Episode 39: Educator/Writer/Storyteller Ed Wolf

Film photography by Michelle Kilfeather

Ed Wolf is an educator. He's a writer, a storyteller, and a trainer. And he loves public transportation. 

​Three rides on mass transit serve as the settings for Part 1. It was there that he learned about people and the city he lives in and loves—San Francisco.

Ed worked for three years on San Francisco General Hospital's Ward 5A, where AIDS patients came when the epidemic first hit. Part 2 of Ed's podcast details two stories from his time in Ward 5A. One is a story of an unexpected kindness Ed experienced after crossing a line he wasn't supposed to cross. The second is a tale of survival and heroism that should surprise you.

In Part 3, Ed talks about moving here and feeling like he was part of a community. Shortly after his arrival in San Francisco, that community was upended by AIDS.

Ed tells stories of his own relationship with the disease and he talks about an old roommate who was sick but found hope in an unusual place.

Here's the poem Ed mentions having written in Part 3:

THE SKI MASK

When he's had a bad night
and there's nothing else to do
we talk about how
we could make it happen
sooner.

Bob was given a phone number -
a guy
wearing a ski mask
will come to your house
and help you
out.

We try to imagine:
placing the call
having a meal
changing the sheets
saying goodbye
leaving the front door ajar
going to separate rooms
hearing footsteps on the porch
in the hallway
passing by my room on the way to his
closing his door
opening a dark bag
setting him free.

Either way
we suppose
it will come like that.

With or without a mask.

Edward Wolf
September 17, 1994

We recorded this episode at Ed's home in the Mission District in June 2018.