2002 - November

I packed my bags and set off to Oaxaca, Mexico. Initially my interests were in the region's artistic traditions and the promise of relaxation. I was going there to participate in a writer's retreat embraced in jasmine and bougainvillea flowers. One afternoon, the street leading to my bed and breakfast were blocked off.

My father left college in 1972 to return to Gary, IN. He left behind his education and independence to take care of my grandmother, who was sick at the time. Like many people during that time, he got a job at one of the steel mills in the area, becoming the breadwinner in the household.

Today, we celebrate May 1 as International Labor Day. That date was chosen to honor the eight martyrs of the Haymarket Affair and the cause they fought for, the "Eight Hour Day Movement."