Then, right next to the subway station, I saw an encased Virgin Mary fastened to the fence overlooking a slightly wider, but still small patch, with a couple plants in the foreground, a pair of tables in the back and, off to the side, twisting grapevines held up by metal poles. I stopped to take a few photos. The brick and iron fence on the right is all that separates this little slice of the homeowners' culture from the buses and pedestrians that stream past 18 hours a day.
Maybe this is true of other ethnic groups -- in fact, I'm sure it is, though maybe it is manifested differently in those cultures. However, I have been in enough backyards to know that the older the Italians living there and the more recent the immigration from the Old Country, the more likely I am to see a little table, some grapevines, tomato and basil plants, a string of lights, a bocce court and, of course, the Virgin Mary.
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