Edubabble - Fall 2020

items for them. Good thing because the Mirandas would not have been able to carry the mattresses
nor the couch all the way.
Once they settled in their new apartment, they would have to be very frugal with all
expenses. On days when it was above freezing they would turn off the furnace which made the
house very cold. The library was again their go to place for homework. At least they would be
warm there.
The Mirandas lived at the new apartment for a year without incident. The walk to school
was longer, but they were used to walking now. They even walked to the grocery store which was
almost five miles away. Then they would take a taxi cab home with the groceries.
Walking saved them a lot of money on
taxi fare. The Salvation Army dressed
them. Aid for Families with
Dependent Children paid their rent.
Leyda was learning English, though
slowly and the Miranda girls were
doing well in school. Then Leyda’s
rainy day fund ran out and the winter
was coming.
***
The Mirandas did not know
how the weather could change
everything. In Puerto Rico they had
been able to use cold water and shade
to cool off during heat waves. They
never had to worry about the cold. And their house was made of concrete so hurricanes would
flood the roads, but their house would stay standing. Yes, they had to live without electricity when
the wind took down the wires, but flashlights and candles solved the
problem of the dark. They were about to face el frío pelú, the hairy cold that Puerto Ricans
talked about when they described the winter in the northeast states. It was the winter of 1989-90.
Photo by Neil Giordano
So much of their life now revolved around strategizing to brave the weather. The
thermostat on their living room window read 6 degrees below zero for weeks at a time. The
Mirandas had never felt so cold. When the heating bill came, Leyda could not believe it. The
amount was twice what she paid for rent. She simply could not afford it and said to the utility
company that she would live without the heating service.
“You have to shut it off. There is nothing we can do about this horrendous amount.”
Gracia translated her mother’s words.
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