House Calls: The Good Earth
A single mom, the community garden, and the Alexander technique.
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1 of 11
The Light
One blindingly bright day ...
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2 of 11
The Deal
I went to Queens, N.Y., to discuss the economy with single mother Rebecca Tuffey and her daughter Ellie.
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3 of 11
The Lions
They live here, where the lions keep watch.
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4 of 11
The Refrigerator
While they were getting ready to go to the community garden (my photos of them inside didn’t come out very well so we have to wait to see them in the garden), I snooped around the apartment remembering what Rebecca told me on the phone ...
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5 of 11
The Boudoir
... about how she grew up on a goat farm—her father is into energy and windmills—and she went to Sarah Lawrence to be an actress but didn’t like “the way of life” so she became ...
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6 of 11
The Technique
... an independent Alexander practitioner—better posture, pain relief—but because of the recession, “I’ve lost a couple of clients who were laid off from jobs very suddenly—an interior designer, a big manager at Harper Collins. The thing I do is so dependent on people feeling they have money to spend, yet half of the people I work with are in pain, then when they get really stressed out, like lately, we literally wind ourselves up really tight.”
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7 of 11
The Child
“I didn’t think I was going to be a single mother. Our relationship fell apart during pregnancy. I was with somebody who I met through restaurant work. Then he went back to Mexico. It was a whole soap opera. I do all the financial support. He comes three nights a week to put Ellie to bed when I have to work. Lately, I just feel the consistent need to keep working. It’s the only way I feel I can safeguard us. When I get home now, all I want to do is sleep.”
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8 of 11
The Garden
Except for when she goes to the community garden! (She practically forced us out of the house!)
Rebecca: “Working in the earth is like being in a shower. Every time I come here, I feel so much better.” -
9 of 11
The Push
Rebecca: “Look at those daffodil bulbs. We planted them one cold fall day. They’re pushing up, making their way through the hard spring soil. They’ve got determination.”
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10 of 11
The Crop
“I’m very pleased with the peppermint. This year, we’re thinking of having a little pickle festival. We’re going to have a community plot, grow a bunch of food, and give it to people in the housing project across the street. There was a bit of an issue last summer.”
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11 of 11 The Crime
“Someone was stealing.”
