Ruskin was named for a 19th-century British social critic, John Ruskin, who believed in that delightful delusion of man's improvability. Tampa Bay's Ruskin was founded not quite a hundred years ago as a little utopia, where everybody was supposed to get what he needed. But any idea of equity was carried off long ago by the bay breeze. Ruskin became a farm town run on the backs of Mexican workers who get paid by the bucket. It is Mary Libroth's life to cope with the fallout from this imbalance.
Some kids come to school from homes without a book in the house.
But they can count. They understand money. Working in the fields, or hearing their relatives talk about it, has taught them. If he does not understand her, he must get something from her upbeat voice. She has good reasons.