826 Valencia is a writing center and an institution in San Francisco. Founded by Ninive Calegari and Dave Eggers, the writing center has become immensely popular and attracts so many kids that they've branched out to become 826 National and have writing centers in San Francisco, L.A., Chicago, Michigan, Boston, Seattle, and NYC. When I was in high school (at a school where Ninive Calegari used to be a teacher), I participated in one of 826 Valencia's projects, a book called: Talking Back: What Students Know About Teaching. I'm pretty sure that the essay I wrote about six years ago is on page 52... I am positive about this.
To get back to the point though... 826 = Amazing.
The best part is this:
You've just parked your car/ just road your bike/ just walked over from BART/ just walked down 20th street. Before turning the corner onto Valencia you see Dog Eared Books on the corner and cannot help but peek in. You see worn copies of Balzac and ironically a few books by Dave Eggers. You roam through the politics section and then peruse the travel section. You walk past the staff picks and then continue on out the door and across the street. You walk down the street and stare at your feet going CLOMP STOMP STAMP and then you see a quarter on the floor and sneakily check over your, first left, then right shoulders to see if it is anyone's. Then you lean down and grab it really quickly. You hold it tightly in your hand and squeeze the small metal disk. You make a wish. Your eyes are tightly closed as you wish. When you open them, you see another bookstore. This one is called Modern Times Bookstore. You go in, you check your bag, and you push past the isle with the Hipster Haiku, and over to the Pocket Politics.
You leave the store and continue onward down Valencia. Then you are there. That place of places. That shop of shops. The Pirate Shop at 826 Valencia. You walk in the door and it is like a treasure cave. You are looking at books on a table and then ALL OF THE SUDDEN you feel something soft and stringy fall on your head. You look up and find that you've been "mopped." This is a true Pirate Shop experience. You pull out drawers. You find a cage for Tinker Bell. You see bottles of sand labeled with names of countries. Nothing has a price tag. There are books and pirate flags. Sometimes there are planks to walk and shovels to dig for burried treasure. There are eye patches and compases. There are jeweled rings and rusty locks. There are dice and candels. You are in a ship. The only way to leave is to walk the plank.
Location: 826 Valencia/ The Pirate Shop, San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.
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