The Story

During the Great Depression, Mary Immel lived in a small desert town in northern Arizona. In the center of her town was a railroad station with a restaurant called La Posada. With a penny in hand, five-year-old Mary would walk over to the station on a hot summer afternoon, towards the gumball machine, but get lost in the cool beauty of the building’s hacienda and its magnificent green gardens. She returned, years later, to see what had become of the secret garden of her childhood.

Bill Shipley had a distinguished career as an officer in the Coast Guard. His son, Adam Shipley, was going to follow in his father's footsteps and join the Navy. When Adam told his father that he thought gays should not be in the military, his father revealed for the first time that he was gay. Bill wanted to protect his son from living his life in the closet. Not long after, Adam came out as gay, and gave up his plans to join the military and marry a woman.

The new film Miral is generating all kinds of controversy – as most films about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict do. The movie is based on the novel written by Rula Jebreal, inspired by her own life. Rula got caught up in the first intifada, a time when Palestinian children were throwing stones at Israeli soldiers. Rula was arrested and friends of hers were killed. Rula tells Dick Gordon how she escaped the violence and became an advocate for peace. Also in this episode, Ignacio Varchausky is a musician from Buenos Aires.

Bob Raab paid his own way through college. It took him 6 years and a lot of part-time jobs - 27 different jobs. The most memorable one was a slot on a “road repair crew” for $1.05 an hour.