an at 5:00 a.m. As on other days, he had the decision whether to get up immediately and use the few free private moments of his day to sew something for someone for extra money--a talent that he used diligently to ensure his survival--or to stay in bed and try to nurture a few extra moments of warmth. On this day he chose to stay under his cover a little longer because he didn't feel well. With his head under his cover and overcoat, he could hear the orderlies tramping down the corridor with one of the twenty-gallon latrine tanks.
His overriding concern on this, a typical day, was to get as much food as he could from the meager provisions available, do his assigned work as a mason, try to keep warm, and to escape the verbal and physical brutalities of the bosses. The food consisted of a thin gruel made of grain and hot water with an occasional piece of cooked vegetable or meat floating in the water (15), twice a day. Dry pieces of bread, which
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