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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Neighbors giving back make the world a better place – for themselves, too
CREATING COMMUNITY – Al Crowell arranges speakers and dinners for Sierra Club meetings.Margaret Graf advises the city on senior issues and launched “Senior Power!”Ed Mason monitors Google commuter buses for violations of city regulations.Ellen Zhou searches for seniors to serve on San Francisco’s Civil Grand Jury.Arete Nicholas answers community questions and teaches workshops on gardening.Jerry ...
Experience, maturity give senior volunteers a leg up and new life in San Francisco supervisors’ offices
“It’s good to be around people and around the supervisor. I’m honored to be in his office. This is the happiest I’ve ever been in my life.” – Nancy Young Jesus Barragan remembers a caller to Supervisor Hillary Ronen’s office who had received a notice from Medicare saying her payments were going to be ...
Kids, parents, grandparents and all kind of trucks: Enjoying the magic at McLaren Park
It was a big day in McLaren Park– warm and sunny – perfect for parents and grandparents to enjoy the magic combination of children and trucks. The Park and Recreation Department’s second annual Big Truck Day, on Oct. 10, drew more than 400 children and nearly as many parents and grandparents. Beeps, hums and roars ...
Homeowner seeks lodger. Renter seeks home share. Home Match puts them together.
Joyce Calagos, 71, a homeowner in the Crocker-Amazon neighborhood of San Francisco, is determined to live out her days in her own home. Social Security isn’t going to cover all her expenses. So, she began looking for a roommate. On the other side of the coin is David Reffkin, 67. He’s looking for a room ...
Accumulating wisdom: from teen Olympian to gay pioneer to new discoveries at 67
From reaching for gold at the Olympics at age 14, and coming out as gay in Portland, Ore., from letting go of a 30-year marriage to walking 500 miles along Spain’s Camino de Santiago, Carolyn Wood has accumulated some wisdom. That was in evidence Tuesday, Aug. 28, at the Institute on Aging, when Wood read ...
Dedicated China volunteer eventually adopts, now hoping for grand-panda kids
Carol Magidson, having no children of her own, adopted a giant panda. And someday, she hopes to be a grand-panda-parent. In the late 1960s, Magidson and her mother went to London specially to see the giant pandas and became entranced. After many trips to China to visit and work in the panda reserves, Magidson,78, adopted ...
