Walking down 24th Street brings out a parade of both stars and the
not-so-well-known folks, but there are miles and miles of yarns – about
people we know, people who introduce us to other people, familiar faces to
whom we introduce ourselves.

Three of my favorite stories: phoning up Armand Volkas, PhD. after reading
an article in the S.F. Chronicle featuring his work in group therapy with
adult children of Nazis and adult children of Holocaust survivors. He also
worked with Armenians, Turks, Palestinian and Israelis. As someone who
survived the Holocaust, Armand has personal experience and can facilitate
people to act out complex narratives. Mireya Alejo joined Armand and with
DVD interviews described the struggles of the indigenous people in Southern
Mexico. Another story: The diminutive red-headed dancer Trina Robbins who
overheard me talking about a series of recent performer/speakers including
Cara Black, mystery author of “Murder in the Marais,” and Leonard Pitt,
puppeteer, expert on the Irish healer Valentine Greatrakes and on Paris.
“Oh, that's interesting!” she piped in. “I was a dancer in the Chinese
nightclubs and I have a book coming out!” So we signed her up as a speaker.

Then there was the time I almost literally ran with my grocery cart into one
of my favorite people. I had read but never met Betita Martinez, authority
on Chicano history. She gave us a fascinating evening.

A number of people connected with Noe Valley Ministry and Noe Valley
Community Center were also tapped as resources. Phoebe McAfee shared her
weavings, and her husband, Richard Van Kooy, read some of his short stories.
Irene Kaufman showed her drawings and her daughter Sara Templeton her
dancing and dance lore. Dr. Paul Linde told tales of his experiences as
emergency doctor at San Francisco General. Nursery School director emeritus
Nina Youkelson told of exploring her roots in Russia on the evening she
shared with a couple of senior lunch attendees who were inveterate
travelers. Also Shravan Neftali, a regular at Martha’s Cafe, showed a DVD
about the orphanage he supports in Nepal and his free lunch program, “Curry
Without Worry.”

We also drew internationally known people such as Bishop Swing, founder of
United Religions Initiative, and writer, spiritual expert and therapist Jean
Shinoda Bolen, as well as Devorah Major, former San Francisco Poet Laureate,
author Susan Griffin and community organizer/ co-founder of NOW, Aileen
Hernandez.

A cornucopia of synchronistic meetings on buses, on street corners, phone
calls from friends and friends of attendees keeps the beat going on and the
Odd Mondays Series fresh and unsual. Thanks to the Ministry for taking us
on as a reduced-fee project; it is always a free admission event!

And many many thanks to all of our presenters! A hopefully complete list follows (please
let us know if we inadvertently left you out!):
Leonard Pitt, Lyzette Wanzer, Jeanne Powell, Trina Robbins, Hazel Reitz, Vincent L. Carrella,
Margaret Kaufman, Dr. Paul Linde, Peter Berg, Chi Jang Yin, Michael Nagler, Cara Black,
Rachel Rodríguez, Joanna McClure, David Meltzer, Delia Moon, Maurice Bassan, Manfred Wolf,
Rabbi Leo Abrami, Li Miao Lovett, Lisa Carlson, Nina Serrano, Neeli Chercovski, Elizabeth
(Betita) Martínez, Janet Winans, Kathleen McClung, Joan Sutton, Susan Griffin, Mike Miller,
Peter Weltner, Bill Mayer, Peter Neal Carroll, Jeannette Ferrary, Amy Gorman, Greg Young,
Paul D. Blanc, M.D., Rhoda Curtis, Katharine Harer, Emmanuel Williams, Edith E. Hartnett,
Ramón Sender Barayón, Summer Brenner, Joe Sutton, Jay Ruben Dayrit, Brian Komei Dempster,
Eileen Hernandez, Effie Lee Morris, Dorothy Patterson, Stuart Sovatsky, Chiori Santiago,
Abby Wasserman Barbara Meislin, Margaret Bean, Norita Vlach, Margot Farrington, Kim Shuck,
Anneliese Korner-Kalman, Mary Joy Quinn, Sally Calef, Luis Carrillo Miranda, Gerald Rosen,
Cyra McFadden, devorah major, Helen Gabriel Major, Dan Bessie, Ianthe Brautigan, Emily Leider,
William Vlach, Terry Berlier, Gregory Moor, Alicia Bay Laurel, Julie Dillon Silvia Nakkach,
Steve Stein and vocalist Ellen Curr, Kay Noyes, Ralph Dranow, Carmen Barsotti Kay Jorgensen,
Deborah Alvarez, Willa Seldon, Susan Stern, Spain Rodriguez, David Lazarus, Thea Sullivan,
Nina Youkelson, Bill & Lois Hoskins, Armand Volkas Mireya Alejo, Diane LeBow, Susan K. Diamond, MSW, MS,
Gerard Heather, John Montgomery, Lois Hoskins, Prof. Barry Schutz, Marlene Aron,
Dick Meister, roundtable “The Greening of Noe Valley, ” Mary Ann Whitten, Lawrence Goodman,
Contributors to “From Our Side of the Fence Growing Up in America’s Concentration Camps,”
Lisa Jaicks, Rachel Laws, Anthony Lawlor, Bevan Dufty, Sara Templeton, Irene Asturias Kaufman,
Dr. Bryna Siegal, Peter and Mary Farquhar, Frankenthaler “Parents’ Circle in Israel,”
Rev. Keenan Kelsey of The Noe Valley Ministry, Ifthekhar Hai of the Islamic Society, Rabbi Julie
Saxe-Taller of Temple Sherith Israel, Souleiman Ghali of The Islamic Society, Rabbi Michael Lerner
of The Beyt Tikkun Congregation, Rachel Eryn Kalish , Phoebe McAfee, weaver, Richard Van Kooy,
MUNI retiree and writer; “In Memory of Marla Ruzicka and Faiz Al Salaam” Jonathan Dimmock,
Robert Howard, Jan Roosevelt Katten Rita Maran, Kevin Danaher, Guitarist Sarah Black, Gimmy Park-Li
moderator, Jane Morrison, Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, Elias Botto, Michael Roosevelt Katten.