Reading Sandra‘s description of their home on Mango Street reminded me of the small apartments located above a storefront shop in Paterson New Jersey where I grew up. The stairway was poorly lit but an intriguing place to play. The fire escape always beckoned for me to look out over the street and toss things overboard. I was too young to understand how poor we were but I‘m thankful that my parents kept moving forward to provide us with more.