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Bob Merberg's avatar

Thanks, Jill. And I appreciate your sharing about your great-grandma and her sisters. I wonder what they were doing around that time. The year before the fire, shirtwaist factory workers had just "won" a big strike, when owners agreed to workers' demands to reduce the weekly work schedule to *only* 52 hours. I'm not keen on glorifying past generations, but, dang, those young immigrants were tough. Just thinking about your great grandma (and 3 of my grandparents) leaving their homes and setting sail for America blows my mind. Of course, I'm reminded of a famous quote by an Italian immigrant: "I came to New York because I heard the streets were paved with gold. When I got here, I learned three things: The streets are not paved with gold. They are not paved at all. I am expected to pave them.”

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Colin Bullen's avatar

Still as powerful today as the first time I read this. Thanks for the reminder that we still have a road to travel, Bob.

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