Читать книгу Other Seasons - Harold J. Recinos - Страница 13

early one morning in front of Leroy’s

ground floor apartment a sidewalk sale

was underway with a baby crib, records, two

chairs, a desk lamp, an old bicycle, worn clothes,

a broken-handle toaster and a checker set. the

Irish lady who put the sale together hoped to

get a little business from the new Puerto Rican

residents pouring out of a storefront church, though

they never heard a Doris Day record, asked what is

checkers, and reserved an entirely different taste in

clothes. Leroy told me his mother hatched the idea

to earn a little money to help pay the rent before the

family lost its roof and had to sleep beneath a street

of stars. I never imagined pale faced poor till then, so

I gathered the Nuyorican shoe shine boys on the block,

told them they best pray up better days for redheaded

Leroy with Saint Patty’s name, then convinced them

to drop a quarter in a cup to buy the life line checker

set. when somebody bought the desk lamp the look

in the Irish mother’s eyes was like an Angel came by

saying do not be afraid you will be paid with scanty

Spanish speaking cash, instead of city dust. on that

day, I swear the multicolored poor on the block

could not have loved each other more with the very

simple kindness the rest of the world did not care

to give.