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CAROLINE LEE
a book bubble about
Maxzyne Meets the Mannequins
Children's Books
Author Insight
Esmeralda
During the decade I spent living in downtown Chicago, the issue of homelessness was always with me. Poverty, mental illness, drug abuse, and desperation often played out on my own busy city block. Small acts of dignity, like the man washing himself and his clothes in the small fountain in front of our skyscraper condo entrance. Or the beautiful schizophrenic woman who calls herself, "Jan the Prophet", always talking to herself, and selling her colorful paintings on the sidewalk. The young couple, heroin addicts, who take turns panhandling in front of the EL stop each day. Each life so different from mine, but somehow able to survive on the streets. Serving the food pantry at my church and distributing warm hats, scarves and gloves during the freezing winter months were never enough. Yet, somehow, as the seasons changed, they were still there. What were their stories, I wondered? Eventually, I made one up.
Book Excerpt
Maxzyne Meets the Mannequins
“Too many folks use these cups for begging,” she mutters. “Just because you’re down, living on the street, doesn’t mean you just get a handout. Sure, some people have hard times, but begging? Kills your pride, that’s what. Me? I sell my paintings. Nobody can say Esmeralda doesn’t earn her keep! And when I get paid, I don’t mind sharing. Even with the pigeons,” she exclaims, flinging her arms out wide and scaring two perched on a nearby lamp post. She points at Maxzyne, her voice serious.
“But, girl, you’ve got a home. Makes no sense you growing up fast like me. You take your time; let the years come to you. They’ll find you, those years will. Oh, yes . . . they’ll find you . . .”
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