Several years ago the author began visiting a number of families and children in the poor black section of Boston called Roxbury. But unlike many social scientists studying poverty in recent years, he listened--in particular to the thoughts, hopes, fears, and dreams of two fifth graders--William D. Williams and Adrien Keller. Here these two black children express their beliefs and feelings about the 1972 election; politics in general; the meaning of laws; joblessness and underemployment; health care, crime, and other issues. The story of Adrien Keller and William D. Williams depends on involvements with families over long periods of time rather than on systematic measurements of particular attitudes or degrees of knowledge. The intent is to describe sensitivities to political issues and the ways these issues touch the lives of children and their families in the course of living one day at a time. The work is, therefore, closer to a tradition established by novelists, cultural anthropologists, and journalists, among others, and yet it is always complemented and enlightened by the more traditional research of the social sciences. All names have been changed to preserve confidentiality. Although the method used here outwardly resembles the home visits of social workers, none of these families has come to the author requesting help or psychotherapy; and none of the families has been selected because of some psychological problem any was experiencing. Indeed it was the author who requested the right to meet with them. (Author/JM)