NO matter what happens,I'll always be there for you!

    In 1989, an8.2earthquake almost destroyed America, killing over 30,000 people in less thanfour minutes. In the midst of utter devastation and chaos, a father left hiswife safely at home and rushed to the school where his son was supposed to be,only to discover that the building was as flat as a pancake.

    After the unforgettablyscare, he remembered the promise he had made to his son: "No matter what,I'll always be there for you!" And tears began to fill his eyes. As helooked at the badly damaged building that once was the school, it lookedhopeless, but he kept remembering his promise to his son

    He began to direct hisattention to where he walked his son to class at school each morning.Remembering his son's classroom would be in the back right comer of thebuilding, he rushed there and started digging through the ruins, As he wasdigging, other helpless parents tried to pull him off what was left of theschool, saying," It's too late! They're all dead! You can't help! Co home!Come on! Face reality. Here's nothing you can do!

    To each parent hereplied with one line, "Are you going to help me now?" And then hecontinued to dig for his son, stone by stone. The firefighter leader showed upand tried to pull him off the school's ruins saying, "Fires are breakingout. Explosions are happening everywhere. You are in danger. We'll take care ofit. Go home." To which this loving, caring American father asked,"Are you going to help me now?" The police came and said, "You'reangry, worried and it's over. You're making others in danger. Go home. We'llhandle it!" To which he replied, "Are you going to help me now?"No one replied.

    He went on alone becausehe needed to know for himself "is my boy alive or is he dead?" He dugfor eight hours … 12 hours ... 24 hours … 36 hours … then, in the 38th hour, hepulled back a large stone and heard his son's voice. He screamed his son'sname, "Armand!" He heard back, "Dad? It's me, Dad! I told theother kids not to worry. I told them that if you were alive, you would save meand when you saved me, they'd be saved. You promised, no matter what happens,you'll always be there for me. You did it, Dad!" "What's going on inthere? How is it?" the father asked, "There are 14 of us left out of33, Dad. We're scared, hungry, thirsty and thankful you're here. When thebuilding fell down, it made a triangle, and it saved us."

    "Come out,boy!" "No, Dad! Let the other kids out first because I know you'llget me! No matter what happens, I know you'll always be there for me!"

Artist Jasmine Cho paints the picture of famous Asian Americans. But she does not use paper to create her art. She uses cookies. Cho said the sweet treats are meaningful because they can help people know more about Asian Americans. The 39-year-old artist believes her art comes from a feeling of not belonging when she was young.

Cho has got fans over the last several years as she always makes cookie faces in detail. Famous actors like Awkwafina and Daniel Dae have praised her cookie designs. The city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where Cho has lived since 2009,even honored (给……荣誉) her with a "Jasmine Cho Day" in 2020.

In 2016, Cho made a video in which she was making cookies for her online bakery (面包店). The cookies were exactly like her friends. So the cookies received attention on social media at once. Soon, others wanted her cookies, too.

A few months later, Cho held her first show. She made cookies of Asian American Pittsburgh natives, like Leah Lizarondo, the founder of 412 Food Rescue. Lizarondo remembers how surprised she was to find that Cho bad made her into a cookie face. "I shared it as widely as I could because I was so proud to be among the people she did cookie portraits (肖像) of," Lizarondo said by email.

In 2021, Cho wrote a children's book Role Models Who Look Lite Me. In the following years, she has given over 20 speeches in different countries. For her, the biggest exciting thing is when young Asian Americans, particularly females, feel encouraged. "They tell me things like, ‘I learned more in your 15-minute talk than I have in my whole class that's about Asian American history,' or something like that," Cho said.

A teacher decided to let her class play a game.She told each child in the class to bring along a plastic bag with a few big potatoes.Each potato was given the name of a person that the child hated，so the number of potatoes that a child put in his or her plastic bag depended on the number of people he or she hated.

When the day came，every child brought some potatoes with the names of the people he or she hated.Some had two potatoes，some three while some had up.to five potatoes.The teacher then told the children to carry the potatoes in the plastic bag with them wherever they went.

Days after days passed，and the children started to complain（抱怨） because of the unpleasant smell let out by the rotten（腐烂的） potatoes.Besides，those having as many as five potatoes also had to carry heavier bags.After weeks，the children were very happy because the game had finally ended.

The teacher asked，"How did you feel while carrying the potatoes with you these days？"The children let out their dissatisfactions and started complaining about the trouble they had to go through having to carry the heavy and smelly potatoes wherever they went.

Then the teacher told them the hidden meaning behind the game."This is exactly the situation when you carry your hatred for somebody inside your heart.The unpleasant smell of hatred will pollute your heart and you will carry it with you wherever you go.If you cannot stand the smell of rotten potatoes for just a short period of time，can you imagine what it is like to have hatred in your heart for your lifetime？"So remember：Forgive those you hate and move on.

Henry is going through a very hard time. His wife just passed away(去世). He feels that life without her is hopeless. For months, Henry sits in his house, doing nothing. 

Henry's neighbor, an old woman named Lisa, sees him from her yard one day. She doesn't see him outside in days! She asks him to come closer to the fence(篱笆) next to her house. 

"Hello, Henry! Just look at this fence. It is falling apart. You are a strong man. Can you help me fix(修补)this fence?" Lisa asks. 

Henry is angry inside. He is the one who needs help right now. He thinks the old lady is being kind of rude. But she is too old to fix the fence herself, so he agrees. 

Henry works on the fence for days. When he finishes, she thanks him. Henry smiles for the first time in months. 

"What a wonderful job! Could you please paint it for me?"Lisa says to him. 

Henry cannot believe she is asking for more help. But because he respects her, he agrees. He works hard painting the fence in the hot sun. As their neighbors pass by, they all tell Henry what a beautiful job he has done!, Henry feels very happy. 

Several days later, Henry feels that life is still hopeful. He finally understands that Lisa isn't being rude. She knows that staying busy can help us forget our sadness. He helped her, but she truly saved him. 

Mushrooms are tasty and rich in healthy nutrients (营养物), which makes some people  collect them in the wild. However, eating the wrong mushrooms can make you sick or even dead. Therefore, growing mushrooms yourself inside your own home is getting popular.

There are two ways to do this. You can buy a set of materials from a garden store called a "grow kit (工具包) "or you can put them together yourself.

Grow kits(GK)

Grow kits are a great way for beginners to try growing mushrooms. These grow kits include partly-grown mushroom starters, called "spawn." (菌种体) The spawn is set in soil (土壤) and is planted in its own grow box. You put the spawn in water overnight. Then you return it to the box and open it to fresh air. Water it twice a day.

Within two or three weeks, you will be eating mushrooms with more on the way. It is fun and easy.

Putting them together yourself(PTTY)

If you want a larger harvest, it will cost less to put the materials together yourself. It is easy, too.

For starters, you will need a wooden, metal, or plastic box and some soil mixed with compost (肥料) and other materials. You will also need to buy fungal spores (真菌孢子) (something like seeds).

With clean hands, fill the box with your soil and materials. Put the spores evenly over the soil substance (物质) and water it twice a day gently.

To grow quickly and effectively, the spore-topped soil material should be kept away from direct sunlight. It should be kept at or close to 21℃. Put a piece of cloth lightly over the top of the box to keep moisture(水分) in. But do not cover it tightly (紧紧地). After it was coated with mycelium (菌丝体), move the box to a cooler place —12℃ to 15 ℃.

Mushrooms grow very quickly. With their tops fully open, they will be ready to harvest. That will be in about three to four weeks. Use a sharp, clean knife to cut them at soil level to avoid influencing nearby growth.

Do you want to taste safe and nutritious mushrooms? Grow them at home right now.