Ann Robin is a welcome distraction from chaos of the rush-hour traffic that is harnessed by the nest of traffic lights at the corner of Camp and Lamaha streets. You wait for the lights to set you free then she catches your eye, sauntering in and out of rows of cars and timing her burst of sales in a manner that tallies with the length of time it takes for the lights to go from red to green. It is, evidently, a practiced art. If she gets it wrong she would miss her regular customers, or perhaps she may even be run over.
Robin boasts five challenging years of vending all of the country’s daily newspapers every day of the week. It is her primary source of income. It is a pursuit that begins several hours before she puts in an appearance at Camp and Lamaha streets. Long before that – at around 4am – she makes her way to the different locations where she picks
