Well, the bay area has a very special musical legacy and at times its gotten a little funky. Lets meet up with a San Francisco family carrying that musical torch. Joe theres a sound in San Franciscos bayview district, a musical sound, maybe best described as the sound of a living room. This particular living room in a bayview Apartment Building is home base for the Curtis Family, a. K. A. The sea notes. Nola curtis we took all of the furniture out. Instruments only. Joe it turned out the instruments gave it more life than most living rooms. Kiki curtis we barely used it before because we used to have to clear everything out to practice. So its better this way. Joe at the helm of this homegrown family band, parents, maestro and nola curtis, and their five kids, zahara, nile, isis, kiki, phoenix. Maestro music is not something we do. Music is who we are as the Curtis Family. And this is what we always try to transmit to everyone. Joe the Curtis Family is transmitting on a different frequency than most families or bands. After a lifetime teaching music and leading musical groups, papa c, as dads known, discovered his most satisfying musical act right under his own roof when his kids started picking up instruments and learning to play. Maestro at that point, i knew i was pretty much done with running orchestras and bands, im done. Because they have to do what i tell them to do. I shall wear a crown. Joe during the pandemic, the Curtis Family began delivering its living room music to other peoples living rooms through a weekly livestream. Its a practice theyve kept going every monday night through their social media pages. Over the last few years, the sea notes moved beyond their own apartment, performing at warriors games, jazz clubs, and americas got talent, their music, their look, a nod to cultural heritage. Nile curtis because of the, you know, the hair and the way we dress too. Its, like, very signature. Joe but there was a time not long ago when the Curtis Family didnt have a living room or even a roof. Maestro we were homeless at one time, as a family. It was pretty tough. Sleeping in our van. Joe a friend took them in until they could get back on all 14 feet, and crisis and the music brought them closer. Maestro it gave us a bond and a sense of family i believe the way that family is supposed to operate. Joe family life operates around the living room turned rehearsal studio, which also doubles as a classroom for the homeschooled kids. Nola music has been a great vehicle for learning and teaching life lessons. Zahara curtis its a dream mostly because, like, the evolution of how this became to be and seeing how all my siblings and i have just grown. Phoenix curtis theres a certain connection that happens when youre playing with family, not just anybody. Joe within the music and voices, theres a special kinship. Isis curtis theres this moment where you feel like youre ascending into, like, a different reality. Maestro the other thing is that we laugh a lot. We laugh in this home a lot. Joe laughter and music seem the perfect recipe for family, the notes that make up a composition you might call living room music. Joe well, since were talking music, lets head across the bay bridge and meet up with an east bay performer who found her calling tickling the strings of the harp. Destiny muhammad my dad was in the navy and so we were stationed at port chicago. My mother put the radio on and wed hear this menagerie of music from the beatles to johnny taylor. Joe there are some who find their calling right out of the gate. Destiny wow, this music is just, ahh. Joe and some who take the scenic route. Destiny its the long way around. Joe as a kid, the long way around took destiny muhammad and her family from the bay area to the gritty Southern California city of compton, where one day, in the most unlikely of places, she got a glimpse of her future. Destiny so i go to the den and there is the episode of i love lucy on television with harpo marx. Harper was doing this beautiful rendition of take me out to the ball game, and i was like, thats what i wanna do when i grow up. Joe but life had other plans for muhammad. Destiny so were living in the projects and im looking at our life and im like, ifi dont know whats gonna happen to my folks if i leave. So my mother talks me into becoming a barber. So i go to schooli know. Joe in pursuit of the practical, muhammad spent the next 14 years cutting and styling mens hair, eventually opening her own barber shop at the age of 21. Destiny there was this little part of me said, i said i was gonna do something else, but what was it . Joe and then that little thing called fate stepped in to pull some strings and remind her. Destiny im still cutting hair, thinking its gonna be that. And i start dating a man whose best friend is a harp builder. And i get my first harp at the age of 30 in may of 1992. When i got my first harp and i brought it home, the minute i plucked the string in my house, it brought tears to my eyes. Joe the harp and Music Lessons filled the space between haircuts. She dreamed of a career in music, yet even a friend was skeptical. Destiny she said, girl, you are old, you are black, and we dont do that. Joe and then muhammad doubled down. She moved to the east bay in 1994 and started playing her harp at Farmers Markets for tips. Destiny literally, for about 10 years. Joe as her skills grew, so did the audience and the venues. Destiny i went from playing at the Farmers Market to playing at sf jazz, herbst theatre. Joe shes played with symphonies and her own jazz trio. In a nod to her roots, calling herself the harpist from the hood, viewing each of lifes challenges as the notes in the scale. Destiny im grateful for everyone because each one has catapulted me to the next evolution of what even you see here. I dont care how old you are, if you are still alive and breathing and some level of mobility, go dig up that dream. Joe like harpo marx, who would transform himself from a comic to a musician when he sat down at the harp, the harp transformed muhammads life into the one she dreamed of, even if it did take a while. Destiny its a confirmation that the delay was not a denial. [singing] joe well, when we return, well meet up with a photographer counting down the days until his eighth Olympic Games. Joe while were just a few months away from the start of the summer games in paris, one bay area photographer will be making his eighth trip to the olympics. Lets head down to the peninsula and see some of his favorite shots. Jeff and the job of a photographer is to capture history. So theres always unique challenges. Joe hes never made it to the podium. Jeff this is during opening ceremonies in london. Joe never earned a medal. Jeff good reactions. I love reactions. Joe but when it comes to photographing Olympic Games jeff simone. Joe jeff cable always comes home with gold. Jeff so this is a motion pin in london. Ive photographed seven olympics, and paris will be number eight for me. This is in rio. Joe the santa clara photographer is a veteran of the Olympic Games. Jeff this is my first gold medal game i ever shot. This is in london. Someone described it as like shooting the super bowl every day for 3 weeks. We worked, like, 9 in the morning until 3 in the morning, like, almost every day. Joe for all the pressure and intense deadlines, youll never hear cable complain. Jeff but every time im there, like, i treat it like a onceinalifetime experience. And this is jesse smith, one of the water polo players. Joe hes a keeper of onceinalifetime moments. Jeff probably the first highlight was photographing Michael Phelps in the pool in beijing. Joe he was there as simone biles won gold. Jeff that smile says we just won gold and she knew it. My job is to figure out what is the story thats unfolding in front of me and tell that. And this is ashley johnson. Shes one ofprobably arguably the best female goaltender to ever play water polo. Joe cables bread and butter is working for the us water polo team. Everything else is pure gravy. Jeff the challenge at the olympics for me is, how do i shoot something differently and more creative than everybody else whos sitting here with me . But you can see the skates, so you know what sport it is. A lot of the athletes have the tattoo of the olympic rings. So it was kind of cool that they matched up. So that was me in london, the summer olympics. We have to wear the vest and the vest has our photographers number on the back because you wear them every day in the summer. They could walk away on their own. So these are all my credentials from every olympics. Joe its funny to think cables background wasnt in sports or even photography. Jeff i was in technology for many years. I was an executive at Many Companies here in the bay area. About seven years ago, i decided, this is what i want to do. I teach wildlife photography in the rain forest of costa rica or in africa. Joe though his canon cameras have already been to seven olympics, hes excited to haul them to paris. Jeff opening ceremonies for the first time not being in a stadium and to be coming down the same river for opening ceremonies is gonna be incredible. Joe for those following along at home, cable plans to resume his popular olympic blog. Jeff i live behind the scenes, so i like to write my blog about what its like to be a photographer at the olympics. Thats in sochi, russia. Everybody is looking at the puck. Joe cable sees himself less as a photographer, more as a historian. Jeff serena williams. Joe a collector of stories and moments from the worlds greatest sporting event. Jeff and to be at one is amazing. To be at eight is incredible. Joe well, when we return, you know her as a Legendary National park ranger, but did you know she could also sing like a bird . Joe you probably know the story of Betty Reid Soskin, the bay area woman who became a National Park ranger at the age of 85. Well, turns out music was also a big part of her life. We head to the east bay to hear about the new film sharing that part of her story. Joe sometimes in life, there comes an opportunity to reinvent ourselves, to start over, and follow a new path into a new adventure. Betty it feels overwhelming. Joe in her lifetime, Betty Reid Soskin has followed many of those paths. Betty ill put my experience into context. Joe soskin famously became a National Park ranger at the age of 85. She worked as a docent at the rosie the riveter National Historic park in richmond. But it turns out that was only the latest act in her theater of life. Bryan gibel i heard about betty the way a lot of people did, through some of the Media Coverage about her work as a park ranger. Joe when filmmaker bryan gibel met up with soskin nearly a decade ago, he was curious about the rest of her story. Bryan and i heard her speaking and was amazed by the poetry that was coming out of her mouth and the important stories that were coming out of her mouth. Joe but what gibel or few others knew about soskin was that her early life was filled with music. She invited him over to hear the songs shed written and sang in the 50s and 60s. Bryan and when she put on the first song, i was completely stunned. Little boy black. Little boy black. Bryan so betty had kept her music in a plastic bin in the back of one of her closets on old reeltoreel format tapes for probably 50 years. And i was able to get a reeltoreel player and fix it up. I brought it over here and filmed with betty when she listened to those songs for the first time in decades. Watch the storm race through. Bryan and so i knew immediately i wanted to make a featurelength documentary about her music and the stories behind it. Betty many of you know me as a park ranger. But theres a part of my life that ive kept hidden for half a century. Joe gibel began creating a film about soskins life called, sign my name to freedom, the title of soskins memoir. Bryan she eventually did sing again, backed up by a full Symphony Orchestra and a choir of 200 people. Joe the film delves into soskins back story, how she and her husband opened reids records in berkeley, which became the countrys longestrunning black music store. Betty we were the first family of color in walnut creek. Joe it details the familys move to walnut creek in the 50s, where it was met with extreme racism and even death threats. In that dark period, soskin had a breakdown. She turned to her old martin guitar and wrote herself through the pain. Bryan she says in the documentary that her music saved her. Betty but the music saved me. It really did. Diara reid music was really therapeutic for her after her nervous breakdown. Bryan bettys probably, like, 25 there. Joe soskins daughter, diara reid, is working with gibel to tell the story of her mother who is now 102 and mostly homebound. Diara its an important film to make because its another way of getting to know my mother because shes been so famous as far as being a park ranger and right after that got married. Joe gibel is seeking donations for a Crowdfunding Campaign aimed at raising 150,000 to edit the project. What he cant raise more of is time. Bryan we want to complete this film while bettys still around to be able to see it. Its one of her dreams. Diara she feels like shes accomplished what she needed to accomplish while she was here with us. But theres one last thing that she wants done. Joe the film, like soskins life, is a collection of chapters. Its the story of a woman who, through the ups and downs of life, always seemed to land on a high note. Diara betty is a living example that we can have a second or a third act and that it can be a meaningful one. Ways weave madness. Blackness joe well, when we come back, well visit a wine country destination thats a freak of nature and time. Joe the bay area is filled with natural wonders and one of them has been drawing visitors for more than 150 years. And guess what . You could actually own it. Lets head to calistogas famous Petrified Forest. Joe just up the hill from calistoga, in the middle of wine country, sits a rare vintage of land. Its a unique place where the forces of nature have thrown some strange twists. Chris so volcanic ash that covered the petrified tree. Joe its where more than 3 million years ago volcanic activity in the vicinity of nearby Mount Saint Helena covered these redwood trees with ash, choking their cells and turning them into stone. Chris it was first discovered by charles evans, also known as petrified charlie, in 1870. Joe this Petrified Forest has long been a curiosity, a Tourist Destination drawing visitors for 153 years. Chris Robert Lewis Stevenson came here in 1880. Joe but chris conway always knew it simply as home. Chris we came up here in about 1958 and my mother managed the Petrified Forest here for, like, 26 years. That was my greataunt, greataunt ollie bouquet. Joe conway is a descendant of bouquet who, along with her husband, bought the Petrified Forest in 1914. Chris she had a buggy whip and if people got out of hand, visitors, she would use it. Joe the land has remained in conways family for 109 years. Chris these are petrified logs. Joe from the queen tree to the giant. Chris by the time i was 9 years old, i started giving tours. So they dug, pick and shovel, into the volcanic ash. So well go up to the coffee shop, huh . My sister and i would have a lot of fun here. We would start the stools spinning. I think it needs a little wd40. You could see my moms house from here and over the years weve been, i think, very good stewards of this property and preserving it. Joe but there comes a time when the time comes for change. With six owners, conway and his family have decided to put the forest and its adjoining lands up for sale. Chris its time for someone else to take it over and continue in. Joe to commemorate the discovery, veteran Real Estate Agent eric drew is helping the family sell the property, which, in addition to the 146acre tourist attraction, includes land for building and potential vineyards totaling more than 500 acres, listed for 12 million. Eric drew its not just a tourist attraction. Its aits somethingits a property that reflects most of the history of california. Joe its a place to witness the play of nature and science evidenced by the hillside of ash. Dolores moorhead i just think its amazing. One, you get to be out here in nature and you get to see what nature has done and how beautiful that is. Chris there used to be a turnstile here. Joe for conway, within this forest is a deeper story of family and legacy. Chris such an integral part of our growing up and our identity. Joe but no matter who becomes the next steward of this land, this family tree will forever remain etched in stone. Chris the people here running the place are often more interesting than our attraction. Theres a lot of history here. Joe well, thanks for joining me for this edition of fog city stories. Im joe rosato jr. , urging you to climb a hill and see the world. Right now on access Hollywood Richard gadd stars in the hit stalker drama based on his true life. But are some fans too obsessed with baby reindeer as they search for his real stalker . Plus, weve got zendaya talking all about her onscreen love triangle in challengers. Mhm. Thats right. And goslings gone swiftie. But it took ryans Swift Response to rescue fall guy costar emily blunt during an onset emergency. Yeah. Plus, a future Blake Shelton and beyonce collab . But who would blake have to ask for permission . Zuri did Jerry Seinfeld and hugh grant clash on the set of their new movie . Scott but a happy oneyear birthday, matilda. So what did kaley cuoco do to earn the title mom of the year . 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