There was a little bit of mist Sunday afternoon, unusual for May, as I walked over to Villa Romano for my year end blog party. I looked around the room as my friends and the people I interviewed this past year for www.inmyhoodsf.com arrived. I began to feel a little misty. Weekly I highlighted an Inner Sunset merchant or employee from May 2008 through this final posting, May, 2009.

“It’s my blog party and I’ll cry if I want to….”

Tony Accardo, owner, Villa Romano was a gracious and generous host. We had the backroom, a cozy covered back porch, which was both casual and elegant; white tablecloths and sky lights. Tony recently became the President of the Inner Sunset Merchant’s Association and he knows many of the shop owners as well as a wide array of his long time customers and some new to him and the neighborhood.

We feasted on fried mozzarella with a zesty tomato sauce, sautéed mushrooms, pizza Bianca, antipasto and wine.

My friend Jean and her son Ben placed the blog stories around the room. Craig and Lyla, Media Solutions, printed my stories and pictures and with a touch of technology, made the colors pop. Jean mounted the stories in cobalt poster board and everyone’s’ story had a prominent place on the wall.

Many of the people I interviewed were San Francisco natives: Glenn, Diane, Lorenzo, Herb (who passed away this year at a ripe 106), Micky, Marinus, Jane Anne, Joe Pon, Ralph, Gilbert, and Robyn.

And other people came from many towns and cities around the United States and the world. They came from China, New Jersey (as I did and Craig and Christopher), Palestine, Greece, Colorado, Korea, South Dakota, Cape Verde Islands, Maryland, Burma, Oregon, Germany, Illinois, Japan, Hawaii, Turkey, Kansas, India, Pennsylvania, Scotland, Southern California, Italy and Syria. And now the Inner Sunset is the place they make their living and call this hood, as I do, home.

My friends Sue, Lloyd, their daughter Jillian were there before the party began with smiles and encouragement. My mother and sisters Kathleen, Regina, Sabina and niece Emily were at the back table and joined by my good friends Wave, Mitchell, Tom and Christopher.

Barbara, from the YES WE CAN fence, was the first to speak. Lots of words of appreciation and gratitude for bringing the neighborhood together. I thanked her for her appreciation and painting her fence with YES WE CAN, long before we knew that President Obama would be our 44^th President.

There were fresh floral bouquets.

More kindness emanated from Murai, Liling, Paul, Micky, Adah, Ann, Diane, Ursula, Gilbert and the Queen of Irving Street, Violet. When asked what her business was, someone shouted gleefully,

“Everybody’s business.”

My friend, Debbie, just recovering from the flu, stood up to tell me how proud she was. She knows where I began with this project. Her son, Justin took many of the early photographs and he taught me how to size a picture, make a folder and the relevance of WYSIWYG.

I had a great run and enjoyed my year interviewing, and sharing- sometimes lunch, dinner, other times coffee or a glass of wine, but always in the neighborhood. Many merchants chose to conduct the interview in between transactions and I obliged, turning my recorder off and on, after the cash register recorded the sale.

People shared intimate stories with me-What it’s like to be an Immigrant, a Native, a small business owner or an employee. One man told me, he knew he would not become a man anything like his father, a convicted murderer.

One woman told me about the pain she endured surrounded by her daughter’s anorexia and her customers concerns as her daughter withered and withered, and the relief she shared with her customers as her daughter regained her health. A silent tear slipped and she said,

“We almost lost her a few times.”

Another woman shared the long ago pain she felt with her husband’s infidelities but after more than a decade, she reunited with him, to raise their daughter.

I was pleased that Chris, told me one of the best things that ever happened to him,

“Getting my wife to marry me.”

More than one man told me that their greatest satisfaction was having children and being a father.

There were a few frustrations and disappointments. I wanted to interview, my Dry Cleaner, Manicurist, Boutique Owner. An unequivocal, No!

I had a scheduled interview with a European Deli Owner. I came at the designated time, with questions, a recorder and curiosity. He brushed me aside and decided to have coffee with a customer instead.

“Maybe come back another day.”

An Esthetician, agreed to meet me, and upon my arrival, decided to have her employee give her a facial, and covered with a thick mud she also said, perhaps, I could come back another day.

The frustrations were few. Most people were kind and liked to tell their story and I enjoyed listening and writing. I always tried to hear their voice, hold their integrity and share the uniqueness of each individual.

Wave got up to share her thoughts. Four years ago, only God knew she’d still be alive, still be living and at a party. She said I always liked people’s stories, I was good at telling their stories and I was building community.

The accolades took me by surprise.

The afternoon ended with a lit bit of sweetness. My sister Eileen sent three homemade rum cakes from her restaurant in St. Croix-Cheeseburger’s In Paradise.

This entire year held much sweetness. www.inmyhoodsf.com gave me joy and a profound sense of purpose.

Thank you all for taking this journey with me.

WITH GRACE... 

San Francisco native, Gilbert Johnson was the oldest of five children. There were and still are four boys and one girl. In fact, his ninety –four year old mother is very much alive and an Inner Sunset resident.

Gilbert’s father had a trucking company and his sons were no strangers to hauling a variety of items off of the trucks at the Pier. One of their favorite treats after their labor was an icy cold Hire Root Beer.

They would often end their day at Chinatown and today Gilbert says of that time,

“I can’t remember a time when I couldn’t use chopsticks.”

His father also took Gilbert and one of his brothers to their first 49er game at Kezar.

“I was impressed with the hot dogs. They had skin on them that popped when you bit into them.”

Gilbert’s father hoped his oldest son would be a football player. Usually it’s the other way around. Gilbert attended Polytech High School where he admits,

“You went there for two things-football or auto shop.”

This was the 1950’s, the era of the hot rod and Rock n’ Roll. And if you had a car, and Gilbert did not, teenagers hung out at Mel’s Diner, which at that time was on South Van Ness below Market Street. Although the lure was to be at Mel’s, but without a car your authenticity was up for review by your peers. Instead, Gilbert wandered into Golden Gate Park, the deYoung Museum or the Aquarium.

“Back then, it was all free.”

He was also mesmerized by the murals on the walls of Villa Romano.

Just this past week, I saw many Inner Sunset residents celebrating at Villa Romano’s 54^th Anniversary. Prices were rolled back to the 1955 prices. I had Chicken Picatta for $3.75 and a glass of wine for 95 cents. I looked around the room, Tony was greeting customers, his wife Natalia was seating people and his father was at the pizza oven, as San Francisco’s outdoor temperature on an April evening hovered above 90 degrees.

I looked around the dining room and saw many people I have interviewed this past year; Adah, Glenn, Violet, Robyn, Jane Anne Sullivan and Gilbert. And it was still early.

When Villa Romano opened their doors in 1955, Gilbert was attending Polytech High School and along with five other students, became a Math major and he took a lot of Art classes.

“I always liked to draw.”

After High School Gilbert said,

“I didn’t have a clue.”

He enlisted in the Army and had a choice of options. He chose Air Craft Mechanics, and was stationed in Atlanta, Georgia where he learned to fly.

“I had a Pilot’s License before I had a Driver’s License.”

In the Spring or 1961, with a little money in his pocket, Gilbert returned to his hometown and enrolled in San Francisco’s Art Institute.

At one point, he and a few fellow artists rented a former Chicken Factory. They used the space for their own art studio and rented out the other spaces. One of their tenants was Santana and his band, which used their part of the space as a music studio.

Gilbert was incredulous when another San Francisco Art Institute alumna got a job as a photographer for an underground magazine. At the time, Gilbert didn’t think anyone would want to read a publication that concentrated solely on music. Annie Leibovitz and Rolling Stone were on their way.

Other fellow artists at San Francisco Art Institute included Ronald Davis, the abstract expressionist widely known for his “perspective grid,” and Dave Getz, a painter and drummer who would play with Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company before moving on to Country Joe and the Fish.

Gilbert has had an illustrious career as an artist. In the 1970’s and 80’s he drew the posters for the Annual North Beach Photographic Art Fair. He produced posters for a variety of musicians; Mel Saunders, Jerry Garcia, Mose Allison, Richie Havens and Ramblin’ Jack Elliot to name just a few. He did light shows for Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead. In 2007, his pen and ink drawing for the 40th Anniversary, Summer Of Love poster captures a unique time and place in San Francisco history.

In the film industry he’s worn many hats. He’s been an electrician, a storyboard artist, a draughtsman, a set designer, a set dresser and a carpenter. Some of the many films he’s worked on, Shoot The Moon, The Abyss, The Princess Diaries, Me and Mrs. Jones, The Wedding Planner and The Assassination of Richard Nixon.

Gilbert has many stories to share about San Francisco, the Art and Music scene and his contributions directly and indirectly.

One of his greatest accomplishments and he doesn’t miss a beat when he says,

“Surviving as an Artist.”

NEXT WEEK: MEET TERRIL, BANK MANAGER, WELLS FARGO. 

Peter Lou has a passion for fashion, fabrics from Britex and dressing his wife Valerie. He has traveled extensively and while abroad has always purchased a piece of clothing or an accessory for Valerie.

Even as a child in Burma, beauty and texture figured prominently in Peter’s life and dreams. He knew he one day would have his own store and three years ago he opened a unique women’s boutique on the corner of 20^th Avenue and Lincoln Way in San Francisco’s Sunset District: Orange Caterpillar.

He chose Orange Caterpillar as the name of his store for two reasons. He realized that ten years ago only European men and women had the courage to drape themselves in orange apparel.

“Orange makes a striking statement. Men can wear any color and add an orange tie, it’s powerful. And I wanted a name that was powerful, and I chose Caterpillar because I want women to come into my store and turn into a butterfly.”

Peter seeks cutting edge designs and new designers.

“My main goal is to introduce Asian designers to the United States. I’m building a staff in Shanghai.”

Peter finds new designers in Shanghai by walking the city streets and visiting little shops along the way. He tells me other than Paris and Milan some of the best tailors in the world are in Shanghai. Together, they design clothing that has,

“An Asian touch with a twist. We use modern fabrics.”

Fusion is at play at their design table. Asian and American influences dance with each other.

Peter’s favorite fabrics are wool or a wool blend.

“They hold their shape, hang well and don’t wrinkle.”

Peter has traveled internationally and many of his favorite fabrics are from France, Italy, and Korea. He travels to Mongolia for cashmere. The designers he works with, cut, tailor and sew a maximum of three unique pieces which Peter brings back to San Francisco for sale at Orange Caterpillar.

Although the boutique is a new endeavor for Peter his background began in retail, moved to textiles and then to the Import/Export business.

Peter graduated from San Francisco State University with a business degree. Early on in his career he was recruited and worked for Emporium Capwell in the Men’s Department. He was promoted to an Assistant Buyer in the Stationary Department where he was responsible for more than paper for twenty four stores.

Another promotion took Peter to cotton as he became the Sales Representative for a textile company that produced high quality sheets, comforters and throw pillows.

The quest for continued International travel and a desire to learn the Import trade took Peter to China. For five years he traveled from San Francisco to China as as a Sales and Marketing Director for an Import Company.

We talked a little about our mutual love for Italy; the fabrics, the design the flair. He broke it down.

“Shanghai is Milan. Beijing is Rome.”

By 1998, Peter had his own home furnishing company which he sold three years ago and the dreams of his own store began to unfold.

I wanted to know if I could splurge on one item to enhance my wardrobe, what Peter would recommend.

“Accessories. A scarf, a belt a pin.”

I also wanted to know the most common fashion mistake women make.

“They mix too much. They need to keep it simple and that will make an outfit elegant.”

Peter would like women to invest smartly.

“They could buy one item from Orange Caterpillar and incorporate that into their wardrobe, with an existing basic skirt or pair of pants.”

There is a lesson.

“If women learn to accessorize they can have the same clothes and add one simple piece and create a totally new look.”

Peter reflects on his choices,

“This store is my passion and my hobby.”

And there are challenges in this business.

“This is new to me. I always believe in starting at the bottom.”

He wanted a small space and when he chose this location he knew that he could keep his prices reasonable. Peter reconstructed the space himself and purchased custom made fixtures.

“I wanted this store to be high-end, unique, and special.”

He knows this boutique does not have the luxury of foot traffic; he found a solution.

“I make the window interesting.”

He also tells me that,

“A boutique store is word of mouth. It’s like a treasure hunt.”

On this particular day, Peter’s window display reveals a mannequin dressed in a black silk coat with a sunset orange lining while an antique bird cage hangs from the ceiling.

I tell Peter, that I ordinarily don’t walk on Lincoln Way, but two friends, Ann and Jean drove by and were both enthralled with the window display and said,

“You have to go to Orange Caterpillar.”

I listened.

I tell Peter that I need something exceptional for my year end Blog party. He chooses a sea foam wool top draped with a sheer lace neckline and pewter pants.

Last week, he returned from Shanghai with my custom made pieces and I’m ready to be a butterfly.

NEXT WEEK; I'll INTRODUCE YOU TO LOCAL PHOTOGRAPHER, ALEXANDRA. 

On January 1, 2009, Dawn officially opened Hollow Café on Irving Street in San Francisco’s Inner Sunset District. She began the New Year in this sliver of a garden like space serving Ritual coffee and confections.

However, as any business owner attests, opening your own business has a unique journey of its own. One winter afternoon in 2008, Dawn was walking her dog and she saw that the 500 square foot storefront was for rent. She always wanted to have a store, but the Café idea came a little later. She negotiated, met with the landlord and things just seemed to fall into place. Dawn took over the lease in April, got married in May and began the challenging renovation and a unique education concerning guidelines, building codes, permits and coffee.

Dawn has a background in Art History and Interior Design and beauty is evident when you enter this garden setting and listen to the soothing droplets that flow from an antique fountain, observe a mask from Mexico, a bronze hanging monkey, carefully wrapped handmade goat milk soaps and the rich aroma of Ritual coffee wafts thru this intimate tranquil setting. The floor is concrete and she stenciled the design.

“I wanted it to be an elongated diamond.”

Closet door were made from redwood fences. The track lighting exudes a shadowy ambience.

“I like things to be based in nature. I have a funky aesthetic.”

Custom made mirrors hang on the wall. Design and art come together.

“I wanted to bring some light from the outside.”

Prior to Hollow Café, this space had been a beauty shop. Water ran thru hoses in the walls. The transformation took time, patience and a great deal of labor.

“It was nerve wracking.”

There was a definite maze of bureaucracy. Building codes had changed in the twenty five years the previous owner occupied the space. The electrical and plumbing had to be completely re-done.

“It was way more work than what it looked like it was going to be.”

Dawn completed the drawings, contractors began re-construction and Dawn researched coffee.

Mr. Coffee was her first inquiry and it didn’t seem like the right fit. Ritual Coffee Roasters on Valencia Street was her next stop and would be her final.

“I hit it off with them on a personal level. They are really passionate about what they do. They roast here. They use small farmers and they trained me.”

The single origin beans, the passion, and training to perfect the art of making an excellent cup of coffee won her over.

“It was always interesting to me that one cup of coffee can be really, really good and one can be really bad and why?”

“I learned how to make good cup of coffee.”

She explains the process.

“It’s about freshness, the most purified water, a really good machine, grinding beans for each shot, and high quality milk.”

Hollow Café choice of milk is Clover, a family owned dairy farm in Sonoma County.

“The beans are never more than a week old. We measure each shot so that it’s consistent and we put the same body pressure on the machine.

As a little girl in Santa Maria she didn’t know she’d have a cozy café in San Francisco, but a walk down a street one day can change your direction.

Her response from the neighborhood has been enthusiastic and welcoming.

“I just want to make people happy.”

NEXT WEEK: MEET PETER LOU, DESIGNER, OWNER, ORANGE CATERPILLAR BOUTIQUE. 

It was just a few days before the Inauguration when Diane Amos agreed to meet me at Howard’s Café on 9^th Avenue in San Francisco’s Inner Sunset, the neighborhood we both share. We talked about the new administration, her acting career and motherhood.

She speaks about her pride in our nation and how the young vote championed and was instrumental in ushering Barack Obama into the Oval office.

“Nothing has changed but everything has shifted. The civil rights movement was about this -right now. Here it is. My kids will now know a world with a Black President.”

For the past fifteen years, Diane has been the spokeswoman for Pine Sol as well as a comedienne, mother to a son and daughter and a wife. Of her husband James, she says,

“He’s the most emotionally honest person I’ve ever known.”

Her hazel eyes sparkle when she tells me how satisfied she is with her life and that,

“It’s a great privilege to have children come thru you.”

Diane’s mother, Pearl, was influenced by Kahlil Gibran’s, The Prophet and the idea that children come thru you.

“They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself”

Pearl passed that jewel onto her daughter.

“I’m grateful to have that understanding and to experience that kind of love.”

We order breakfast. Customers stream into the café and show Diane some love. They greet Diane with a smile, a nod of recognition or face to face.

She is gracious.

Of her Pine Sol gig she says,

“I think that’s why I still have my job. I’m approachable. I like people.”

The late Ben White, the advertising copywriter was a regular at Diane’s Improv shows with National Theater of the Deranged. He knew Diane Amos would be perfect for his creation of The Pine Sol Lady.

And people have responded positively to Diane and her catch phrase,

“That’s the power of Pine Sol baby!”

Three or four times a year, they re-shoot with a new scenario, but always with Diane at the forefront.

Before re-locating to San Francisco, Diane’s family lived in Indiana. Her parents divorced and Diane’s mother wanted a more compassionate life for her children and her new partner, also a woman and an educator.

Although as a seven year old Diane explains those early years were not without prejudice and inquiries and even though San Francisco was more liberal than the Mid-West,

“My mother and her partner were teaching children honesty and they had to lie.”

I wonder about Diane’s feelings about Proposition 8.

“I’m disappointed. It’s the beginning of what needs to happen. It does not feel hopeless.”

It was that sense of hope and possibility that brought Diane into an artistic life which included choir, drama and stand-up.

She attended Washington High School and her drama teacher encouraged her to perform.

“It was fantastic.”

She was in an improv ensemble, Natural Acts and every weekend they performed around the city.

“We worked off the audience. I had a ball.”

One of her Improv teachers when she was sixteen was Jim Cranna. And now, many years later, they remain good friends. And of her former classmates from Washington High School,

“We still get together for picnic and re-unions.”

Diane admits that she is recognized nearly every day.

Once she was on a remote island in Jamaica,

“An older brother came up to me, no shirt, overalls and he said, Hey…You da Pine Sol lady mon.”

She let out an infectious laugh.

With her Pine Sol commercials,

“You have fifteen seconds.”

She accomplishes not just a pitch but her personality in those fifteen seconds of fame.

Diane enjoys her full body of work: Improv, Stand-up and her commercial work.

On March 21, 2009, Diane will be a featured speaker at Ebony Magazine’s, annual Sisterspeak luncheon at the Marriot Hotel in Oakland. The luncheon series takes its name from the monthly column in the magazine which,

“Celebrates the unique sisterhood of African American women.”

Diane will share her authentic voice, some inspiration and always humor.

That’s the power of Diane Amos, baby!”

NEXT WEEK: MEET DAWN, OWNER, HOLLOW COFFEE. 

For the past three years, Paul Chang has owned Sunset Sewing & Vacuum Center.

He is forthright.

“I like the repairs. I have a talent to fix machines.”

Paul learned his craft from the previous owner of Sunset Sewing & Vacuum Center, Jerry Steven.

After emigrating from Taiwan in 1990, to San Francisco, Paul spent six years in the hotel industry for both Travel Lodge and Super 8. He worked as both a reservations manager and night manager. At one point Paul had three jobs, two in hotels and one as a part-time salesman for a furniture company.

He would walk by Sunset Sewing & Vacuum Center and inquire about a job. The owner, Jerry was reluctant to hire Paul, as he had no prior repair service, but he was eager to learn. He quit two of his jobs and became an apprentice. For ten years he was an employee before purchasing Sunset Sewing & Vacuum Center. He smiles with gratitude.

“I’ve spent half my life here.”

When Paul gets very busy and inundated with repairs, he calls Jerry and coerces his former boss out of semi-retirement to repair a sewing machine or vacuum cleaner with the hands that taught Paul.

He chuckles when he says,

“Now he works for me.”

Paul admits that he learned customer service skills while in the hotel industry and that these skills serve him well today.

“I have all kinds of customers- young, old, Black, White, and Asian. We have fun.”

It is the daily conversations with customers that bring Paul the most joy. It is about connection and sharing.

“I can get knowledge that I didn’t know. Some people talk about their tree and how they are helping it grow and flower. Other people talk about their pets. Some people talk about their lawyers.”

I ask Paul about the Kirby vacuum cleaner which is the vacuum I grew up with.

“It’s still good, but too heavy and it’s hard to get parts.”

What we liked about the Kirby is that you could vacuum a sock, even a shirt and the Kirby kept working. No suction was lost. I don’t tell Paul that our vacuum was bought, “on-time” and Nick the Repo man came to retrieve the vacuum. My mother gave an operatic performance and let’s just say the Repo man became our Saint Nick. But that’s another story.

Paul has three favorite vacuum cleaners- The Dyson from England, Miele from Germany and Oreck, which is American made.

“With a Dyson you never need belts or bags and the filter is washable.”

Paul is the Dyson representative for San Francisco and Sunset Sewing & Vacuum is the Warranty Center for both Miele and Oreck.

In his home, the Chang family has a Miele vacuum.

“With other vacuums, I sneeze or tear up. The Miele has a hepa filter. It’s very good for allergies.”

Paul also sells and repairs Singer and Juki sewing machines.

This repairman has become so skilled at his craft, but some customer requests have taken Paul off guard.

“People have asked me to fix their lamp, their toaster, even their oven. In the beginning, I didn’t want to, and then I said, why not? I’ll try it.”

Proudest accomplishment?

“When something is broken and nobody can fix it, and I fix it.”

Today, Paul has four employees and he wants his customers to know,

“We’re not just selling a product, we’re selling service. We treat our customers like family.”

NEXT WEEK: MEET DIANE AMOS, ACTRESS, COMEDIENNE AND THE PINE SOL LADY.

It was a drizzling Monday morning that Craig agreed to meet me in a café called Reverie. He enters and greets the barista by name as she makes his cappuccino. He extends a warm hello to the mother behind him and her baby in a stroller. He nods a glance of recognition to the dog owners while their dogs wait to be unleashed from the pole outside the café. Craig sits down and writes himself a note to replenish his supply of dog treats so he can administer a little bit of sweetness later in the day. He tells me one dog in particular, Billie, gets excited when she sees Craig, and he’s fearful when Billie runs across the street without looking.

We share the Garden State as our place of birth, and San Francisco, the city we both call home today.

As a third grader in Morristown, New Jersey, Craig Newmark was fascinated with dinosaurs and thought he might be a Paleontologist. His blue eyes are clear and direct,

“I was growing into my Nerdhood then.”

By junior high, Craig’s fertile mind gravitated to Physics and he considered becoming a Physicist.

Forty years ago, Morristown High School acquired an old IBM computer. Craig began to learn computer programming, a novel undertaking in 1969.

After high school, Craig headed to Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio.

Of his freshmen year of College he said,

“I realized Physics wasn’t a promising career path. I was interested in Artificial Intelligence and I was already good with computers, so I switched to Computer Systems Programming.”

He received both a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Computer Science from Case Western University.

For seventeen years, Craig worked for IBM: ten years in Detroit, six in Boca Raton and a year in Pittsburgh.

In 1993, he headed west, where he became a System Security Architect for Charles Schwab.

In 1995, in his living room, Craigslist started as an internet site for his friends to find jobs and apartments. Today it is a global service providing primarily free listings for services, events, and a forum for free expression. He is earnest when he says,

“Craigslist focused on trying to help job and home seekers.”

I wouldn’t have the apartment I live in today without Craigslist and my sister.

Craig maintains that Craigslist is based on feedback and suggestions. It was suggested that babysitting services were needed and that suggestion became a category.

That very sense of democracy guides Craig’s business and personal decisions.

This past week, Craig was in Washington. He was invited to make suggestions to Obama’s team. It is the hope that our country can move into the 21^st Century and utilize technology. The goal is for innovation and citizen participation to be an integral component in this time of change.

I’m curious if Craig has a spiritual connection or mentor. He claims he has a spiritual connection,

“But I can’t articulate it to myself.”

It’s apparent that Craig has a moral compass and I wonder about that guidepost.

“That’s a matter of upbringing.”

He has a younger brother and mother who still reside in New Jersey. Craig’s father passed away from lung cancer when Craig was thirteen.

He returns to the matter of upbringing which he says is reinforced by the Craigslist community and “Rabbi Cohen.”

“In the last few years Leonard Cohen has been an increasing influence. He reminds me of my own values-to focus on something that really means something.”

“Anthem” and “Democracy” are two Leonard Cohen’s songs that resonate for Craig.

He also likes the music of Tori Amos, Lou Reed, Fiona Apple, Warren Zevon, Sarah McLaughlin and Sophie B. Hawkins. Most of these musicians incorporate a sense of poetry, conviction and a visceral message into their lyrics.

When I asked Craig how many hours a day he spends on the computer, he chuckles and says,

“I don’t know.”

He typically works from 8 a.m.-11 p.m. but says that’s intermittent as he takes breaks throughout the day, to spend time with his girlfriend, watch The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, meet with friends, catch up with Battlestar Galactica, and Lost.

“Lost is making my brain hurt.”

Inner strength and a sense of hope are prominent threads that weave through both of these programs.

I wondered what Craig’s mother thinks of her son’s success.

“Mom’s very proud of me, and why don’t I call more?”

Her son has changed the world.

I am going to leave you with a quote from one of Craig’s favorite Sophie B. Hawkins songs, We Are One Body. I think it embodies Craig’s and my wish for our world.

“There’s nothing more persistent than the planet of our hearts."

NEXT WEEK: MEET PAUL CHANG, OWNER, SUNSET SEWING & VACUUM.