For them, the little stands are a convenient place to get what they need before boarding a bus for the crowded ride home. It's a lie to say we're able to live on these salaries. The only other way is if you have another person to make money. If the factories are busy, Mariana or Elvio may work late for extra pay. On Saturdays, they might work an additional shift at the factory to pick up some more money.
Children sometimes devise their own checkerboards from cardboard, using bottle caps for the pieces.
Mariana and Elvio rarely leave the village except to work. Appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Dec. 31, 2000. All rights reserved. Produced by Journal Interactive .