Curiosity stirs the soul, igniting our need to know.
Throughout the year, we publish some stories that continue to develop – and we can't bear to leave you hanging.
So herewith are some epilogues to profiles, juicy details, happy endings and other things we thought you'd like to know. They're the "whatever-happened-to" tales from some of our most intriguing 2007 stories.
Since you're dying to know, let's begin with ...
Feb. 7: In a city short on celebrities, Ruofs (pronounced "Rufus") is an A-lister. The red and green fiberglass bull in front of Ruland's Used Office Furniture Store on North 16th Street displays amusing messages to thousands of commuters.
Steve Ruland, the store's owner, concocts and arranges the white lettering on the bull's side to spell out things like "Mooloof fan," "I'm not fat, I'm just retaining red wine" and "I'm in the moo-ood for love."
Now: Ruofs was reunited with an identical brother in October. Ruland was alerted that another bull was for sale online and made the purchase.
"I got an e-mail from an associate and he said to go on the San Diego Craigslist," says Ruland. "I saw Ruofs' twin brother."
Ruland's newest Ruofs will get a new paint job from an auto body shop down the street before joining his brother bull in front of the store and on the celebrity circuit.
Other than being reunited with his brother, Ruofs spent the majority of time this past year just hanging out.
"I'm expecting the PETA people to contact me about leaving him out in the weather," cracks Ruland.
Aug. 18: It began as an abstract idea: The Biers-Ariel family of Davis, avid bike riders all, would spend eight weeks of their summer cycling from San Francisco to Washington, D.C.
The initial goals were twofold: to provide son Yonah with a coming-of-age alternative to the bar mitzvah he didn't want to have, and to deliver a petition asking Congress to take measures to mitigate global warming.
The family's epic adventure unfolded over 69 days and 3,808 miles, leaving Matt, 46; Djina, 45; and sons Yonah, 14, and Solomon, 9, at once elated and numb.
Now: What they learned about determination, perseverance – and each other – was enough to fill a book. Which is exactly what Matt is working on four months after the fact.
"I'm 40 pages into the book I'm trying to write about the trip," he said in an e-mail, adding that he and Djina think back a lot about the highs and lows of the adventure.
"We have both come to the same conclusion," he said. "We cannot believe that we actually did it. Had we known what we were getting into, I'm not sure we would have even attempted it."
As for the kids: "Yonah has been on a recreational bike ride exactly one time since the trip," Matt said. "Alas, I think it burned him out pretty much. He is learning tennis, however."
– Janet Fullwood
April 28: In Department 130 of the Sacramento County Family Relations Courthouse, Leland Anthony Carpitcher, 4, became the official son of Joann and Paul Carpitcher of Elk Grove.
Leland's photo ran in the Sacramento Bee in November 2005 with a story about the Heart Gallery, a portrait exhibit of kids in foster care who were available for adoption. The Carpitchers, who already had adopted four children, saw the photo and decided to make room for Leland in their family.
Now: Leland is 5 and going to kindergarten. He's also a superhero-in-training.
"It's all about Spider-Man for him," Joann Carpitcher says. He has a Spidey costume and likes to climb to his lair atop his bunk bed, where he can swoop down on unsuspecting bad guys, saying, "I'm Spider-Man and I've got you."
When he's not rounding up miscreants, Leland often practices his talents as a physical comedian for his family audience.
"He loves to make funny faces and make the other kids laugh," his mom says.
– Alison apRoberts
March 29: Davis' KDRT (101.5 FM), one of only two low-power FM radio stations in the Sacramento area (KDEE in Rancho Cordova is the other), might be forced off the air if the Federal Communications Commission approves the request by KMJE, Yuba City's adult-contemporary music station, to move its transmission tower from Gridley to Woodland. Because KMJE's frequency is the same as KDRT's, one of these stations will have to go if the application is approved.
