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
What a pickle! Sporting seniors seek more space for latest fad in San Francisco
The Crocker Amazon sport complex recently unveiled two, newly resurfaced pickleball/volleyball courts. Volleyball is really popular with 8- to 13-year-old girls, said Facility Coordinator Gerald Reader. But pickleball? Pickleball has been called the fastest growing senior sport in the United States. It’s a blend of tennis, badminton and ping pong, usually played on converted tennis ...
Solo aging: Plan ahead so you’re not growing old without support
“Who’s going to sit by your bed when the time comes?” asks eldercare consultant Betty Burr. If you’re a solo ager, that question may be hard to answer. A solo ager is someone who doesn’t have a spouse or children, or their children are geographically or emotionally unavailable, and there is no other family member ...
First new, affordable senior housing breaks ground in the Mission
Tears and cheers greeted the speakers at the June 20 groundbreaking ceremony for Casa Adelante–1296 Shotwell, the first, new, 100 percent affordable housing project built in the Mission District in the past decade. When completed, the nine-story building will provide 94 units of affordable housing, with on-site supportive services: 74 apartments for low-income seniors, 19 ...
Love of exercise and volunteering leads couple to become team Zumba teachers
Ana Silvia and Irving Rivera, who met in an exercise class at City College, now teach Zumba at the 30th Street Senior Center. Married for 38 years, their love of exercise is matched only by their dedication volunteering. Their volunteering started in their kids’ schools, from kindergarten through high school. Now they teach the Zumba ...
Community group friends give Miraloma Park resident motivation to keep going
Miraloma Park Community Connectors was set up to provide neighbors a place for exercise, conversation, to share skills and hobbies, It’s also a place to make and deepen friendships. For Hildegard “Hilde” Rolfes, it was the key to recovery. A stroke five years ago wiped out her memory, but she has come back strong. And ...
Covering the American Society on Aging Conference: Badge a symbol of belonging to this ‘sea of humanity’
Our Columns My first session was Monday morning at 9 a.m., so I set my iPhone alarm for 6:30. But I had never used the alarm and didn’t trust it would work – I’m such a Luddite. I woke and 5 a.m. and dozed and woke off and on until the alarm went off – as ...
