Page 31 – Good Times

Clean and Coastal

Wellness

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May 20, 2025

I recently stumbled onto a tool called Google Trends—basically a peek into the collective search brain of the internet. Curious to see what health topics locals are into, I set my region to Santa Cruz and clicked the “Health” category.

What I got was less “inspiring lifestyle ideas” and more a laundry list of diet-related diseases. Not exactly the vibe I was going for.

So I pivoted to “Food & Drink,” hoping for something a little more, well, digestible. This time, the top searches included NFL players, “chicken nuggets” and “McDonald’s chicken nuggets”—twice, thanks to a typo. Fascinating, but still not the fuel-for-longevity content I had in mind.

Then I hit something interesting.

Under the “phrases” tab, one search stood out: “Cheap healthy meals for a week.”

It was the top search phrase in the United States that week.

A great topic for a wellness column, but I had to ask—healthy according to whom?

That’s always the question. This week, my answer is: healthy according to Jeannie Rice.

If you haven’t heard of her yet, Rice is the 77-year-old marathoner who just crushed the 2025 Boston Marathon, taking first place in the 75–79 age group. She’s been called a “medical marvel” with the body of a 25-year-old and the training regimen to prove it—logging 100 miles a week like it’s no big deal.

Sure, her workout routine is intense, but in multiple interviews, Rice gives just as much credit to her clean, no-nonsense diet. We’re talking mostly plant-based, low sugar, high fiber, and absolutely no junk food. No magic supplements, no trendy restrictions. Just real food, three times a day.

Inspired by Jeannie’s simple approach to eating—and her astonishing endurance—I set out to craft a week of budget-friendly, high-performance meals made from the good stuff we’ve got right here in Santa Cruz. Think local produce, clean proteins, whole grains, and enough flavor to keep things interesting.

It’s not about chasing a world record (though hey, never say never). It’s about fueling your life with intention—whether you’re running marathons or just running errands.

Stay tuned for a full week’s worth of cheap, clean, and coastal meals—Santa Cruz style.

Fresh, Healthy & Under $100

It all starts at the market. Shop local where you can—Staff of Life, Shopper’s Corner, New Leaf, the farmers markets, even the harbor fish stand. Bring your list, ignore the processed food, the buy-one-get-one signs, and priortize organic produce, especially with greens, thin skinned produce and berries.

Brown rice and steel-cut oats
Cage-free eggs and plain Greek yogurt
Sustainably caught local fish
Tofu (for a plant-based protein swap)
Lentils
Leafy greens (kale, spinach, chard)
Sweet potatoes
Tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, broccoli, plus mushrooms, zucchini or your favorite veggies
Apples and (fresh or frozen) organic berries, melon, citrus or your favorite fruit
Lemons, organic garlic, red onion
Whole wheat bread or wraps
Hummus and tamari, or your favorite sauce
Avocado
Extra virgin olive oil, rice or flavored vinegar, herbs and spices
Cottage cheese
Walnuts, almonds and pumpkin seeds
Green tea

The 7 Day Plan

This plan closely mirrors Jeannie’s eating style: 3 meals a day, minimal snacking, heavy on fiber and protein, light on sugar. No frills, just function—and flavor.

Here’s a sample menu:

Monday

Breakfast: Steel-cut oats with berries and a spoonful of plain Greek yogurt

Lunch: Grilled fish over mixed greens with cucumber, tomato, and lemon-olive oil dressing

Dinner: Baked sweet potato with sautéed spinach, garlic, and a boiled egg

Tuesday

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with kale and whole grain toast

Lunch: Lentil and vegetable soup with a side of cottage cheese and sliced apple

Dinner: Grilled fish or tofu with brown rice and steamed broccoli

Wednesday

Breakfast: Oatmeal with cinnamon, nuts and diced apple

Lunch: Chopped veggie salad with hard-boiled egg and avocado

Dinner: Stir-fried tofu with carrots, greens, chopped almonds and tamari over brown rice

Thursday

Breakfast: Yogurt bowl with oats, banana slices, and chia seeds

Lunch: Wrap with sustainably caught tinned fish (salmon or tuna), spinach, cucumber, and hummus

Dinner: Roasted sweet potato, kale, and chickpea bowl with lemon tahini drizzle

Friday

Breakfast: Cottage cheese with berries and flaxseeds

Lunch: Greek-style rice bowl with tomato, feta, cucumber, and herbs

Dinner: Wild fish with roasted veggies and a grain side

Saturday

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with sautéed greens and tomato

Lunch: Leftover veggie bowl or wrap with protein of choice

Dinner: Simple vegetable soup with whole grain toast

Sunday

Breakfast: Oatmeal again—this time with blueberries and nuts

Lunch: Big leafy salad with egg or tofu, avocado, and vinaigrette

Dinner: Brown rice with stir-fried vegetables and a drizzle of olive oil

This sample meal plan is a composite example based on the foods Rice includes in her interviews, not a prescription to marathon runner health. Instead it’s a high-level view of the role of different nutrients in one uber-healthy athletes’ diets. The daily snack is not included, nor is the “lean chicken” you may see if you do your own research, due to a lack of detail on the portion size and quality of those items.

In looking at this high-level view of the type of diet proven to support health and longevity, what do you notice in comparison to the way you eat now? And are there any takeaways you can use moving forward?

Eat with Intention, Live with Vitality

Like Jeannie Rice, I believe food is fuel—but it’s also medicine, pleasure, and habit. We live in a fast-food, snack-centric culture where it’s hard not to graze or snack, but that leads to mindless eating.

There’s lots to be said for three balanced meals a day, planning ahead and keeping it simple. It’s a nice balance between discipline, flavor and simplicity.

This concept works even better in Santa Cruz, where we have the privilege of year-round produce, wild seafood, and a community that values wellness. With a little planning and a reset on what healthy food actually looks like, you can eat to energize—not just survive, but thrive. As I love to demonstrate in my workshops, plant-based foods can easily be the most delicious choice as well.

The bottom line is, you don’t need to run marathons to feel your best—just start with real food and make a choice to mindfully nourish your body at every meal, one delicious bite at a time.

Elizabeth Borelli is a longevity coach and wellness guide who brings people together through workshops, Mediterranean-inspired living, and mindful community connection. Find wellness tips and recipes at ElizabethBorelli.com.

Highlands Fling

Vine & Dine

Josie Cowden

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May 20, 2025

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By Josie Cowden

Although Anthony Craig has been turning out fine wines for a long time, his career in the wine biz was a twist of fate.

As a trained Shakespearean actor—hence the name Sonnet for his wine label—he was hoping to make it in Hollywood but things didn’t turn out as planned. In 1991 he answered an ad for a cellar worker at David Bruce Winery in Los Gatos, which led to his interest in winemaking.

Fast forward to the present. Now, as well as making wine for his own Sonnet Wine Cellars, this British man also crafts wines for many other wineries, including Silver Mountain Vineyards in Los Gatos.

And Craig’s 2022 Sonnet Pinot Noir ($48), made with grapes from Tondré Grapefield in the Santa Lucia Highlands, is a testament to his skills. This luscious pinot has “the typical spiciness of the Highlands appellation, coupled with a fantastic depth of tart red cherry fruit.”

Sonnet Wines are available at Silver Mountain Vineyards via the partnership he has with them.

Silver Mountain Vineyards, 328 Ingalls St., Santa Cruz, and 269 Silver Mountain Drive, Los Gatos, 408-835-4719. SonnetWineCellars.com

Stroll and Snack

Don’t miss the opportunity to sample delicious food from some of the best restaurants in downtown Santa Cruz at the Santa Cruz Restaurant Walk. Participants offer small bites to showcase their cuisine in this fun event. Organized by the Capitola Coast Lions Club, the event is 5:30-8:30pm on Wednesday, May 28. Tickets are $44.

Street Talk

Street Talk

John Koenig

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May 20, 2025

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What historic event would you want to witness or be a part of?

I think I would probably choose the civil rights march in Selma—on the bridge in Selma. I would participate in the march.

Frank Richardson, 58, Tech

Six: The Musical is about the lives of the six wives of Henry VIII. I would love to have seen the premiere production … in 2017. Or I would go back in time and see what happened between Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn.

Emma Feeney, 32, Speech-Language Pathologist/Actress

It’s a toss-up between the Stonewall Riot and the first Ramones show at CBGB. And I’d like to see some inspirational speech before something historic happened, like in Shakespeare’s Henry V, but for real.

Cedric Van Hooft, 43, Fire Safety Technician

Dancing on the dance floor in the Cement Ship. They would have big parties, and it was quite elegant. I think that would be so much fun. It used to be quite the thing to go out and have a night there.

Kendra Underwood, 45, Retired

Seeing gladiator fighting in the Coliseum. Anything with tigers or lions.

Lamar Harris, 32, Singer/Musician

The Stonewall Riots. The history is impressive and beautiful and something we need to remember and continue to uphold to this day. I would love to be able to participate in such an important part of queer history.

Katiana Liebetrau, 21, Student at Cabrillo College

I would want to meet and greet Neil Armstrong with a cup of tea when he landed on the moon for the first time.

Joyful Heart, 60-ish, Street Talk regular, historian/philosopher, bass guitarist

Cleanup Day Draws Hundreds

Local News

Todd Guild

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May 20, 2025

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Hundreds of people gathered May 10 on beaches, in neighborhoods and along riverways to participate in the second-annual Pitch In All Santa Cruz Cleanup Day.

The event is organized by the Trash Talkers, a group of elected officials, community members, nonprofits and governmental organizations, formed with the goal of ridding the county of litter.

“I’m here because if people didn’t clean up, our county would be disgusting,” said Sam Sheridan, 10, who was gathering trash on Seabright Beach with his family.

Trash Talkers founder Sally-Christine Rogers said that 60 organizations were participating in cleanup events from Davenport to the Pajaro River, in the forests and mountains and rivers.

“Our goal is to make Santa Cruz the cleanest in the state,” she said.

Coastal Watershed Council Executive Director Laurie Egan said that the San Lorenzo River—where a group of elected officials gathered to lick off the day’s events—was once the focal point of Santa Cruz.

“…And we believe it can be again,” she said.

The cleanup day, Egan said, meshed perfectly with the Watershed Council’s mission to preserve the river’s ecosystems.

“We know, you know, I know, we all know as a community that a clean and healthy environment is the foundation for a thriving and healthy community,” she said.

Keeping riverways clean is more than just aesthetic. It also benefits the ecosystems, since it flows to the Pacific Ocean, as well as the people.

The city of Santa Cruz gets 60% of its water from the river, according to the Watershed Council.

And as the city grows—as evidenced by massive housing developments in the downtown area—the county should carefully protect the natural environment as well, said Watershed Council board chair Eva Salas.

“We have turned our back to the river, but there is an opportunity to create awareness of its importance,” she said.

Santa Cruz County History Fair set for May 17

Todd Guild and Tarmo Hannula

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May 14, 2025

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Santa Cruz County History Fair set for May 17

In the late 1800s, Claus Spreckels ran a mill that processed locally grown sugar beets, a thriving industry that is generally credited with seeing Santa Cruz County through troubled economic times.

But when Spreckels tried to underpay the Japanese community—cutting their wages in half—they walked, and took up strawberry farming they learned from Chinese immigrants that came before them.

The ripple effect from that decision had an enormous impact on Santa Cruz County, catalyzing the agriculture industry that would follow.

“The rest is history, so to speak,” says Bill Beecher, a volunteer with Pajaro Valley Historical Association (PVHA). “There are just unbelievable histories here.”

That is just a tiny sliver of Santa Cruz County’s history, a tapestry of people, places and events that tell the story of the region.

On May 17, local organizations that preserve the county’s history for the public will come together for the Santa Cruz County History Fair, held this year at the Watsonville Buddhist Temple.

“It’s a one-stop-shop to come find out about all of the history-related organizations in the entire county, what their focuses are, and what they can see if they visit that location,” PVHA volunteer Georg Romero explains.

PHOTO HISTORY Workers take in an iceberg lettuce harvest at the Eaton Lettuce Packing Shed in Watsonville in 1952. photo courtesy Pajaro Valley Historical Association

This year’s event will be co-hosted by Watsonville Library, Santa Cruz Public Library, UC Santa Cruz and the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History, among others.

This research can be as simple as curiosity about the people who have attended local schools, Romero says, pointing to a shelf full of old Watsonville High School yearbooks: “We have Manzanitas going back to 1907.”

For its part in the history fair, PVHA will have old photos, artifacts, posters, books and selections of vintage clothing, among other things.

Also on board at the festival will be an early 1900s fire engine thanks to the Watsonville Fire Department’s Chief Gene Friend Museum.

Past events held in other parts of the county have drawn hundreds of people—from families with children to people curious about their ancestors.

And that knowledge is essential for anyone, Romero said.

“You can’t know who you are without knowing where you came from, and where you’re living,” he said.

The Santa Cruz County History Fair is scheduled for May 17 from noon to 4pm at the Watsonville Buddhist Temple at 423 Bridge St. For information, visit santacruzhistoryfair.wordpress.com.

Street Talk

Street Talk

John Koenig

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May 14, 2025

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How are you celebrating Mother’s Day?

We’re from Monterey, but this is our go-to. We like to shop and eat. Kianti’s is our traditional place, regardless of what time it is, that’s where we go.

Mariah Drain, 30, with Paisley, 10

We come together and visit Santa Cruz. We go to the beach, to the coffee shop—a little of everything. We went to the antique show today for the first time.

Wendy Drain, 55

Sleeping in! You sleep in and then you text, “I’m awake” and you get breakfast in bed, with flowers and a card, and coffee. Then we went to Davenport and sat on the beach and ate pastries, and then we took a bike ride, and then some quiet time, and then we took another bike ride. And now we’re doing a barbecue tonight.

Chelsea Schultz, 34, Sales

I make it my daughter’s day, because without her I wouldn’t be a mother. We’re going to the movies, and she gets to choose the movie. She’s seen Sinners already and wants to see it with me, so this is my first time.

Trish Beckwith, 61, CPA, with Gwen, 21, Cook

Sadly my first-born adult child passed away. I have his ashes with me today, and I’m having some quiet time. I had two sons, so I enjoy time with my living adult child. A tradition from my husband’s grampa is cooking breakfast outdoors—eggs and Portuguese linguiça sausage—and that’s part of our Mother’s Day tradition.

Arianna Bunting, 49, Jewelry Artist / Metal Detecting Treasure Hunter

Coming to Santa Cruz. First we went to the ice cream place, then we went to the toy store, and then we ate, and now we’re going to the candy store.

Tia Fechter, 42, Psychometrician, with Thea, 8, Expert Slime Maker

Well-Composed Pride

Music

Christina Waters

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May 14, 2025

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New Music Works’ final concert of the season, 50 Years of LGBTQ+ Pride in Santa Cruz, is special for several reasons. First, it’s part of a much bigger month-long celebration (visit santacruzpride.org for details). Second, it showcases a new work commissioned by Tom Ellison—Here to there, then to now—with music composed by Michael McGushin. The piece for choral ensemble came about through an alliance between Ellison’s poetic text and McGushin’s original music.

Good Times: When did your involvement with New Music Works begin?

Tom Ellison: Back in the mid ’90s my husband Larry and I ran into a small orchestra ensemble busking in Santa Cruz. They were quirky and interesting. Turns out it was Phil Collins (not the rock star with the same name) with some of the members of New Music Works ensemble. Knowing my love for contemporary music, Larry encouraged me to connect with Phil. I did, and joined the board in 1995.

Why is this gay pride anniversary personally significant?

TE: When I arrived in Santa Cruz in 1973, I still had one foot inside and one foot outside of the closet. That didn’t last for very long in Santa Cruz. Attending my first Pride in Santa Cruz was a significant milestone in my journey to self-acceptance.

The inspiration for my commission comes from my love for our arts community in Santa Cruz and my rich connection to our dynamic queer community. Two years ago, with the upcoming 50th Anniversary Pride in Santa Cruz, my thought was, how can I bring these two loves of my life closer together? Commissioning a work in celebration of this 50th anniversary was my first thought, and Mickey was the reason I thought this was possible.

Michael McGushin for A+E — **MUSIC VOX** Michael McGushin says the piece he’s writing tells him where to go. Photo: Contributed

How did you approach composing for Tom’s commission?

Michael McGushin: I started by looking at some of Lou Harrison’s poetry, and talking with Ellen Bass about her work, but somehow nothing seemed right. At some point, Tom sent me in an email something he had put together, sort of thinking about the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Santa Cruz Pride. Not because he wanted me to choose it, but I looked at it and it just fit.

Describe your process from words to music.

MM: I actually have a very long preliminary process where all I do is just read. I read the words out loud, over and over, think about the rhythms in the text, what the text is saying, what things I’ll want to sort of highlight. And so there is a long process before I ever put any music on paper, which is me just living with the poem and thinking the poem. Of course, musical ideas are also percolating.

As I read I start hearing some notes, maybe melodies, but it feels more like sonic architecture, and so in that process of reading, for example, Tom’s text, it has—this is going to be overly simplified—but it’s about emotion from outside in a place that doesn’t feel like home, toward Santa Cruz being a place that feels like home. And so that set a sort of architecture for the piece that is about a journey.

And once that insight occurred?

MM: It began slowly and starts picking up the pace the closer we get to the arrival at the home, so that was the big architecture. I felt like there was this whole thing about moving further and further west and then finding the place where you were going to land.

In this case it was text first before the music emerged?

MM: It’s an age-old question, is it music first or or text first? I tend to be in the text first camp. And I hope that in my musical setting, I’m enriching or creating an environment where that text can be experienced.

How did you choose McGushin for this commission?

TE: I’ve known Mickey since the early ’90s and fortunately got to sing one of the compositions he wrote for the Cabrillo Symphonic Chorus back then. Even today this piece sits in my heart. I’ve known for decades, first hand—through New Music Works, Ensemble Monterey, Cabrillo Stage, the UCSC Chamber Singers, and Ariose Singers—that Mickey is an extraordinarily talented conductor, pianist and composer. So when I decided to move forward with this project, this was an easy choice. My big question when I approached him last year was, would he say yes?

A commission is an honor, but it comes with lots of pressure, doesn’t it?

MM: I’m a recovering perfectionist. So I feel the pressure in the pit of my stomach. [Laughter.] The piece will have a certain visibility. I want to make Tom happy. I want to create something that fits the occasion. Phil [Collins] has placed this piece at the end of the program. I want it to be worth sitting there. So yes, there is also that element of wanting to please the people involved and worrying that somehow I’ll fail.

How do you know when it’s finished?

MM: The piece tells me where it needs to go. People tell me I write good endings, and I think that’s often difficult for people, but I know it’s done when I’ve gone on the whole journey with the text and where the music is taking me, and I come up with a final gesture that feels like it wraps all that up in an effective and meaningful way.

Is this what you were destined to do?

MM: Yes. This is exactly where I wanted to be. My true calling. And it’s been a struggle for me to clear other things that I had to do to make a living. But now it’s all here.

New Music Works, 50 Years of LGBTQ+ Pride in Santa Cruz also includes pieces by Pauline Oliveros, Anthony R. Green, Henry Cowell, Lou Harrison, Sufjan Stevens and D. Riley Nicholson. The concert begins at 7pm on May 18 at Peace United Church, 900 High St. Santa Cruz, 831-345-9475. $20–$40. newmusicworks.org

Comedy Connoisseur

Comedy

DNA

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May 14, 2025

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Comedy is its own world. From the outside there is a frenetic 24/7 stan culture of ingesting stand-up comedy, where countless hours are spent watching a few minutes of hundreds of comics. Not to mention the sometimes extremely lucrative industry of stand-up-adjacent industry gigs like podcasts, creating content and becoming an online edge lord.

But inside stand-up comedy, it’s a totally different vibe. There are certain ways of doing things, unspoken traditions and a rich culture that is built on the love of comedy, laughter and performing. And every comic has their origin story, but for headliner Brad Williams, who will be performing at the Santa Cruz Civic on May 18, his path to the stage was a singular adventure.

“It’s pretty nuts, man,” says Williams from the backstage of a show in Austin, Texas. “When people say, how did you get into, or how do I break into, stand-up comedy? I go. Well, I don’t know. I can’t tell you to use my path, because that’s never happening ever again.”

The story is legendary in, and outside, the comedy world. Williams was just a regular Joe audience member at a show where Carlos Mencia was headlining. When Mencia told a joke about dwarves, the crowd around Williams, who was born with achondroplasia (a type of dwarfism), went silent. Mencia noticed and invited Williams onstage. “I was working at Disneyland, and I joked that ‘I was not one of the seven.’ And I got laughs,” Williams recalls. He was a natural, and Mencia, ridiculously quickly, invited the human dynamo onto the world stage.

Williams is clear that he is not a political comic. “My father told me that ‘Truly intelligent people know what they don’t know.’ And when it comes to politics. I don’t know what’s happening. I have opinions, sure, but I don’t know. I’m not a college graduate. So you shouldn’t be taking my political advice. I’m just trying to tell my story. I’ll try to cover my point of view and if you like it, great. And you don’t like a joke, just wait 30 seconds and I got another one coming.”

Personally, Williams appreciates all kinds of comedy, no matter the context, and makes sure his opening acts reflect his appreciation of diversity. “Jamie Ball is one of my opening acts. He’s out of Florida and we worked together in Knoxville [Tennessee]. We spent the weekend with each other. Really funny, really smart comedy and just a great guy to hang out with. So we’re like, ‘Oh, OK, let’s just keep doing this.’ But he and I are so different in terms of our styles of comedy. Some comedians have an opener that’s exactly like them, with the same brand. It’s like you hear two hours of the same style of jokes. No. I want you to have a whole show. I want you to go through the whole thing. So whether it be TJ—or another great comic named Quincy Weekley, who’s gonna be hosting that night—you’re going to see three different comics, three different points of view, and three really good comedians, but they’re all talking about different things.”

Williams carefully crafts jokes; like a master carpenter, he takes his time. “You slowly build. Whenever I have a new bit that I want to try out, I’ll try it up front, knowing I have an hour and half of material that works. Then maybe slide something into the middle. You just keep working it, you just keep massaging it. You can’t just wake up and be like, ‘I’d like to have an hour now.’ You have to slowly build it brick by brick. You know, three to five minutes at a time. Every now and then you’ll strike gold on a bit. It’ll be like, wow, that’s like 10 minutes and it’ll just roll right off your head. But for the most part, it’s slow going,” Williams says.

That’s the wonderful equalizer about stand-up comedy. There is no one shortcut and there’s no piece of advice that’ll make you a good comedian. You just have to do it. It’s trial and error.

“You throw it out there to a live audience. Friends and other comics will lie to you, but an audience laughing? That’s the only real test,” Williams laughs.

Brad Williams performs at 7pm on May 18 at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, 307 Church St, Santa Cruz. Doors open at 6pm. Tickets: $20-$68. santacruztickets.com

Shining a Light

Literature

Siran Babayan

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May 14, 2025

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The idea that “trans people just showed up” is a lie that keeps getting pushed—not only by the right wing, but also by voices in the media. And author Caro De Robertis is pushing back.

“Trans and genderqueer people have always existed throughout time and in every culture,” De Robertis says. “We have always been here, even if our voices have often been systematically silenced. These stories have not been acknowledged as part of our collective cultural inheritance, but they are here.”

In 2022, MacArthur Fellow Jacqueline Woodson launched I See My Light Shining: The Baldwin-Emerson Elders Project, which records the oral stories of hundreds of elders of color from various regions who’ve “witnessed and shaped great change in American life.” Ten writers were chosen as Baldwin-Emerson Elders Fellows, including De Robertis, a creative writing professor at San Francisco State University and author of six books.

De Robertis, who lives in Oakland and uses they/them pronouns, interviewed 30 mostly Bay Area LGBTQ + people of color over the age of 50 for the project. Some of them appear in their new book, So Many Stars: An Oral History of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, and Two-Spirit People of Color, which they discuss May 15 at Bookshop Santa Cruz.

Next year, De Robertis will co-curate with Tina Valentin Aguirre an exhibit at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, featuring art, mixed media and audio interviews based on the book.

“The title of the book comes from my interview with longtime activist and artist Crystal Mason,” De Robertis says. “They said, ‘when you’re in the countryside and you look up at the night sky, you see a sky full of stars, and the more stars there are, the more possibilities there are.’ And that’s what I believe we are doing when we create new language and new words for our experiences.

“What Crystal is advocating for is ongoing, evolving realms of possibilities. I thought that was a really powerful vision, and I wanted the title to hold some of that spirit,” De Robertis explains. “The more stars in the sky, the more we can witness the different ways of being and the more room there can be for all of us to be safe and free.”

The book’s narrators are Black, Latinx, Asian and Native American, and hail from different cities, countries and religions. They’re artists, activists, drag performers, business owners, musicians and tango dancers. They include Ms. Billie Cooper, a transgender woman who ran for supervisor of San Francisco’s Tenderloin district in 2022; Andres Ozzuna, an Argentine-born transgender man who owns the Wooden Table Baking Company; Donna Personna, a 78-year-old drag performer and transgender woman who served as Grand Marshal of 2019’s San Francisco Pride Parade; and KB Boyce, a trangender man who played in the New York punk band Nasty Facts.

De Robertis writes about America’s “gender revolution,” organizing the first-person accounts into chapters that cover family, coming out, defining gender, art and the younger generation.

“I really wanted to create a narrative that wasn’t just about any particular person’s individual story, but a broader story, a symphony or tapestry of narratives, and really convey the prismatic richness of the stories of our communities,” De Robertis says. “So there’s an arc starting with emergence and moving into elderhood, looking back and then looking forward into the future.”

But these elders dig deeper into their personal—sometimes harrowing—lives, discussing such topics as being an immigrant, child abuse, serving in the military, religion, drugs, transitioning, living with HIV and the AIDS crisis.

Bamby Salcedo, for example, a transgender woman originally from Mexico, recalls surviving gangs, addiction, sex work and incarceration before becoming an activist and founder of the L.A.-based TransLatin@ Coalition. She’s even spoken at the White House and starred in a 2016 HBO documentary, The Trans List, which also featured Caitlyn Jenner and actress Laverne Cox.

Since Trump’s reelection last year, De Robertis says they’ve spoken to their subjects about the administration’s policies targeting transgender and non-binary people.

“Like in many communities, especially in marginalized communities, there’s a lot of pain and sorrow, and some fear,” De Robertis says of the new administration. “There’s also seeds of hope and possibility, and ongoing commitment to a better future, even if it seems against the odds. We have so many tools in our communities. We know how to advocate for each other, protect each other’s safety and advocate for social change. And we have those tools because they were hard won by previous generations. As horrifying and terrifying as these times are, it’s incredibly important to remember that and remember that we are still here.”

Caro De Robertis will be in conversation with author Jaime Cortez (Gordo) at 7pm on May 15 at Bookshop Santa Cruz, 1520 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. RSVP at bookshopsantacruz.com.

Mountain Time

Stage

Edie Irving

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May 14, 2025

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In the current political climate, “diversity” has become a hot potato—but it’s a word that’s still heartily embraced by local theater companies. And this weekend Mountain Community Theater takes on one very specific angle.

“At a time when the very concept of diversity is being undermined in some places, recognizing the challenges and potential of a person who would now be labelled as “neurodiverse” is important to us,” the Mountain Community Theater states in its press release for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

Curious Incident—which opens May 16 and runs through June 8—was written by Simon Stephens, based on the novel by Mark Haddon. The production, directed by Simon Hayward, embraces this inspiring and challenging story of an autistic teenage boy learning about the complexities of life.

The play was first produced by the National Theater in the United Kingdom; on Broadway, it won the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play. Curious Incident focuses on 15-year-old Christopher, who has an extraordinary brain: He is exceptional at mathematics but ill-equipped to interpret everyday life. He has never ventured alone beyond the end of his road, he detests being touched, and he distrusts strangers.

Christopher’s discovery of the neighbor’s dog, Wellington, speared with a garden fork, sets him on a journey of “detecting” that goes well beyond who killed Wellington. He uncovers his family history, learns his strengths in surprising ways, and also reveals how difficult it can be to live with someone who doesn’t fit our expectations of “normal” behavior.

And there’s more than one reason for curious culture mavens to head to the hills this weekend. On both Saturday and Sunday, the San Lorenzo Valley Art Tour will provide entertainment during the day, showcasing the work of 27 artists.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time runs May 16–June 8 with shows Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm in Park Hall, 9400 Mill St, Ben Lomond. Tickets: $20–$20. mctshows.org

The San Lorenzo Valley Art Tour takes place 11am–5pm on May 17–18. Free. For details, visit slvarttour.org.

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