we headed to Washington, D.C. for my dad's military funeral in Arlington. She's a tattooed punk-rocker university freshman with a head for politics, who does things like picking up "Clockwork Orange" and reading it for fun. Your stories about the grit of San Francisco, and your account of surviving some wicked knockbacks, are now part of the mosaic of her worldview too.
Good luck with your driving, rapping, writing and most importantly, your health. I worked as a nurse on 8-West at St. Mary's (never met you, but I'm glad you got treated well there) so I can empathise with what you're dealing with. Stay strong! However bad it gets. at least you're living through it in a great place like San Fran. Carol and I hope to live long enough to boomerang back there eventually. After the revolution...
Also about your book, you absolutely nailed SF in the 80s and you do love SF
The way we all do...there's no other "woman" like her.
And also, your book is laugh out loud funny.
Nadine C
I just read your book and I want to tell you that I
really fucking enjoyed it. I drive a cab in SF and
some of the shit you wrote was so on target and funny
you had me rolling. Real inspirational shit.
Thanks a lot. -Clint
I picked up "Don't Take Me the Long Way" at Green Apple Books in the
city not too long ago and I thought it was great - honest,
entertaining, and really well-structured. It was spicy bus reading on
my way to and from work for about a week. I am writing to ask if you
would be interested in/available to do a reading at my friends'
bookstore in Berkeley. The Book Zoo has been open for about a
year-and-a-half. It's a tiny place and Erik and Nick, the owners,
don't really make any money off of it, so we couldn't pay you for the
reading, but we're more than happy to ply you with booze, if you so
desire. Tuesdays are "social nights," and a pretty neat group of
people congregate there to hang out and listen to authors speak when
we can get them. I think you might really mesh with us.
Let me know what you think. We would love to have you if you would be so kind.
~Molly
I just finished reading your book and man...it was a great fucking rollercaster ride! It was too short...I know you have more stories to tell. Lately, I've been inspired by local San Francisco writers and San Francisco stories. We're coming up on the 100th year anniversary of the 1906 Great Quake and Fire and I've just been soaking up books and films and related events. Yeah,I know your book has nothing to do with that topic but its an integral story connected to San Francisco.
I picked up your book at Green Apple on Clement along with books on the Barbary Coast and other SF history. "Don't take me the long way" is now part of my permanent library. My son and daughter will appreciate it in their high school and hopefully their college literary endeavors.
I wanted to mention or least talk about that dude Cecilio and his meth problem. What a loser! But that loser's got game! I chuckled when I read that story, not cause I can relate to a meth addiction...but in my younger days I chased after SOBs like him stealing mail to fund a habit. Alot of them have slowed down and have either gone straight or are six feet under. I work in law enforcement but I'm not with SFPD. I'm a fed and I'm also Filipino-American and like you
a Son of San Francisco---
Anyways, I thought I'd write you and congratulate you for writing a wonderful book about our City. You're one of my many inspirations to write a book about my agency, its history, and its connection to San Francisco. I am deeply saddened to read about your encounter with HIV but I'm most hopeful that you'll overcome that challenge. Technology in the medical field is moving fast to find a cure and a vaccine. I have faith in the good will of people...
I also have a deep respect for Cab Drivers or in my description: Mobile Transporation Ambassadors.
Mr. Mars...may you Write and Rock on...
Patrick R
M.C.
“Read your book.— It was incredibly funny—and wise. Ordering some for my staff attorneys to read.
Yo M.C. Mars –
I just finished your book and wanted to say good shit. Never would I have suspected that when I got in that cab (a nice leather one I might add) that I would be hearing the driver start rhyming over that Ashanti beat! And my huge black best friend I got thought he wouldn’t be able to hail a cab for that exact fact. You didn’t know it then, but that ride was an important part of a great night I had in the city on my leave from the Air Force. I grew up in the Upper Haight and now that I am stationed in the middle of nowhere, all it takes is a couple of stories from your book and I am back in the city living life. Thanks for sharing em…