The Lovebirds

It takes a while for Violeta M. Mileo to answer the front door. She has to walk down two flights of stairs, and she’s being extra careful. A couple of months ago, she fell and gouged her shoulder. She ended up in the emergency room. Vincent and Violeta have been together 40 years. That time, and this, she should have taken the chair lift that was installed for her husband, Vincent, but she doesn’t like to make anyone wait. That includes Vincent, who is standing on the top landing. He’s…

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The Tamale Lady

The Tamale Lady. That’s what everyone calls the weary young-old woman who pushes her shopping cart to the middle of the block and sets up on the sidewalk, selling breakfast for $1 and $2. The Tamale Lady at her Astoria Boulevard station. She does have a name. It may or may not be Idalia Garcia. It’s not important. But her story is. Idalia has been The Tamale Lady for three of the nine years she has called America her home. Her family was poorer than poor, and she had a pretty hard life…

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