Suddenly another thought went through Kate's mind like an electric shock. An express train was due to go past about thirty minutes later. If it were not stopped, that long train, full of passengers, would fall into the stream. “Someone must go to the station and warn the station-master,” Kate thought. But who was to go? She would have to go herself. There was no one else.

    In wind and rain she started on her difficult way. Soon she was at the bridge that crossed the Des Moines River, a bridge also built of wood, just like the bridge across Honey Creek. The storm had not washed this away, but there was no footpath across it. She would have to cross it by stepping from sleeper(枕木) to sleeper. With great care she began the dangerous crossing, sometimes on her hands and knees, hardly daring to look down between the sleepers into the wild flood waters below. If she should slip, she would fall between the sleepers, into the rapidly flowing stream.

    At last-she never knew how long it had taken her-she felt solid ground under her feet. But there was no time to rest. She still had to run more than half a mile and had only a few minutes left. Unless she reached the station before the express did, many, many lives would be lost.

    She did reach the station just as the train came into sight. Fortunately the station-master was standing outside. “The bridge is down! Stop the train! Oh, please stop it!” Kate shouted breathlessly.

    The station-master went pale. He rushed into the station building and came back with a signal light. He waved the red light as the train came into the station. It was not a second too early.

    To foreigners Chinese food isn't a meal. It's an experience. Failing to order the right food and struggling with chopsticks are only parts of the adventure every time I sit down in a restaurant.

    In one of our favorite Sichuan restaurants, it took 3 waiters and 15 minutes for us to order only our drinks. I simply wanted water, but my dad wanted to try the fresh juice they had listed on the menu. There were two problems, however. There were neither pictures nor English on the menu. After several hand gestures, he ended up ordering just a coca cola to simplify things.

    One of our most embarrassing moments was at Xiabuxiabu, a very famous hotpot chain. As soon as we walked in, the entire restaurant seemed to stare at us. Uncomfortable already, we had the most difficulty ordering our meal, since there were so many steps to the whole process. Fortunately, the waitress was very patient and successfully gave us our food. Although it was not the best food I had in Beijing, it was certainly entertaining dropping things into the boiling pot of soup. Once, I tried picking up a dumpling to show my father and dropped it onto his pants. I looked behind me, and people were laughing secretly at my chopstick skills.

    No matter how many difficulties we have regarding food, our experiences give the best stories to tell. The servers are always understanding of our situation and their friendliness is exceptional. They always greet us with a big smile even when they realize they have to clean up the noodles slipped through our clumsy chopsticks.

    It is generally acknowledged that young people from poorer socio-economic backgrounds tend to do fess well in the education system. In an attempt to help the children of poor families, a nationwide program called "Headstart" was started in the US in 1965. A lot of money was poured into it. It Look children into pre-school institutions at the age of three and was supposed to help them succeed in school. But the results have been disappointing because the program began too late. Many children who entered it at three were already behind their peers in language and intelligence and the parents were not involved in the process. At the end of each day, "Headstart" children returned to the same disadvantaged home environment.

    To improve the results, another program was started in Missouri that concentrated on parents as the child's first teachers. This program was based on research showing that working with the family is the most effective way of helping children get the best possible start in life. The four-year study included 380 families who were about to have their first child and represented different socio-economic status, age and family structure. The program involved trained educators visiting and working with the parent or parents and the child. The program also gave the parents some guidance, and useful skills on child development.

    At three, the children involved in the "Missouri" program were evaluated with the children selected from the same socio-economic backgrounds and family situations. The results were obvious. The children in the program were more advanced in language development, problem solving and other intellectual skills than their peers. They performed equally well regardless of socio-economic backgrounds or family structure. The one factor that was found to affect the child's development was the poor quality of parent-child interaction. That interaction was not necessarily bad in poorer families.

    The "Missouri" program compares quite distinctly with the "Headstart" program. Without a similar focus of parent education and on the vital importance of the first three years, some evidence indicates that it will not be enough to overcome education unfairness.

    Raised in France by her country physician grandfather, Petaluman Laura Reiehek will be recognized for her work helping the homeless, immigrants and elders and she received the Rev. James E. Coffee Human Rights Awards for 2006.

    Her grandfather devoted his whole life to making life better for others and was killed by Nazi soldiers in 1944. She was there when the soldiers took her grandfather's life: "I hid under a pile of leaves. But, you know, I heard it."

    She straggled to work through her anger and hate, but it was necessary for her own survival and serf-respect. After the war, she married Jesse Reichek, an American soldier in France, and they eventually settled in the Bay Area, where he grew to become an artist. They came to Petaluma from Berkeley when he needed more room to paint. They built their own home and treasured their time together.

    Reichek's years of volunteer work began with caring for an old lady in Sonoma County, which made her sensitive to the fact that many older people were living in bad places. So Reichek created Petaluma's first senior center. Then she noticed homeless people. With Mary Isaac, she co-founded COTS 15 years ago.

    These days, she is busier than ever, helping Latino immigrant families and visiting seniors in nursing homes. "Our goal is to promote and educate people in understanding and tolerance (忍受). We must learn to understand and celebrate our differences", said event chairman Harry Troutt, who serves on the commission.

    Last night, when I went to see my grandmother, she was sitting alone at the nurse station with her word search book. My grandmother was sitting at the desk with her book but no pencil just staring at the letters as if she was trying to find the word. I came to her and said hello.

    Usually, she at least knows I am connected to her somehow but this time, she looked at me with doubt. I introduced myself and told her that I was her granddaughter. "I don't know who you are," she said." Do you want to go outside?" I asked. "okay," she said.

    We got her things and I wrapped it all in a blanket we would use as a tablecloth. I asked her if she could hold it while I pushed her wheelchair and held her cup of tea.

    She held her hands out and I placed the cloth bundle (捆) on her lap. I put the cloth on the table and she helped smooth it down-then I put the rest of the items on the cloth.

    Now she was just staring at me as if confused, as if trying to figure me out. "Do you know who I am?" I asked. She said, "I don't really know." "I am your granddaughter," I said. "I am not sure what that is. I don't know, I don't know you," she said.

    I think of my friend whose mother has not known him for years, has no recollection (记忆), and doesn't speak any more. It is a painful sight for all those living who remember. I am grateful that my grandmother is still so present. I have a sinking feeling that our days are numbered.

    For now, she is still here, still says thank you, and still loves me from a deep and secret place. Tomorrow, I will see her and she may or may not know me-and that will be okay. I still know her.

I was standing in the checkout line behind a woman who looked to be in her 60s. When it was her turn to pay, the cashier greeted her by name and asked her how she was doing.

The woman looked down, shook her head and said: "Not so good. My husband just lost his job. The truth is, I don't know how I'm going to get through these days." Then she gave the cashier food stamps (食品券).

My heart ached. I wanted to help but didn't know how. Should I offer to pay for her groceries, or ask for her husband's resume (简历)?

Walking into the parking lot, I spotted the woman returning her shopping cart. I remembered something in my purse that I thought could help her. It wasn't a handful of cash or an offer of a job for her husband, but maybe it would make her life better.

"Excuse me," I said, my voice trembling a bit. "I couldn't help overhearing what you said to the cashier. It sounds like you're going through a really hard time right now. I'm so sorry. I'd like to give you something."

I handed her the small card from my purse. When the woman read the two words "You Matter" on the card, she began to cry. And through her tears, she said: "You have no idea how much this means to me."

I was a little startled by her reply. Having never done anything like this before, I didn't know what kind of reaction I might receive. All I could think to say was: "Would it be OK to give you a hug?"

A few days earlier, one of my workmates gave a similar card to me as encouragement for a project I was working on. When I read the card, I felt a warm glow spread inside of me. Deeply touched, I ordered my own box of "You Matter" cards and started sharing them.