In the seventh in her series of signposts and watchwords for those who are seeking to catch something of the spirit of Dorothy Day, her granddaughter recalls her delight in life and her laughter at the absurdity of the human condition

Big Dan Orr was a member of the Catholic Worker family who showed up at the door when he had lost his job as a driver during the Great Depression. He sold the Catholic Worker paper on a street corner in Union Square, and when he saw Dorothy approaching, he’d shout, “Buy the Catholic Worker! Romance on every page!”

Stanley Wisniewski, who arrived at the Worker as a 17 year old and ended up staying his entire life, used humour to lift everyone’s spirits, including his own. He liked to say in his Brooklyn accent, “Here at the Catholic Worker, we don’t have a single cockroach. They are all married with children.”