Some people look for a beautiful place. Others make a place beautiful. Hazrat Inayat Khan

We just celebrated 30 years in our house. Some local folks have said we won't visit you because of where you live. My parents disapproved, saying "you bought a house ahead of your sister!" Then they complained that we live amongst tenements.

We were not scared like many are of poor people. We love our City and our diverse neighborhood. We stayed and got involved, picked up trash in the street, planted gardens, walked our dogs, and got to know our neighbors, landlords, prostitutes, mayors, police and firefighters. Over time all of this changed the neighborhood. We are still here. The ultimate irony is that nobody in my family of origin owns a single-family house anymore.