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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San Francisco’s ‘Woman Lawn Bowler of the Year’ touts age-old sport that’s got something for every age
Christine Raher had never won a trophy in her life, despite being a team competitor in tenpin bowling throughout college. But within eight years of taking up lawn bowling in San Francisco, she has twice been named Woman Lawn Bowler of the Year by the venerable Golden Gate Park club. Raher has been a member and ...
Reframing Aging – Sharing joy never gets old: Bayview woman brings steel drumming and other ‘feel good’ activities to community’s seniors
Is 73 too old to feel beautiful, travel the world, learn a musical instrument or lead an exercise class? Ask any of those questions to 73-year-old Susie Tyner and you’re likely to get a rather astonished look and a firm “No way.” Tyner, who is one of five older adults featured in the city’s recently ...
Reframing Aging – Courage never gets old: A journey from drugs and destitution to role in Apple commercial
On a fine spring afternoon earlier this year, Chet Peeples found himself on Apple’s futuristic Cupertino campus. He wasn’t there as a tourist or a job-hunting techie. Peeples, a 64-year-old recovering addict, was there to appear in a promotional film as a stand-in for Apple CEO Tim Cook. Standing beside Tim Cook seemed utterly unexpected ...
Habit started from thrift leads Chinese singer to vintage dress, fabrics career and reunification with her culture
She’s walking down the street in a stunning vintage Chinese outfit and you think she’s off to model in a fashion show. But that’s typical of Terri Wong. She owns no jeans or sweats. “Since 2013, I have dressed daily in either Chinese or western fashion, or my own knitwear, always with a hat.” She ...
Filmmaker mines lessons for aging well in documentary on the lives of older lesbians in a NorCal health study
Deborah Craig has a certain empathy for older lesbians: She watched her mother come out at age 50. Vulnerabilities felt in aging can be magnified with worries of being accepted, she learned. That was in some part the impetus for Craig’s most recent film, “A Great Ride,” which explores the lives of lesbians aged 69 ...
Meals on Wheels CEO favors low-key style – but with occasional outbursts of ‘unique statement’ pieces
Ashley McCumber, the CEO of Meals on Wheels San Francisco, sported one of his “fun” jackets at the 2019 Norma Satten Community Service Innovation Award. He describes himself as a casual dresser who likes a periodic injection of unique statement pieces. “I’m a gray, blue and brown person with colors like pink and purple thrown in for ...
