"Some secrets are hidden from health," wrote John Updike in his poem "Fever".

    I have experienced the truth of Updike's observation. My excellent health kept me from seeing some things—things that became secrets of sort.

    One relates to my son Chris. When I lost my health in March, I discovered something I had missed about him.

    Christopher has been a scholar and athlete through high school. He has behaved responsibly, engaged in community service. He has had an impressive peer group of serious students.

    While I saw these things, I had missed before what I experienced while in hospital. Early on, Christopher offered the clearest and most forceful words about my need to be positive and to fight acute leukemia(急性白血病). He never left the room after a visit without making me promise that I would be mentally tough and positive.

    During the first week, he showed his own mental toughness, researching leukemia and learning what the chances were. He even stopped my doctor outside the room, introduced himself and asked directly what he thought of my chances. He processed the answer without overreaction.

    Christopher did admonish(劝告) me against my choice of words the first week at home. I had moved back into my room from weighing myself, discovering a thin figure I did not know. I announced to him and my wife, “dead man walking”. I thought it was a way to lighten the obvious. He saw it as negativity and was strongly against such thinking and talking.

    When I resisted taking medicine sometimes, Christopher formed a “good-cop-bad-cop” team with his mother. Betsy gently and patiently encouraged. He directly and forcefully insisted. He always made the logical arguments for why I needed to take some awful pills.

    My health had hidden something from me; my ill-health helped me to see it.

    I could feel the judging eyes of my family burning a hole into the back of my head as I picked up my phone. All of a sudden, the chattering in the living room died and all I could hear was the sound of the turkey sizzling (发出嘶嘶声) in the oven.

    “Look at her! She's been on her phone all day long! It's all your fault! Children will never respect elders if they are not taught how to behave! ” my grandmother shouted.

    I was very shocked and angry! I opened my mouth to say something, but words failed me and I just sat down quietly on the chair like a mouse in its trap. I thought “Here we go again.” I truly love my family and I would do anything for them. I also know that they would do anything for me as well. However, there are moments that make me feel like they are just stuck with me. They all agree on one thing: technology is wrecking me.

    If I am going to be treated like a child or completely ignored, I will most likely not enjoy your company, and I feel like this applies to (适用于） the majority of the people. So I sometimes simply shut myself in my room and listened to the voices coming from the living room, thinking: They all grew up in a world so different that it amazes me how they have actually gotten this far. They did not have phones or any type of advanced technology, which is both good and bad. Bad because they had almost no type of fast communication, and good because they were forced to interact (互动) with one another, which is something today's society is lacking in. However, maybe if they made an effort to be aware of how things work nowadays, they would not be so against everything.

    Take part in one of these FUN summer camps.ID Tech Camps offer weeklong courses at locations throughout the US.Our junior courses provide additional time for off-computer activities,ensuring a well-balanced day.Learn from instructors who are passionate about technology.There is a maximum of just 8 students per instructor.Just choose a course.

    Adventures in Games Design

    Ages: 7-10

    Dates: July 1-July 7

    Cost: $520

    Don't just play games!Make them!Create your own video game in this fun,exciting video game camp for kids. Design your own arcade or platform game using professional software.Take breaks to play sports outside and do other activities.

    Adventures in Programming

    Ages: 7-13

    Date: July 4-July 10

    Cost: $750

    Let your imagination run wild in this multimedia adventure.Create your own interactive stories,animated adventures and creative comics.Learn drag-and-drop programming basics with scratch (a project of the MIT Media Lab).Computer characters are at your command!Take breaks with supervised outside sports and activities.

    Adventures in Robotics

    Ages: 12-15

    Date: July 4-July 10

    Cost: $1,200

    Imagine it,build it and watch it go!Powered by the LEGO MINDSTORMS Education NXT Base Set and Software,our Adventures in Robotics course explores the exciting world of robots!This course will have you create cool robots on your first day.

    Introduction to Web Design & Photography

    Ages: 9-12

    Date: July 14-July 20

    Cost: $700

    Use a high-end camera and learn the building blocks of web design with Adobe Dreamweaver.Put your photos into your basic website,and then share your creation with your friends and family.The software Adobe Flash may be introduced based on a student's progress throughout the week.

Movie Making Camp

    Ages: 12-15

    Date: July 14-July 20

    Cost: $1,8000

    Are you ready to learn the basics of filming and editing?

    Shoot with professional cameras and see how much fun creative editing can be with the video editor iMovie. Take home a DVD of your final project to show your family.Please remember it takes filmmakers years to master their skills.Please have realistic project expectations.

    Children's lives have changed greatly over the last 50 years. But do they have a happier childhood than you or I did?

    It's difficult to look back on one's own childhood without some element of nostalgia (怀旧的). I have four brothers and sisters, and my memories are all about being with them. Playing board games on the living room floor, or spending days in the street with the other neighborhood children, racing up and down on our bikes, or exploring the nearby woods. My parents scarcely appear in these memories, except as providers either of meals or of severe blame after some particularly risky adventure.

    These days, in the UK at least, the nature of childhood has changed dramatically. Firstly, families are smaller, and there are far more only children. It is common for both parents to work outside the home and there is the feeling that there just isn't time to bring up a large family, or that no one could possibly afford to have more than one child. As a result, today's boys and girls spend much of their time alone. Another major change is that youngsters today tend to spend a huge amount of their free time at home, inside. More than anything this is due to the fact that parents worry far more than they used to about real or imagined dangers, so they wouldn't dream of letting their children play outside by themselves.

    Finally, the kind of toys children have and the way they play is totally different. Computer and video games have replaced the board games and more interesting activities of my childhood. The irony (令人啼笑皆非的事情) is that so many ways of playing games are called “interactive”. The fact that you can play electronic games on your own further increases the sense of loneliness felt by many young people today.

    Do these changes mean that children today have a less relaxing childhood than I had? I personally believe that they do, but perhaps every generation feels exactly the same.

    Having friends may well keep you healthier and help you deal with stress better. Some studies show that people with close friends have a greater ability to fight disease than people who are alone.

    Place friendship in the first place. Find the time to be with friends even if it means letting the lawn(草坪) go unmowed (未割的) or the dishes unwashed for a while. When you can't get together, use the phone to keep in touch.

    Open up to close friends. Keeping a deep friendship requires a level of “heartfelt” intimacy (亲密).Don't be afraid to express your inner fears and disappointments. Listen to your friends when they have problems， but offer advice only when it's wanted. Help raise friends' self-esteem(自尊) when they are sad about a job loss, or other such events.

    Have different friends for different activities, such as going to the movies， singing in a choir， and joining in a bowling league.

    Don't wait for a friend to ask for helps. When a friend has the flu， offer to go to the store or drive his or her children to their afterschool activities.

    Never take a friendship for granted. Like a good marriage， friendship needs care and patience. Become a joiner. Find a group that matches your interests.

    Talk to strangers. Conversations started in museums, laundry rooms， or bookstores can lead to firm friendship.

    Enroll in an adult education course. A classroom is an ideal place to meet others with similar interests.

    The weather symbol shown for each day in the five day forecast represents the main weather expected on the day in question. The maximum temperature is the highest temperature forecast between dawn and dusk, whereas the minimum temperature is the lowest temperature expected from dusk on the day to dawn the following day. The wind speed and direction are the expected conditions at midday.