Empty Shopping Baskets

This afternoon, I went to the supermarket for my weekend paper. The store was so busy. There were long lines at every checkout stand. I thought I was smart that I picked the shortest one. There were only three customers ahead of me but our cashier got an item with no bar codes. It took him awhile before he got the right number to punch into the cash register and completed that order. In the meantime, a lady in front of me was unloading her groceries from the shopping basket onto the checkout counter. When she had placed all her groceries on the counter and wanted to return her basket, she could not reach the stack of empty baskets underneath the counter. Sometimes it happened to me too when I wanted to put the empty basket back. Since I was closer to the stack of the empties than her, I reached out for the stack and held it for her, just like many others did for me. After this shopper placing her empty basket onto the stack, she realized I had only one item to buy. Immediately, she offered to let me pay for my newspaper before her order. I did not think what I did for her was a big deal. But this lady did not take my simple gesture lightly.

My encounter in the store this afternoon does not seem to be eventful. But it does illustrate that kind gesture is infectious. - Ayee

Clearview Golf Club, East Canton, Ohio

Yesterday, I read about this golf club in The Wall Street Journal.

The story behind this golf club is remarkable. William Powell, an African-American , is the founder of the club. The very reason Mr. Powell decided to build a golf course of his own is to have a club that is open to everyone regardless of their skin colors.

Mr. Powell, now in his 90's, through his caddying jobs, learned to golfing during the time when discrimination against blacks in America was rampant. When he competed in golf tournaments in his teen’s, the tournament officials deliberately changed playing rules to disqualify his good play. Therefore, while growing up he was shunned from playing at many golf courses. He also faced discrimination during the war fighting the Germans in Europe. And he was declined a G.I. loan after the war. But he never let this wretched experience discourage him. Instead he built Clearview Golf Club that welcomes everyone.

After the war , funded by investors, Mr. Powell started to build his all-inclusive golf course during the night after his regular day job. He built the first nine holes with his own hands. And the rest is history. Many years ago, Clearview Golf Club became one of the Historic Places in America. In addition to many other distinguished recognitions the Powell family received over the years, Tiger Woods Foundation also has a scholarship in honor of Mr. Powell and his late wife.

Mr. Powell’s idea to eliminate racism is so extraordinary. He has set a great example for others who are either being discriminated or bullied. He fights back against racial discrimination with dignity and hard work so he can make the world a better one for all of us. - Ayee

My Old Chemistry Teacher

Over the last several weeks, I had the pleasure taking some writing lessons at a local community college. Unfortunately, the course did not offer exactly what I was looking for, I dropped out after six weeks of instruction. It disappointed me because I was truly looking forward to becoming a student again.

And back to school brought me many fond memories of my old teachers. They inspired me to learn. From them I acquired invaluable knowledge.

I remember one particular high school chemistry teacher who also happened to be our home-room teacher. It appeared she was a perfect match for the class. She terrified us. My class was made up with about 60 kids who were not keen learners. We were not troubled kids. But we were no book worms either. At that time we all thought our home-room teacher was an old mean bat. And none of us ever thought about going to college after graduation. But her acting like a drill sergeant in a boot camp transformed us all.

In our senior year, we studied hard so we could get into a university of our choice. We not only earned nearly perfect marks in chemistry. We also did well in other basic subjects like math and English. Many thanks to her, nearly everyone in our class passed the exam and entered university after graduation. What an accomplishment that is! - Ayee

Mighty Mouse

There is a news item I read in the paper the other day. It is about a tiny mouse bit a venomous viper to death after it was thrown into the snake’s cage.

It happened in Taiwan where the firefighters were looking after the snake they found in a local’s home. They got a big surprise when they witnessed a fierce fight between a tiny rodent and a 12-inch snake. It must be a gruesome scene to watch.

While I feel terrible for the dead snake, I respect this tiny mouse’s mighty instinct to survive. If there was a hall of fame for wild animals, I will definitely nominate this wee creature be inducted for bravery. - Ayee

Trick or Treat

Halloween is here again. It is a fun time for both kids and grownups. On Halloween night, many of us dress up in costumes we like and walk around the neighborhood in disguise. Pretty little girls are dressed in ballerina’s tutu. Curious young tots are seen in spider- man suit. And many others are in witch outfits. Like Christmas, many families decorate their houses with orange and black colored cutouts. For the occasion, their houses are protected by spider webs, diving vampires and scary skeletons. The houses also are lit with smiling pumpkins that welcome the neighborhood tricksters. In exchange for peace, the tricksters are treated with many goodies.

On Halloween night, there are people who like to light up firecrackers to rid of evil spirit but not tricksters. There were cases in the past that Halloween celebrations went out of hand and caused severe damages to people, pets and properties. Definitely, we can enjoy Halloween without deafening sounds from flying firecrackers or sacrificing a few live creatures. And it is good to know there are a few changes that help us celebrate Halloween safely. Now firecrackers are not welcome in many neighborhoods. In addition, pet stores and animal shelters do not adopt out black cats during the Halloween season. So no one will get spooked or hurt while others are taking advantage of the occasion to have some good times.

Now let’s enjoy a happy Halloween with great parties, friendly visits and happy goblins. - Ayee

Future Leaders

In my writing class, we are required to refer to Daniel Goleman’s book, Emotional Intelligence. Among many other things, the author, a Harvard Ph.D. and professor, finds high IQ scores do not correlate with on how well we do in life. How well individuals interact with others in life depends on how well they were taught about people skills, or emotional intelligence, when young. Because of inadequate emotional education, our children are becoming more violent, aggressive and self-destructive than their peers in the previous generations.

The author wrote Emotional Intelligence in the mid 90's. Today more than a decade later, the society faces the same reality when we see newspapers full of stories on young offenders who committed heinous and violent crimes. Just recently, a Finish vocational school student killed 10 innocent people before setting the school on fire then killed himself.

Perhaps, we, the adults, should be more vigilant on preparing young people to become more apt in emotional skills. So they can face their life challenges intelligently with self-control, empathy, zest and persistence. - Ayee

Monarch Butterflies and Pacific Grove, Monterey County, California

I do not know if Pacific Grove, a tourist town by the Pacific Ocean with about 15,000 residents, still celebrates the arrival of Monarch butterflies each year. According to John Steinbeck’s book Sweet Thursday (1954), each year Monarch butterflies stopped at Pacific Grove and got "drunk" on the resinous sap from the local pine trees. It appears these butterflies know better than humans. They not only do not "drink" and "fly," they also include in their migration route one of the most scenic spots in the world. They stretched out their colorful black and orange wings all over the town to sober up before leaving. And many of them did get stepped on or run over during their stopover at Pacific Grove. In the past, these butterflies had kept the town’s merchants in business. The locals would be devastated financially if they had to cancel their annual butterfly festival due to the lack of flying visitors.

Now let’s picture the amazing sight of colorful butterflies everywhere. Wow! What a treat! - Ayee