Episode 42 (10-26-15)
Miranda winced when she heard that neighbors had formed a vigilante committee to monitor the drug dealing activity of a teen age boy five houses down the street from the Southgate home in which she had grown up.
One neighbor went to the drug-dealing teen’s mother and asked what they should do. The mother freaked out. She was a single mom, an attorney at one of the big Palo Alto law firms, and she did not want her son in the “system.”
Episode 41 (10-24-15)
For the past 20 years, living and working in New York, Miranda had attended meetings of Adult Children of Alcoholics. That experience had made life different for her and much better.
Both Miranda’s parents were alcoholics. Her father had been the senior officer in a Palo Alto bank, who drank too much and became resentful at hitting the ceiling of a career in which he thought he deserved so much more.
So he retired early and drank himself to death.
Episode 40 (10-23-15)
More and more, Miranda thought she might invite Guy to come and live with her. He was her ex-boyfriend. They had co-habited in New York for five years; until he told her he was gay; and to be true to himself said he had to leave and pursue that part of his life.
Episode 39 (10-22-15)
Miranda steered off University Avenue onto a side street, walking slowly past what looked like a temporary shop front, rented out ad hoc between major tenants, which sold yoga gear.
To her astonishment, inside were five Buddhist monks bending over a table.
Episode 38 (10-21-15)
“How does somebody become gay?” Jeremy asked?
Jeremy and Miranda sat at Café Venetia, her new favorite coffee shop on University Avenue, having a latte.
Jeremy was on his way up to the Aquarius, where he worked as a ticket guy, refreshment guy, and general factotum.
Episode 37 (10-20-15)
Miranda walked around Palo Alto, to visit places old and new.
She was impressed with the newly constructed Mitchell Park Library. It had cool areas for kids, including a kids’ reading room, and a kids’ meeting room.
There were computers, and places for adults to read, study and work.
Episode 36 (10-19-15)
The next day Miranda and Eddie sat outside Café Venetia on University Avenue, drinking a late morning latte, and picking up on their discussion of the merits and drawbacks of genetically engineered strawberries.
Jeremy the aspiring slacker filmmaker came ambling up the street on his way to work at the Aquarius.
“I just realized,” said Miranda to her two men friends, “That both of you live with your mothers.”
Episode 35 (10-17-15)
Miranda sipped her morning latte at Café Venetia on University Avenue.
Eddie the street person came strolling by. He was about to explain how Palo Alto was like strawberries. Miranda offered to buy Eddie a coffee.
“No thanks,” he said. “Not today. Today is a street planter day.” And Eddie sat down on the street planter a few feet away.
Sometimes Eddie made a lot of sense to Miranda, and sometimes he didn’t.
Episode 34 (10-16-15)
Miranda and Eddie walked through the Stanford campus, so Miranda could visit the landmarks her childhood and undergrad years, some now changed, some the same.
They looped around old Lake Lagunita, which was now dry, no longer a lake.
They both remembered this as a wet lake from when they were kids. Miranda and Eddie and her brother Tom, now two decades dead from a drug overdose, used to come here and skate flat rocks; and sometimes at night jump in and swim, which was against regulations.
Episode 33 (10-15-15)
Miranda was trying to figure out if she could quit her New York lawyering job and retire to Palo Alto.
One financial planner said, “Sure, easy, I can get you 7% to 8% percent on your money. You’ll have no problem living on that. I’ll take 1.5% from your gross assets each year as my cut, to make this work for you.”
Her friend Valerie told Miranda, “Anyone says they can get you more than 3% a year is a liar.”