Life in the Later Lane
Former art galley president helps people craft their deepest feelings in ‘lasting letters’ to loved ones
Looking out at Monterey Bay from Santa Cruz early one morning last year, a pair of silhouetted...
September 1, 2026
S.F. protest’s Tin Man has a history of making good trouble on behalf of empathy and kindness
Arthur Persyko loves to make trouble. The good kind, that is. As a young man, he protested...
August 24, 2026
Born to dance: Tammy Thornton struts her stuff with the Warriors’ senior dance team
It’s game night at San Francisco’s Chase Center and the Golden State Warriors are not the only...
August 10, 2026
Childhood bond with an older neighbor steered law officer’s choice of career and community work
A tarnished silver coin from 1964, likely worth only $10 to any dealer, reminds Richard Lyons Corriea...
August 2, 2026
As a teacher, playwright & screenwriter, Cary Pepper has lots of inside Hollywood info to share
You probably stream most of your movies. But if you happen to rent a film on old-style...
July 15, 2026
All-women punk band still on stage thanks to leader’s career, which started in a mortuary
Invite Klara Lux somewhere, and she’ll always show up early – except on the rare occasion when...
July 6, 2026
Playwright Lynne Kaufman, the author of two dozen plays and five novels, is still going strong, despite some hiccups
The day after Lynne Kaufman retired in 2005, she woke up in tears. “What had I done?”...
June 29, 2026
A win for people power: Supervisors and mayor restore millions of dollars in cut to services for city’s most vulnerable
A months-long campaign by advocates for seniors, the disabled and other vulnerable populations has convinced San Francisco's...
Following in the footsteps of heroes: My visit to the cradles of Civil Rights
SF SENIORBEAT COLUMN – March 17, 1886. A date you probably never considered. Carroll County, Mississippi. A...
June 4, 2026
Couple’s script for their own movie? Shared creative passions and a bent for banter
“I'm Chiquita Banana, and I'm here to say, bananas have to ripen in a certain way,” Margot...
May 28, 2026
Nonprofit director is happy to bug you, whether you’re 2 or 92, about saving the wild
If you grow up in Los Angeles, where do you find the wild? Norm Gershenz is not...
April 14, 2026
As the city’s older population swells, seniors who can no longer live at home face high costs, limited choices
EDITOR'S NOTE: See full profiles of the seniors interviewed by clicking links within the story. A panoply...
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Reader’s Theater gives people the chance to perform without pressure: no memorizing lines, just building confidence in speaking in front of others
There’s no memorizing lines or pressure to perform in “Acting and Self Expression,” said instructor Kathleen Stefano, “so no stress.” Which makes it a perfect class for anyone who wants to develop self-confidence or just have fun. It’s one of the many classes hosted by the San Francisco Senior Center, housed in a 1939 Streamline ...
People over age 51 remain a steady, sizable portion of people living on the streets and in the shelters of San Francisco
Next time you see a homeless person on a San Francisco street, look again. There’s a good chance that person will be a senior. Since 2009, people over the age of 51 have consistently comprised nearly one-third of the people living on the streets or in shelters in San Francisco. In 2019, the last time ...
Master cobbler does it the old-school way: good prices but paper tickets, cash only – and a bit of chaos that for some customers just adds to the quirky ambience.
It takes a leap of faith to drop your shoes off at Alexander’s on Mission Street, near Valencia. Nicolas Torres is a master cobbler (the shop is named for his son) proud of his work and with no plans to retire. Many YELP reviews sing his praises as a meticulous craftsman of the old school. ...
Tenderloin resident fled the Nazis as a teen, then fought them as a member of the Soviet Red Army
The train steaming east across the Russian heartland was packed with hundreds of refugees and livestock, crammed into every available space in the freezing cars. They clung to the boarding steps, even the roofs. As it fled the onrushing Nazi war machine, the train was attacked from the air. Several cars were destroyed. Fifteen-year-old Yekaterina ...
“Just a people person” has been handing out joy for years, getting back smiles at work and at a home for kids with serious illnesses.
You may not be able to see it, but even covered by a Covid mask, Bobby Thomas’s smile lights up the meat counter he presides over at Andronico’s Market. Day in and day out, the 6-foot-3-inch butcher is there with a kind word and helpful suggestions for his customers at the Inner Sunset store. Barry ...
HOW ABOUT YOU? Covid put my need for intimate relationships and friends into sharp focus
During the first few weeks of the Covid 19 lockdown, my friend and I called each other daily. What a weird circumstance to be in – physically cut off from family and friends. It was unnatural, like a war zone, the virus being the enemy. I also looked forward to 7 p.m., when neighbors would ...
