The day after Lynne Kaufman retired in 2005, she woke up in tears. “What had I done?” she remembers thinking. “I lost my purpose in life, my direction, my identity.” For decades, Kaufman had balanced two successful careers. She was a prolific playwright and author, while also serving as director of travel and study at ...
One day in 1993, on her daily walk from her Richmond District home to Golden Gate Park’s Stow Lake, Nancy DeStefanis spotted a Great Blue Heron in a nest with two gigantic chicks, standing up, beaks wide open, waiting to be fed by both father and mother. She was able to identify the wading birds ...
Joe Edley tucks his co-authored book, “Everything Scrabble,” under his arm and surveys the room. Around him, players sit with boards arranged and tiles upright on their racks. He begins gently — reviewing short words, simple combinations — then quickly moves deeper into board control, opening strategy, and the subtle art of rack management. Earlier, ...
As she strolls toward the smallest park in San Francisco, Bonnie Wallsh calls back to the group of tourists behind her: “How many of you have had a park named after you?” They are standing by a tiny swath of land on Bush and Octavia Streets named the Mary Ellen Pleasant Memorial Park. It’s dedicated ...
Sue Trupin spent more than a decade living in a countercultural enclave in Canyon, a community in rural Contra Costa County. She had gardens, goats, and chickens, and harvested vegetables. She harvested walnuts and fetched food from the bins at the back of grocery stores. “We lived on very little; it was part of that ...
Sharon Yow’s father drove a truck and tried his hand at farming. Her mother worked a switchboard and became an accountant. But while they labored at low-paying jobs, Yow’s parents drilled one lesson into her: “Education is your key. Do well in school!” It was a lesson she took to heart. The first in her ...
