God must love the poor. Why else would he have made so many of them? —Abraham Lincoln She reminded me of Marlene Dietrich. Something about her confident bearing or those exotic features, her oval face, her soft-spoken manner. But she was no movie star, and no one had ever stopped her for an ... Continue reading
Java justice
May 24, 2003 By Leave a Comment
She touched my hand gently, as is the custom, and smiled brightly as she welcomed us into her home. I glanced down at her bare feet—they were calloused, rough, wide, toes splayed, out of proportion with her slight frame. She had the feet of a woman who had spent her life hauling heavy loads over ... Continue reading
What’s love got to do with it?
April 27, 2003 By Leave a Comment
What's love got to do with it? What's love but a second-hand emotion? —Tina Turner. The Russian cobbler was so poor, he and his wife shared a single coat, and it was tattered and threadbare. In his pocket was their life's savings—three kopeks. A farmer owed him another five, and so, he had braved ... Continue reading
