My kids are 15, 14, and 13. They've been riding the bus in pairs or a group for about three years, and the oldest (the girl) goes just about everywhere on the bus. They're learning a bunch about responsibility and independence, and I'm saving gas and time and aggravation.

My job as a parent is to teach them how to not depend on me, either physically or emotionally.

I think the softness of the medium opens me to the message in a way that photographs would not allow. More evocative than photos would be. I'm also moved by the idea that the artist took quite a bit of time to document what was done to these women.

It's not a happy thing, but it is what is.

Clifford, @ 6:

They typically wore sandals -- a half-sandal with no heel -- or bearskin boots tied onto the foot, kind of like an ankle-high moccasin.