Life in the Later Lane
K.D. Sullivan: From Park Bench to Publishing House
At 15, K.D. Sullivan was homeless, hungry, and sleeping on park benches in Honolulu’s Aina Haina neighborhood....
Retired conference consultant embraces San Francisco and its history with tour of her own neighborhood
As she strolls toward the smallest park in San Francisco, Bonnie Wallsh calls back to the group...
Farm life couldn’t compete with the excitement of big cities and the challenge of the executive life
In college, Bob Britt worked as a night auditor at a roadside Holiday Inn in Southern Illinois....
Successful sous chef finds equilibrium and support after career sidetracked by health and hard times
Jon Insco has been a go-getter most of his life — always hustling for his next adventure....
Being an ‘old soul’ isn’t just about age but an attitude – best nurtured by intergenerational contact
SF SENIORBEAT GUEST COLUMN – There’s a corner of Gen Z internet culture that has popularized the...
How a dedicated teacher of young children became a dedicated civic volunteer.
Sharon Yow’s father drove a truck and tried his hand at farming. Her mother worked a switchboard...
Famed boogie-woogie pianist embroiders her performances with her own hand-crafted art
Caroline Dahl has never forgotten the glamorous, red-haired woman in a sequined dress she saw at a...
The biggest, best walk – and bath of a lifetime.
Tina Martin SENIORBEAT GUEST COLUMN – I love San Francisco, and I love to walk. So when...
‘So hard, all the losses and pain:’ Personal and world tragedies led daughter of Holocaust survivors to life of helping others help others
Juliet Rothman was living in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1992 when her 21-year-old son Daniel attempted a double...
Rock ‘n’ roll and diamonds shaped the life of Arthur Indenbaum
WRITER'S NOTE: Arthur Indenbaum died on November 28, 2025, with his wife and daughter by his side....
A lucky phone call steered him into a 54-year career as a shipping executive.
Tony Hanley felt stuck. He’d flunked out of San Francisco City College and was working at an...
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Retired AT&T exec and architect of local online literary review has a passion for nurturing other people’s talents
When he was young, Joe Catalano loved to “play with words,” and some of his earliest childhood memories, he said, are of writing. But college, a career, and family intervened and he “put down his pen” for decades. Now 76 and retired after a long career practicing law, Catalano can be found writing, editing, and ...
Only views from his window: Artist overcoming shyness shares paintings reflecting a life of chaos converted to calm
Though Glenn Stultz has evolved from pencils and watercolors to acrylics and oil, his pictures depict the same view: backyards and houses seen from the windows of his Section 8 apartment in San Francisco’s Ocean View neighborhood. Too shy to enroll in a drawing class, he taught himself by studying big, coffee table books. His ...
Sock hop celebrates first in-person event for LBFE since Covid amid director’s City Hall win to keep the seniors program going
Poodle skirts, Elvis tunes, and peppermint candy all combined to create a modern-day version of a ‘50s sock hop. But it wasn’t an event for teenagers. Dozens of seniors strutted their stuff on the dance floor, played bingo, and snacked on sweets. The sock hop was the first in-person event Little Brothers – Friends of ...
For teacher and author whose parents fled both Nazis and Russians during WWII, history is in his blood
An anxious call from Henry Michalski’s mother, Felicia, beckoned him into a world of writing, publishing, book tours and promotion – things he knew little about. “She wanted me to write her story and speak to not only the witnesses of the Holocaust but all who came after,” he said. “Apart from my two brothers, ...
Photography instructor says it’s easy – and a way for retirees to get to know their community, meet new people
Jeff Weston, who has been teaching photography part-time at City College of San Francisco since 1988, said people can learn photography easily by watching a video on YouTube. But that, he said can be lonely. Especially for seniors. As for what to photograph, he suggested just walking around the neighborhood. “We all like to think ...
Care, confidence and connections shot portrait photographer to heights of San Francisco and Hollywood social worlds
Russ Fischella was struck by the cover of a Life magazine in the fall of 1970 that featured Martha Mitchell, the flamboyant socialite and wife of then-Attorney General John Mitchell. The glamorized photo transformed the conventionally pretty, middle-aged woman into a beauty, he recalled. At the age of 20 and with only a few photography ...
