Soon everything is in its appointed place except for Becky. And Becky does not have the faintest where that is.

Comb the Manhattan waterfront and you will find, along with the usual windrows of cups, bottles and plastic bags, what the E.P.A. calls “floatables,” those “visible buoyant or semibuoyant solids” that people flush into the waste stream like cotton swabs, condoms, tampon applicators and dental floss.

Both Menchaca and Urrutia-Rojas commented that first-generation Mexican immigrants tend to enjoy healthy foods and lifestyles. The McDonalds-ization of their diets and culture over time takes a toll.

polaristic antagonism