My sisters are visiting and I teach them how to tip. We get the bill and I point to the sum and explain that one divides the number in half and then again in half and the result is the amount of tip one pays! But, I tell them, people rarely pay the full amount. My sisters nod and accept the explanation.

M.N. has sent me a letter. She has included a pamphlet/magazine where she is featured as a successful teacher. I read the article with a sting of envy. Now I see her classroom in E. and see that it looks surprisingly spartan. I notice that some of the wall displays are tilting a little and could use some rearranging. This gives me a sense of relief. I think that she went abroad to be a teacher so she could more easily escalate the ladder and get a better salary. I look in the envelope she sent me and see a collection of colors in small containers. Some are water colors and others are small crayons, tubes and pencils. I think the students are expected to mix colors with the help of these small containers and tubes - everything looks very tiny, and almost cute. I inspect these art supplies and they have a vague scent of something, perhaps paint.

I am driving on a freeway. The traffic is making it difficult to get into the right lane. I see a complex pattern of freeway overpasses and pretzel-like roads - all filled with moving cars. Now I drive on a very steep street. I drive a stickshift and fear I will have to stop right before the knoll. My sisters are with me. I approach the top of the hill - it looks like S.F.