One afternoon I visited an art museum while waiting for my husband to finish a business meeting. I was looking forward to a quiet view of the art works.

    A young couple viewing the paintings ahead of me chatted nonstop (不停) between themselves. I watched them a moment and found the wife was doing all the talk. I admired (赞赏) the husband for putting up with her continuous (持续的) talk. Distracted (分心) by their noise, I moved on.

    I met with them many times as I moved through the different rooms of art. Each time I heard her continuous talk, I moved away quickly.

    I was standing at the counter (柜台) of the museum gift shop when the couple came near to the exit. Before they left, the man reached into his pocket and pulled out a white thing. He extended (展开) it into a long stick and then tapped (敲打) his way into the coatroom to get his wife's jacket.

    “He's a brave man.” The salesman at the counter said, “Most of us would give up (放弃) if we were blind (瞎的) at such a young age. But he said his life wouldn't change during his recovery (恢复). So, as before, he and his wife come in when there's a new art show.”

    “But how does he enjoy the art?” I asked, “He can't see.”

    “Can't see? You're wrong. He sees a lot. More than you or I do.” The clerk said, “His wife describes each painting so he can see it in his head.”

    I learned something from the couple that day. I saw a young wife describing paintings to a person without sight (视力) and a husband who would not allow blindness to change his life. And I saw the love shared by two people as I watched this couple walk away hand in hand.

    Some people like to collect stamps. Others prefer posters or coins. But Pinky Bhutia is different. She collects children. In her mountain village, in Sikkim, she is known as the wonderful young woman who adopts(领养) all the children she can.

    Pinky was 14 when she adopted her first child, a Nepali baby girl, whose patents passed away. Pinky's parents did not mind. Pinky left school and started working full time because she had a baby to feed. Today , she has twelve adopted children, and two sons from her marriage.

    Pinky is about 30 years old and she comes from a common family. If you passed her on the street, you wouldn't give her a second look. She lives in a brown mud-washed(泥刷的) house. There is a vegetable garden outside. Red hens with noisy chicks run all over the garden looking for food.

    If you ask her why she provides a home for so many kids, she smiles shyly. But her eyes are serious. "I know what it is to be poor and hungry." As a child, her only dream was to eat a full meal, and her favorite amusement was watching people with shoes and imagining what it felt like. By adopting poor and homeless children she is making sure that they never feel that hopeless.

    Pinky feels very proud when she sees her children happy and bright, her oldest baby, Aarita Rai, is now 20 years old, Then, there is 19-year-old Nimbe who came to Pinky because her mother was unable to look after her. She started to work in a government office two years ago. Ten-year-old Bhim and 14-year-old Kumar came to Pinky five years ago, after their father's death. They started living on a patch of land given by Pinky and grew vegetables for sale.

    "I like children. It's not one more mouth to feed but one more soul saved," Pinky says.

    An old man is sitting on the sofa in his house along with his son. Just then, a crow (乌鸦) stops on their window.

    "What is that?" asks the father.

    "It is a crow." answers the son.

    "What is that?" asks the father again after a few minutes.

    "Father, I just told you. It's a crow." the son answers again.

    "What is that?" asks the old father a third time.

    "Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again?  I have told you so many times 'IT IS A CROW'!" shouts (大喊) the son.

    After a little while,  the father goes to his room and comes back with his old diary (日记). He asks his son to read one page. The son reads the following words in the diary:

    "Today my 3-year-old son is sitting with me on the sofa. When a crow is sitting in the window, he asks me 23 times what it is, and, 23 times, I answer, 'it is a crow' I hug (拥抱) him warmly every time he asks me the same question, again and again."

    When your parents get old,  do not look them as a burden (负担), but be kind to them. Remember they are the people who always love you. Love your parents, please.

    Fiona likes to listen to music. She likes to listen to classical music. Now she is listening to Beethoven's Symphony (交响曲) No. 5. The music is about fate knocking on the door. Fate is the unseen power of life. Fate changes our lives. Fate designs our lives. Fiona likes this music. She feels the power of music.

    Suddenly, somebody knocks on her door. She goes to the door and opens it. There is a man at the door. The man is old. He has grey hair and a grey beard (胡须). She doesn't know who the person is. The man says he is her father. She closes the door in front of the man. She stays at the door and thinks. She has a father. But he is dead. She doesn't know the man at the door. She doesn't understand why he says he is her father. She wants to call the police. Just then she can see a photo under the door. The man is giving her a photo. She looks at the photo. She can see herself with a man she doesn't know. It is her because she took many photos when she was a young girl. Is the man who is standing in front of her door her father? She must find the answer.

    She opens the door. She asks the man whether he is lying or not. The man tells her he is telling the truth. She invites him for a cup of coffee. They sit down and drink coffee. They start talking about life. He tells her everything that he knows. She listens. Sometimes she is surprised. Sometimes she cries. Sometimes she laughs. They are listening to Beethoven. This time it is not fate, but her father who is knocking on the door.