The Brooklyn Diet: Life’s tough but you eat anyway: A Conversation with Sam Bloom and Al Johnsen

Donna Benedetti grew up in rural Petaluma, California. She earned a doctorate at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and has taught philosophy and worked at organizations committed to land conversation and injury prevention. She currently writes personal histories and poetry for children, and volunteers at an inner-city school where she teaches critical thinking and reading to first graders. Above all, she treasures her life in San Francisco with her soul mate, Sam Bloom. Al Johnsen grew up during the Depression in a Norwegian neighborhood of Queens, NY. After serving in the Army Air Corps during WW II, he studied at the Otis Art Institute, Los Angeles, and taught art and ceramics at UC Santa Cruz. At 89, he lives in Gig Harbor, Washington, where he continues to fill his art studio with new paintings, pottery, and inventions. Samuel Bloom grew up in Brooklyn, NY, during the Depression, where he attended Boy’s High and later the City College of New York. Following service in the Army Air Corps during WW II, he earned his doctorate at UC Berkeley and taught philosophy and political science at Cabrillo College, Aptos, California. At 92, he enjoys the rich cultural life of San Francisco with his wife, Donna, and continues to challenge others to think to some purpose.