It was a little after four in the morning. I sat, nursed my second cup of coffee, and watched as Shirley sat at her computer with her back to the stairs she seldom used. Her gentrified loft in Northwest Portland is simultaneously opulent and minimalist. The furnishings are primarily antique, giving a nod to contemporary with her comfortable Leoni chairs and king-sized bed. One entire wall of books is broken only by the entryway to the area of the loft designated as bedroom. Her fifth floor windows afford views of downtown Portland, the Northwest hills, and nearby Montgomery Park, which isn't a park at all, but a remodeled warehouse complete with atrium and suitable for the most lavish of weddings or movie and television sets for Portland’s flourishing film industry.

    For now, Shirley ignor...

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