Category: Muni Diaries Live Shows

ISO: One special Muni driver for Kurt Schwartzmann

3 comments
Profile of a man with an eyepatch and colorful jacket telling a story into a microphone on a stage

In 2019, storyteller Kurt Schwartzmann told what is still one of my favorite Muni Diaries Live stories about being unhoused and reliant on the kindness of strangers, namely Muni drivers, for temporary warm shelter. In the thick of the pandemic, when we needed it most, he repaid the city with love. That is, he collaborated with artist Deirdre Weinberg on one of the famed Hearts of San Francisco. We had him back at Muni Diaries Live in April, as he is still looking for one Muni operator in particular. Maybe you can help him?

Here’s Kurt:

Check out his work at www.YellowLineArt.com and follow him on Instagram @yellow_line_art.

Photo: Emily Huston

Category: Muni Diaries Live, Muni Diaries Live Shows Tags:

Meaghan Mitchell on trauma at a 22-Fillmore stop and the long road to forgiveness

One comment

We’re back on the storytelling tip with San Francisco native and San Francisco Standard journalist Meaghan Mitchell—first at Muni Diaries Live in April, and now on the podcast. Meaghan shared a life-changing experience from her youth at a 22-Fillmore stop that touches on summer love, physical trauma, her identity as a Black woman, and more.

We’ve long been proud of the fact that Muni Diaries stories range from sweet and quirky, to weird and funny, to powerful and deeply personal. This is no exception, as we were invited to lean into the vulnerable and, at times, uncomfortable story with Meaghan as she shared with us that night.

tw: violence against women

Listen to her story:

You can also watch the story below:

Meaghan had our tear ducts working a few years ago, when she told a different story at Muni Diaries Live about an especially rough day at school, playing hooky as a result, and the way Muni featured prominently—and personally—into the experience.

Keep up with Meaghan on Twitter @meaghan_m, and send any and all flavors of transit stories or tales of city life to munidiaries.sf@gmail.com or @munidiaries on all the socials.

Photo by Amanda Roosa. Video by Maya Curry.

Category: Muni Diaries Live, Muni Diaries Live Shows Tags: ,

Janice Li: BART Board by day, Muni superhero by night

Leave a comment

When BART Board Director Janice Li saw a fight break out on the bus, she took matters into her own hands. But what she saw after making a public information request for the bus footage (which anyone can do, BTW) was something else entirely.

Listen to her story:

You can also watch the story below:

Keep up with Janice on Twitter @JaniceforBART, and check out janiceforbart.com to learn more about her platform, why she cares so much about public transit, and what she’ll continue to do as a director if reelected!

Photo by Amanda Roosa. Video by Maya Curry.

Category: BART, Muni Diaries Live, Muni Diaries Live Shows Tags:

Katie Havercamp, LeBron James (the cat) just can’t quit SF

Leave a comment

Leaving San Francisco for parts north was no small decision for Katie Havercamp, mom of a Muni-riding cat named LeBron James, musician, and bigtime local transit and local history buff. Her experience runs the gamut of grief stages, but, thankfully for her and all of us, never settles into acceptance.

Listen to her story:

Also, nobody loves the Boat Tram more than this lady, as this story makes abundantly clear.

You can also watch the story below:

Thank you to Katie for sharing her story, thank you to LeBron for being a fantastic feline transit ambassador, and thank you San Francisco for that magnetic pull that keeps drawing people back in.

Keep up with Katie and LeBron @goat_of_cats, and join us in the wayback machine to when Katie and her band, Mesquite and Mustard, performed at Muni Diaries Live in 2015.

Photo by Amanda Roosa. Video by Maya Curry.

Category: Muni Diaries Live, Muni Diaries Live Shows Tags: , ,

Mr. Miller’s wild Muni ride

3 comments

I find it stressful being the navigator in a regular car, clarifying GPS-delayed directions from the tiny machine—is it the next turn or is it the next next turn? I might as well be guiding us through the solar system.

Now imagine trying to do the same for a bus, driving through San Francisco, with strangers who definitely aren’t on a fun road trip with you.

Well, imagine no more because it happened to Hayden Miller, who joined the Muni Diaries Live stage for the first time (and hopefully not the last) in April 2022. He might be in high school, but his expertise was known to a n00b Muni operator, who leaned on that knowhow for driving directions (seriously). All ended up in some…uncharted territory.

Listen to (or watch on the ol’ Muni Diaries YouTube) Hayden’s story:

Catch Hayden’s transit-oriented adventures on Twitter @HaydenM16 or his public comments at an SFMTA Board meeting near you.

Photo by Amanda Roosa. Video by Maya Curry.

Category: Muni Diaries Live, Muni Diaries Live Shows Tags: ,

Meet the Muni operator who went viral

Leave a comment

It’s been a while since we brought you a tale from the stage, so we are extra thrilled to share a podcast episode featuring a story from Muni Diaries Live on April 7, 2022. Today’s episode features Muni operator (and Muni Haiku Battle alum) MC “Mack” Allen live from Rickshaw Stop, our first show back after our long pandemic winter.

We knew him from the Twitters as a transit fan and poet, but his love for the city and its transit system went above and beyond when he decided to become a Muni operator during the pandemic.

He jumped through many hoops to become a Muni operator (we think you’ll really enjoy the behind-the-scenes look into the journey), but MC had no idea what was yet to come. In mere weeks, he’d be briefing the entire Twitter universe about the ins and outs of driving Muni via a viral thread about the blockbuster movie, Shang-Chi. His star rising, SFGate called him the most famous bus driver in San Francisco, and we’re proud to have known him when.

Listen to (or watch!) MC’s story:

Mc is dripping with San Francisco pride and it’s hard not to get caught up in his hella local wave. Follow MC and his bus operator pursuits on Twitter @that_mc.

Photo by Amanda Roosa. Video by Maya Curry.

Category: Muni Diaries Live, Muni Diaries Live Shows Tags: , ,
1 2 3 4 … 9