【推荐3】I never thought I would have a life-changing experience at Wal-Mart.

Although my thoughts were only on speed, the checkout line I was standing in wasn’t moving as quickly as I wanted, and I glanced toward the cashier. There stood a man in his seventies, wearing glasses and a nice smile. I thought, well, he’s an old guy! For the next few minutes I watched him. He greeted every customer before scanning the items. Sure, his words were the usual, “How’s it going?” But he did something different ---- he actually listened to people. Then he would respond to what they had said and engage them in a brief conversation.

I thought it was strange. I had grown accustomed to people asking me how I was doing simply out of robotic conversational habit. After a while, you don’t give any thought to the question and just mumble (嘟哝) something back. I could say, “I just found out I have six months to live,” and someone would reply, “Have a great day!” But that wasn’t the end.

He gave them the change, walked around the counter, and extended his right hand in an act of friendship. He looked the customers in the eyes. “I surely want to thank you for shopping here today,” he told them. “You have a great day. Bye-bye.”

The looks on the faces of the customers were priceless. There were smiles and some sheepish grins. All had been touched by his simple gesture ---- and in a place they never expected. They would gather their things and walk out, smiling.

Of course, he did the same to me and I got to know his name, Marty.

Who was that guy? It was as if Sam Walton (沃尔玛的创始人) had come back from the dead and invaded this old guy’s body. I had never walked away from that shop feeling like that.

【推荐2】Louise Blanchard Bethune showed early promise in math. But Louise did not go to school. Instead, her father taught her at home until she was 11 years old. She also discovered a skill for planning houses. It developed into a lifelong interest in architecture and a place in history as the first professional female architect in the United States.

After graduating from high school in 1874, Louise traveled and studied. She hoped to prepare herself to attend the new architecture school at Cornell University. But then Buffalo's leading architectural firm of Richard A. Waite and F. W. Caulkins offered her job. She knew that architects gained their training from practical experience, not from school. She took the job.

Louise worked there as an assistant, 10 hours a day for five years. She learned and mastered the drawing and architectural design. She also met her husband, Robert A. Bethune. Their new firm, R.A. and L. Bethune, opened in October 1881.

Bethune appeared to be the strength of the business. At the turn of the 20th century, the city of Buffalo was rapidly expanding to meet the demands of growing industry. The firm received tasks to build hundreds of structures throughout western New York. The firm designed lots of schools, apartment buildings, department stores, churches and factories.

Bethune believed that being an architect meant being an artist, a scientist and a business person. She made a point of advocating for women in the profession. She became a member of the Western Association of Architects (WAA) in 1885. In 1888, she was the first woman to join the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Besides, Bethune took a firm stand on equal treatment for women architects. She insisted on equal pay for equal work.

Bethune left almost no papers or letters, and few people recognize her name today. But her legacy remains in the foothold she established for women in the field of architecture. She started her own firm and enjoyed a successful career.

【推荐3】In 1959, Handler changed how toy dolls were made when she introduced “Barbie” to the world. With her mature figure, Barbie was one of the first “grown-up” dolls to hit the retail market.

Handler wanted to create a toy that was different from the baby dolls that occupied little girls’ toy boxes. She wanted a doll that girls could show their future dreams upon and allowed for limitless outfit (全套服装) and career choices. Inspired by paper dolls of the time, Handler, to much disagreement, made sure Barbie had the body of a grown woman.

“My own idea of Barbie,” Handler wrote in her autobiography, “was that through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be. Barbie always represented the fact that a woman had choices.”

There’s even a Barbie for cancer patients — Brave Barbie — a partnership between Mattel and CureSearch that sends a bald (光头的) Barbie to families affected by cancer. “Gifting my daughter a Barbie who suffered from cancer was wonderful,” Michelle, a cancer survivor said, “We would play with that Barbie together and I’d heartbreakingly watch her pretend to take the doll to the hospital for chemo (化疗), or place its long wig (假发) on top of its head and tell the doll that it’s time to be beautiful again.”

Bald Barbie was super brave and went on awesome adventures after chemo. Sometimes she felt sick and needed to sleep, but would feel much better after a rest. Bald Barbie always beat the cancer and went on to live a long and happy life with her family. That Barbie became so much more than a plastic doll — she was a means of communication and a coping mechanism (应对机制) during an extremely unhappy time for little families.

【推荐1】It was the final climb on his quest to reach the highest summit on all seven continents. When Christopher Kulish finally reached Mount Everest’s 29,035-foot peak, he joined an elite group known as the “Seven Summits Club”. But the 62-year-old Colorado attorney died suddenly Monday after returning to the first camp below the mountain’s summit. He’s the second American to die in the past week after reaching Everest’s highest point. His family believes the cause was a heart attack, according to the Denver Post. “He saw his last sunrise from the highest peak on Earth,” his brother, Mark Kulish, said in a statement to the Denver Post. “We are heartbroken at this news.”

Last week, 55-year-old Donald Lynn Cash of Utah collapsed and died just after reaching the Everest peak. He too had reached the highest point on all seven continents. Including Christopher and Cash, at least 11 people have died on Mount Everest this year.

The deaths come among reports of overcrowding on the popular mountain. The Nepali government granted a total of 381 permits to climb Everest this year, a number that doesn’t include guides who are on the mountain as well. For some climbers, that traffic has meant longer wait times — some told the Himalayan Times the wait has exceeded two hours between the last camp and the peak. Mountaineer Vanessa O’Brien, who has also climbed the seven summits, said when there’s a crowd, being a more experienced climber won’t help you. “It doesn’t matter if you’re the best racecar driver in the world. If you’re stuck in traffic, you’re stuck in traffic,” she said in an interview.

And when a climber is stuck in that traffic, “their body is starting to deteriorate.” O’Brien, who set a record as the fastest woman to reach the highest peak on every continent, also said the descent is often harder than the climb.

Climbing expert Alan Arnette said there’s no simple explanation for the string of deaths. He said weather that has led to a shorter climbing season is one factor causing overcrowding. He also said the cost to climb Mount Everest has decreased, which means more people are making the journey. He urged the governments in charge of granting permits to limit how many people can be on the mountain at once.

Still, Christopher was no beginner. His family said he’d been mountain climbing for five decades. He arrived at the base camp nearly two months before his climb so he could give himself time to adapt to the conditions. When he made his journey, his family said he was climbing with a small group in almost ideal conditions after some of the overcrowding had cleared.

His brother described being a lawyer as a “day job” for Christopher. Climbing was his passion. “He was an inveterate climber of peaks in Colorado, the West and the world over,” Mark Kulish said. “He passed away doing what he loved.”