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Poverty
The House Of Esperanza
Esperanza had informally inherited the house from Salvador Escondido, her husband by common law, who one morning kissed her goodbye at the door, left for work in the fields, and never came back.
April 1988From A Distance, Paradise
The children grew rapidly after birth, until they were weaned from the breast, and then never grew again. We never saw any cases of diaper rash because nobody could afford diapers. I had never before thought of diaper rash as a disease of affluence.
March 1988Jesus Tales
“You see?” he said. “This is Saint Peter. I am the Lord Jesus.” The halos lasted only a second. Then they were gone.
November 1987Aliens In The Garden
In the fields you worked in the open sun, sweating like a mule, crawling down the rows on your knees, your back bent and your spine cracking, breathing dust and insecticide fumes.
October 1987Martha
Martha is talking to me quickly: she needs another doctor. This one won’t give her the proper medication. She has not been eating well; it is too difficult for her to get out in the snow with her broken foot.
June 1987The Path Of Compassion
Thoughts On Spiritual Practice And Social Action
I could make a very convincing case to you for the practice of sitting meditation — just to do that and nothing else — and an equally convincing case for going out and serving the world.
May 1987Relieving Ramona
I like Ramona. I want to win the lottery, pay her brother back for the car, bounce her and the baby out of the attic apartment.
June 1986
