Alfredo the Newspaperman

Alfredo works at the border of Blissville, just on the other side of the Long Island Expressway.

From three hours in the morning he never stops moving. By this resident's calculations, he must walk 10 to 12 miles a day.

He's been a newspaperman for three years, but only one year in Blissville.

He likes it here. "I do well," he says, bringing his thumb to his fingers. More tips. But he doesn't have to worry about how many newspapers he sells. He makes a weekly salary of $200.

In the late afternoons he starts his second job, as a bartender for a catering service.

Between both jobs he can support his wife and 3-year old daughter, his treasure.

Alfredo isn't from New York but from Bogotá.

There he studied business administration at Bogotá's most prestigious university and earned an MBA. He went to work for one of the state banks. He loved his job.

Then one day the bank closed. He had no warning. No one did.

The next six months he sought work in every corner of the city, but there was none. He had to sell his car and move to a smaller apartment. Finally at the suggestion of his mother who lived in New York, he came north. That was six years ago.

The New York Post and The Daily News may be his best sellers, but when Alfredo goes home, the paper he takes is The New York Times. "It has many long words. But I try."

Because some day he hopes that someone will recognize his degree. And that he can return to banking.