The reasons for Einstein's visit had much to do with the fact that he was famous, less to do with his science, and everything to do with the fact that he was Jewish.

They are, like most of the city's population, transplants from somewhere else. Like an insular ethnic community, the herd of bison in Golden Gate Park is part of the broad landscape of San Francisco but is not intimately known or celebrated. The bison are, and will always be, outsiders.

I've lived in seven places and with 16 different housemates plus two other cats and a dog in the seven-and-a-half years I've resided in Missoula.

Apparently my grandparents were the only two people in all of Woodruf County who didn't know that Judy was insane. She was universally avoided, ignored, and gossiped about. But having lived on an isolated farm all their lives, my grandparents didn't know how to avoid or ignore anybody. And it was too late anyway. They'd gone and made friends.

It was in North Beach that we finally found a comfort zone. One foggy afternoon Ralph and I were struggling over a small incline at Grant and Columbus avenues. We looked up and saw the swinging doors of the Saloon. We peeked inside.

   plus: How to Check Out Woody Guthrie