Omar's Artichoke

What possible good can come from a 16-inch square of dry dirt in a big grey city? It's just concrete dust and city dirt surrounded by sidewalk.

What happened next when Grampa gave a rumpled bag with a wilted spiky plant to Omar took the five year old's life in a new direction, sparking a new interest, a daily conversation. That 16-inch square garden became the center of his and his grampa's life.

That summer they spent watching over the grey-green spiked artichoke plant in its impossibly...