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. And that was one of the stories that won the Pulitzer. Something inside me said to take the risk and write that story. I did it. If you have the instinctive reaction if something moves you then do it. Follow that feeling.Her story of the man and his family demonstrates a sensitive firstperson approach to writing about the political and economic oppression, as well as the indomitable spirit, of the people of Haiti. "It is my favorite of all of them," Balmaseda says. This is her story of one family in Haiti:PORTAUPRINCE, Haiti Those are the neighbor's children dancing in the rain, thrusting their faces skyward, trying to catch the raindrops in their mouths, singing a song that gets lost in the deluge. Page 112Those are not the children of Morales Leger. His children are inside, dry, pleased nevertheless to witness the downpour on such a suffocating day.From his house across the alley, he and I watch the neighbor's girls in their euphoric convulsions, drenched, entranced.Morales, a man of 64, has put out large tin pots to catch the clean rainwater, a blessing on this humid Feast of the Ascension.He pulls his young son close to him, kissing his cheek, explaining that "he easily gets the flu."The sudden storm caught me as we talked in his home. Entirely by chance, I found myself dropped in the middle of daily life in a squalid shanty strip where a desperate existence churns on endlessly, even on feast days.The rain hammered on the tin roof, veiling doorways and windows in misty curtains. A shower of relief.To arrive at his house, I crossed the ancient slaughterhouse, walked along the muckfilled canal where pigs slept. The stench of human and animal and vegetable waste clung to my face like a mask. I took quick, shallow breaths through my mouth.A young woman bathed in the pig water, scrubbing her arms with a pink bar of soap, as if the rosy suds could extinguish the film of Godknowswhatisdumpedinthere.I had passed more than a dozen wooden doorways framing swollen, naked children. Inside, their mothers and sisters and maybe cousins lounged in a darker dimension. Because this was a holiday, no one was working. Normally, this place is alive from 4:30 a.m. with wailing animals and haggling merchants who later sell the fresh, warm meat at the market.Then, I slipped into the home of Morales Leger.Within dim, green walls there are two beds over which gauze mosquito nets dangle. There is a pink, childsize potty chair where his youngest girl, Philocles, 2, fidgets, naked.We talk about his life. He has not worked steadily in years. He was a sergeant in the military for 26 years, though he says he is not a political man. He left the service 17 years ago and has worked odd jobs since. Page 113He married a woman much younger, Margareth Coustan, 29. He delivered their four children in his home, on their matrimonial bed. He writes their names in my notebook in a spidery hand: Gina, 8, Philomene, 5, Philippe, 3, Philocles, 2.He lifts the youngest from her chamber pot, slides a piece of cardboard over its seat, and kisses the girl gently."My consolation," he whispers, kissing her again.Then it begins to rain.I ask him about Haiti, about politics and refugee boats, and the regime du jour. But he shakes his head."It is a divine presence that guides us. That is all," he says, offering me a seat in his home.The rain is powerful and relentless. In a while, his wife arrives, soaked and shivering. She sets down a flat basket of bruised chayotes and mangoes on the kitchen floor.From what I can understand, she brings back what the market ladies don't sell.A 25yearold neighbor named Jonny explains that friends sometimes help her buy food."She has many mouths to feed," he says. "She has plenty babies."And another is on the way. Margareth is five months pregnant.Why so many babies? I ask.Morales answers for her."They are my security," he says, clutching his chest. "They are my future."The gray canal outside his window has become a swift river rushing away from the shanty strip, rushing toward the bay, washing the putrid smells, washing the mud off the pigs, cleansing the woman who bathes in the pig water.After the rain, everything along the alley glistens, and in the distance a rainbow has appeared.A couple of days later, I watch a storm approach from my hotel balcony high above the capital. The city seems to dissolve gradually into silver sheets of water that sweep inland from the bay, across the slums and markets. Page 114I think of the slaughterhouse and the resilient souls who dwell on its fringe. Probably, they're happily getting wet.I know I learned something that afternoon at the house of Morales Leger. I learned that neither poverty nor politics can break the Haitian spirit.I learned that sometimes it can rain on the most putrid of days.I learned that in this place where hope is too often elusive, the children of Morales Leger, his hope and consolation, are truly his wealth. (Balmaseda, 1992, p. 1A)Reprinted with the permission of The Miami Herald.Using Direct QuotationsStrong feature articles come alive with liberal use of direct quotations from a variety of people and, occasionally, even documents. People make features work and their words, through your use of direct quotations, give life to your story. There are some rules about quotations in magazine and newspaper features that you should remember. First of all, in much of your article writing, you will find that quotations help to back up generalizations made about a person, place, or thing. Quotations give the article an element of reality beyond the perspective of the writer. For features, it means you can let someone else speak in the article, using his or her exact words.The Miami Herald's Balmaseda says she depends a great deal on direct quotations for her articles and columns about people. Balmaseda (1993, personal communication) explained, "I don't always have a lot to say about a subject. I ask a question and let people say it for me. Sometimes people say it better. Many times, people who never get into the paper say things very beautifully and I feel compelled to use what they say. Quotes give you something to hang the story on. But you also have to recognize that some people don't have something to say and you have to be selective."Paraphrasing can work as effectively as direct quotations. Sometimes, paraphrases work better. There are occasions when you can state something more efficiently and more meaningfully
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