The Stories and Donation Links

They are 1st generation immigrants who met at a Bulgarian Folk Dance. I actually asked them for a dance demo but they had to leave the party early after a long day at Tunnel Tops. I met them through Tani, one of my baristas at Andytown, the coffee shop inside our party space.  I visited their truck the next day to tell him how delicious everyone said their food was.

This is what we served: *Country Style Ribs  (Slow cooked in Traditional Stoneware)

*Yogurt Marinated Chicken (Grilled Mary's Chicken),

*Herb Polenta Cakes (GF) 

*Roasted Honey Gold Potatoes (GF) 

*Traditional Bean Stew (GF) 

*Spring Green Salad (Organic Mixed Greens, Easter Radishes, Cucumbers, Green Onions, House Vinaigrette) 

*Spinach Banitsa (Our Novelty! Hand Rolled Phyllo Dough Rosettes with Organic Spinach, Eggs and Bulgarian White Cheese. 

Visit their food truck at Tunnel Tops or Levi's Plaza. Click here. 

• Ocean Plant strives to provide an intelligent and thoughtful place for community-based “blue” interaction at the physical edge of the of San Francisco and the Pacific Ocean, where human and environmental interaction is most raw and real. The vision is to create a human-centric, sensory rich and healthy gathering and to share this place with our partners and neighbors. 

• It’s only fitting that the first speaker  is the Ocean Plant architect/designer of our party space. In Nate's words, "Steve is a great  embodiment of what we are trying to accomplish here. It's a vision that demonstrates the linkage between people + space = place."

• My band played "Burning Down the House" from the Talking Heads

  • I and a neighbor were tasked with finding a suitable keyboard to add to their games and community space, and that's where music in that space was birthed. Nate (who plays bass) and I along with others have played different events since. We span rock, R/B, and Nate's favorite, Hawaiian.

• Click here to read about the vision of Ocean Plant. And click here to read Nate's bio and work 

• • A centering practice for me is biking down to the ocean, literally to the edge, and, touching the ocean with a band of people-centered advocates. 

  • One friend who is central to both of these practices is Preston, the organizer of our ocean-touching gathering called Bike Religion. And he's also the keyboardist/vocalist for our band. 

  • We typically meet 7:30am at the Ocean on Thursday, then go get coffee and talk about advocacy initiatives we're imagining and/are working on, cheering each other on, before biking off to work. I’m inspired for action every time. Let me know if you're interested in joining us sometime. 

  • To accompany Preston's sharing, we played the most obvious of all songs, "Bicycle Race" by Queen. If you're familiar with the song, we left out the bridge because of the lyrical content.

The best article that uncovers Kristin's art, craft, and vision can be found by clicking here.  Click here to donate to "The Invisible Mammal" by Kristin Tieche. 

• • We saw a trailer for her new film "The Invisible Mammal" which just premiered May 3rd. Click here for a story about the film.  

  • Kristin was the first person I met from “Bike Religion” through the former D1 supervisor, mutual friends of ours.  The  district supervisor appointed Kristin to be on the bicycle advisory committee. Each district has one. Kristin serves as the vice chair and serves this district, D1. 

  • And one thing I appreciate about Kristin is her humility. I’ve never heard her say nor even hint what I wrote about Kristin in the Evite, the fact that she’s an award-winning producer, director. She’s also a celebrated film instructor. But women like her get passed over in her industry all the time. Just look at the Oscars. So I’ve invited her to talk briefly about what keeps her going in this male-dominated  industry. 

  • To accompany Kristin's sharing, the band played "Black Magic Woman" from Santana.

• Survivor is an understatement. Rowena and her family and children have lived under threat of danger from the most powerful man in Hollywood. She came out on the Today show in front of millions of viewers. We didn’t have time for her to share her whole story.  This link is one of many articles on her and the movement, and this one links to an article she wrote for the New York Times. 

• We have many mutual friends, but we both met through a book idea feedback group for author Russell Jeung, the founder of "Stop AAPI Hate" and chair of SFSU's ethnic studies department. 

• If you Google her, you'll see that she's a public official who is facing a lot of heat. I appreciate the fact that Rowena is an advocate, not a politician; she's the voice of the people she serves in Palo Alto. 

• Her sharing was preceeded by Gloria Gaynor's "I will Survive".

• More than that, he's been one of my closest friends for the last 15 years or so. We've laughed together, reveled in RB music together, taught together in churches, on the streets, and at SFSU. And we've cried together at injustices we've witnessed.  We're also sojourners in influencing our respective ethnic groups how to empathize, how to take down walls of hostility that exists between Asian and Black bodies. 

• Growing up in SF, I always had African-American classmates. Unfortunately, the African American population experienced displacement, much like many other ethnic neighborhoods. Chinatown remains only because the idea was sold to the City that it can be a money-making "thematic" hood, with architecture to resemble what White people think Chinese buildings should look like. (this is why Chinatowns throughout the US have the same "oriental" motif, except for LV's) 

• Kirk spoke about how he finds joy and keeps himself centered while his people are being displaced. 

• Kirk's sharing was preceeded by Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On." 

• Liz is the chair of Sunset Youth Services. She's also an urban educational specialist. By day, she's the principal of Glen Park Elementary. I really appreciate her love for the kids, and the weight she carried against forces that threaten the educational environment of the children, especially as of late. 

• My family has given and received a lot from SYS. They've literally been a lifeline.

• CPS once erroneously removed our son from our home, ironically on the eve of an SYS fundraiser gala we were attending. I was separated from my family for two months before the case was dropped. SYS provided the support and hooked us up with the attorneys.  A good number of invited guests at the party came to our support. 

• Our family has since volunteered there in a variety of ways; my son volunteered weekly, and even recorded a Fortnight Podcast there in ther professional studio. 

• SYS advocates for hundreds of kids caught in the system, and more than just offering programs, they offer belonging. Relationship and policy work hand in hand here. 

• Consider donating at this link, esp as non-profits like theirs are losing funding. 

• Melanie contributed vocals on two of our songs; she never played with this band until that evening. She and another special needs parent and I play music together, so I am very familiar with her chops! There's something very special sharing music with families with neurodiverse members. 

• Melanie's daughter Teagan and my son Jason met each other through the Brady Therapeutic Horse Riding program where kids like her daughter, who cannot walk independently, can get on a horse and experience mobility in unimaginable ways! There's a beauty in the irony that horses, typically thought to be accessible only for the elite, are made available for neurodiverse youth. There's a powerful holistic formation and therapy that happens on a horse.  Both our families ride and volunteer there, including Jason.  Let me know if you want to visit. We're located behind the zoo. Spend a minute just looking at the pictures of the kids and the horses here. You can donate on that page too. 

• To say that our families have gone through ups and downs together is an understatement. We're blessed to sojourn with Melanie's family. 

• Melanie spoke about LGS, which her daughter has. LGS is a  treatment resistant form of severe epilepsy. She has suffered through HUNDREDS of DAILY seizures, resulting in falls, bruises, respiratory distress, developmental delays, and more. But she is still fighting, every day, to bring the world more of her amazing smiles and joyful spirit. Please read the complete story and consider donating on this page. 

• After Melanie spoke, she segued into the Stone's "Wild Horses." 

• He supplied all the mocktails for my party...and also joined the afterparty band with vocals and ukulele. 

• I met Joshua shortly after he opened Ocean Beach Cafe. He had an open mike night, and we'd play a few songs here and there on his father-built Hawaiian ukelele. 

• a wonderfully talented bartender, he was also an addict. After getting sobor through a program, he began his journey of non-alchoholic drinks, resulting in Ocean Beach Cafe. 

• Their Mission? To disrupt the alcohol industry by building the largest non-alcoholic beverage selection in the world. Read more here. 

• That's the fitting name for our band, since all our public performances are at Ocean Plant. 

• I've introduced everyone except for two. Sid M. is next to me. We played music together in the past; he's a songwriter, and he's a founding board member at my work. He offered to step in on guitar so I could socialize and eat the leftovers and cake! 

• On the far right is Jeffrey G. He and his family have seen us through ups and downs, even going to court with us one time when we were caught up in CPS. 

• Though Sid and Jeffrey never met, they both played huge roles when I was going through CPS. Sid held things down at work, while  Jeffrey and his wife served us  (among others at the party) while I was during that dark seasonm, Sid led my board to continue our work)

• And of course, not in this picture is Melanie from above. 

• Grateful to have a personal connection with each band member.