After a three-week hiatus (it's been a busy month), SFist Memoirs is back with the second half of our conversation with the legendary San Francisco party girl, Pat Montandon, about her noteworthy first experiences as a young woman moving to San Francisco in the 1960s. (Read Part I here.) From coming to the rescue of people crashing their cars near her apartment on the crooked part of Lombard to wearing sequins in the Tenderloin to being the tenth person in the world to have heart surgery and survive, Pat's lived an extraordinary life, and these stories are just the tip of the iceberg. more ›

Reader Jayn Pettingill brings us another great piece this week about her Great Aunt Maye and Maye's husband Tony Lazzeri, a major league baseball player — most notably of the New York Yankees. Both Maye and Tony were San Francisco natives who grew up in the Sunset and Cow Hollow respectively. Be sure to check out Jayn's story from last week! We hope there are many more to come. more ›

This week's SFist Memoirs comes to us from reader Jayn Pettingill, who is a fourth generation San Franciscan as well as an accomplished saxophonist and composer. In this fabulous piece, Jayn introduces us to her uncle, a jazz-loving policeman in the 1950s, who worked a night beat in the Fillmore District on occasion. This is our first reader submission, which we hope will inspire more readers to drop us a line! more ›

This week, we continue with Eric Becker's stories, which delve into the late '80s/early '90s, in which Eric picks a fight with James Hetfield, goes against popular opinion regarding Anton of Brian Jonestown Massacre, and tells of an account in which he had syringes thrown at him on stage with his band The Big Sissy Brigade at the Cactus Club. Plus, more! more ›

Today's SFist Memoirs is set in the late '80s hard core punk scene, as told by Eric Becker, husband of Rene Becker, last week's SFist Memoirs contributor. Eric has quite the knack for winding up in interesting, movie script-like situations, such as attending a GBH/Stevie Stiletto show and a Chinese supperclub in the same night and experiencing an altered state amidst a swarm of rollerbladers and meeting "that one girl from that one band." Luckily for us, he's a great storyteller, and we're featuring him in two parts. So, stay tuned for part two next week! more ›

This week's SFist Memoirs takes us to the East Bay in the early 1990s, as contributor Rene Becker shares some coming-of-age stories from her time as a teenager throwing spaghetti at Blatz at the 924 Gilman, smoking weed on Telegraph Avenue, and most importantly, giving Mr. Bungle's Mike Patton a piggy-back ride on stage. Rene moved to Albany from Sacramento at age twelve and lives in San Francisco now. Take it away, Rene! more ›

This week's installment of SFist Memoirs comes from Jim Doeppers, the uncle of this contributor. In 1973, Jim drove his hippie van from the Midwest to San Francisco at the tender age of 23 and instantly immersed himself in the counter culture of the time, where he remained for the next twenty years. From growing his own crops in Humboldt County and being Jerry Garcia's friend and drug connection to working the houseboat docks in Sausalito, and then ultimately ending up in rehab, Jim has experienced the party lifestyle inside and out. Let's start from the very beginning, shall we? more ›

SFist is beginning a new series in which Bay Area natives and long-time residents can share their stories from bygone eras. Our inaugural story comes from Bev DeBeaumont Warnecke, who worked at Baruh Wholesale Liquors in the late '50s, a job that gained her a unique view into the social lives of elite Bay Area business owners. Take it away, Bev! Warning: The last photo in the gallery is not suitable for work (NSFW). more ›

Before we post a few festive Valentine's Day events -- you know, fun ones with other lonely single folks; parties that will, hopefully, keep you from taking the final Nestea plunge over the Golden Gate Bridge -- let's commiserate on those who have broken our hearts. For Friday fun, share with us in the comments the most bizarre and/or depressing way in which somebody broke your heart. Or, if you must, how you viciously broke someone else's. And why. Did you do it via text? Did you fire her just so she would breakup with you? Did the crazy bitch slice open an artery in your bathroom? Did you lie and say you were gay? more ›