Life in the Later Lane
Three generations of a San Francisco family thrived running popular oceanside eatery overlooking Sutro Baths
It was, you might say, the last breakfast. On a summer Saturday in 2020, dozens of family...
Art and science vied for Sarah Young’s heart: Both found a place
Few who end up in the hospital are likely to be thinking about whether there’s a sufficient,...
Baking for bodily autonomy: Nan Wiener tackles controversial end of Roe v. Wade with brownies, macaroons, muffins and more
SENIOR BEAT GUEST COLUMN – Many years ago, I spent a year baking desserts in a restaurant...
New author and former drinker embracing alternative therapies to help others break the habit
Seated in the backroom of a café on Polk Street, Kevagne Kalisch leans against the wall and...
From fisherman to cook to inmate to owner: Frankie Balistreri’s odyssey to opening his dream restaurant
When his mother, Lucrezia, was diagnosed with cancer, then 25-year-old Frankie Gaetano Balistreri cared for her at...
Wisdom of the Japanese Tea Garden helped volunteer Chrisie Giordano come to accept a child’s absence
It’s an overcast summer morning, and Chrisie Giordano is leading a tour of Golden Gate Park’s Japanese...
It’s the little things that count for Margaret Lew, swept up in the world of miniature craftmanship
If you think dollhouses are just for children, you haven’t met the artisans and collectors, like Margaret...
Desire to learn mah-jongg helped Stephanie Riger overcome her own biases toward seniors
SENIOR BEAT GUEST COLUMN – Even though I’m 78 years old, I have resisted seeing myself as...
Retirement can be scary. Library worker hoping the end of his career will be the start of a happy new chapter
Seventy-one-year-old Richard Marino is on the cusp of retirement. And it’s making him anxious. He’s gone through...
German Gonzalez, the maestro of Golden Gate Park, has spread music and joy for more than 50 years
He was in the sixth grade and really wanted to be in the school band. But his...
At 67, Lauren McNamara has embarked on a new career and she’s charming customers at a downtown hotspot.
Lauren McNamara makes sure to remember where the regular clientele at Sam’s Grill like to sit. She...
You can get — almost — anything you want at Joseph Omran’s Nob Hill grocery store
LeBeau Market calls itself Nob Hill’s Community Grocery Store, where you can get almost everything: from Lay’s...
Deborah Drysdale: social justice evangelist, bridge instructor, and amateur mixologist
Summers for Deborah Drysdale meant idyllic days at her grandparents’ cattle ranch in the Blue Ridge mountains...
Jonah Raskin: Tireless Bay Area peace activist, prolific writer, and educator
Jonah Raskin was 10 in 1952, during the height of the anti-communist fervor of the Cold War....
She brought the magic to the screen, finding the perfect San Francisco location to shoot movies, TV shows, and commercials
If you’d been walking along one of the steepest streets in San Francisco one sunny afternoon in...
She relives history as a guide on the SS Jeremiah O’Brien, one of the WWII Liberty ships that brought troops and cargo to Normandy beaches
Eve Maher hands out programs to visitors boarding the SS Jeremiah O’Brien for a tour and memorial...
Pen pals from afar build rich relationship over 60 years through old-fashioned correspondence – no WhatsApp about it
A SENIOR BEAT GUEST COLUMN – My correspondence with Jutta Mengersen (now Brockhaus), the “World’s Ideal Pen...
This Mexican immigrant fought in the ring, started a dozen restaurants, raised five children, and never let defeat wear him down.
When 17-year-old Jose Heriberto Garcia came courting the young girl who’d become his wife, his future mother-in-law...
The ghosts of San Francisco’s past are still there if you only look and listen
SENIOR BEAT COLUMN: I got my first job in San Francisco nearly 40 years ago, in the...
Mutual support but separate hobbies and workshops keep crafty couple’s marriage going strong
A stained glass window by Bill and a "fishing" quilt Etta made for him adorn a hallway...
All Posts
Getting seniors to exercise is final and favorite of her many careers, from Levi’s to KRON’s Bay TV newsroom
Sue Mittelman confesses to being a procrastinator. As such, she avows Walt Disney’s wise words: “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” It’s advice she wishes her mother had heeded and one she preaches as a leader of senior exercise groups. Mittelman, whose occupations have ranged from promotion and merchandising ...
UCSF medical students learn how to communicate with older patients – with respect and empathy
Coping with a series of migraine headaches is unpleasant enough. But being patronized and belittled when seeking treatment at an emergency room adds a good deal of insult to an already painful condition — especially if you’re an older adult. That’s what happened to Yael Li-Ron, a retired magazine editor, when she sought treatment at ...
In her 89th year, devout and disciplined Bayview super-volunteer keeps on serving her community
Beverly Ann Johnson Taylor, or Miss Taylor as she’s known to the many organizations for whom she volunteers, celebrates her 89th birthday this August. For 40 years, she has taught in the public schools, deriving both personal satisfaction and numerous accolades for her service. Retirement only opened new opportunities to serve her church and community. ...
She grew up enjoying symphonies at Stern Grove, then devoted herself as a volunteer after retiring
Native San Franciscan Susan Leurey grew up in an Italian household where the stirring music of Puccini, Verdi and Rossini operas undulated throughout. When her mother took her and her sister to the summer Stern Grove Festivals, Leurey also developed a love of symphonies. “It took about 10 seconds after I retired to decide to ...
Puerto Rican native who revived Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts ‘keeping the house in order’ since Covid-19
Bringing the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts back to life was a natural fit for Jennie Rodriguez, who became its director 33 years ago. She had experience in many of the issues facing the community: Asylum, tenants’ rights and childcare. But she also had been involved in the arts, business and publishing. She had ...
She had to choose between two loves, but one came back and now showing off at the de Young Museum
Corey Weiner was shocked when her portrait of an elderly woman was selected for exhibit at The de Young Open, an online celebration of the museum’s 125th anniversary. For one, odds were against her; 11,500 individual artworks were submitted by 6,190 artists from the nine Bay Area counties. The work of only 763 artists made ...
