【推荐1】One year, our son Tom, who was six years old, asked for a new sound system. "Please bring me a new stereo so I don't have to listen to my dad's old music," he told the shop's Santa. Jenny and I took note.

On Christmas Eve, we let Tom sleep in our bed at the back of the house, where the sound of Santa wouldn't wake him. Then I went to my NASA-level workshop in the spare bedroom and spent the whole night putting together that stereo.

At one point, I took a break to move Tom from our bed to his — he was afraid that Santa might think he wasn't home and would forget to leave presents behind. He moved a bit while I carried him but never opened his eyes. At last, I finished the stereo and positioned it by the tree. Jenny and I fell asleep early that Christmas morning, filled with satisfaction. At 7 a.m., Tom woke us up and led us to the Christmas tree in the hall. He fell in love with the sound system.

A few days passed, and Tom asked me a surprising question. "Dad, how did I get from your bed to mine?" Ever the clever one, I said, "Santa moved you! Isn't that fun?” He said nothing, walking into the hall and looking closely at the floor. He came back, arms folded. "Dad, we need to talk, but Mom can't hear. You are Santa Claus! Look at the wheel marks on the carpet. The stereo was rolled out of that bedroom and down the hallway." I was shocked. He was only six.

His big concern was that we should not tell his mother, because he was certain she didn't know. "It will be our little secret forever," I told him, much to his delight. "We men have to stick together."

After that, Tom got to be Santa on Christmas when we donated presents to a needy family — he just loved it.

【推荐2】Tips for making small talk

Some people are not good at small talk. Making small talk doesn’t have to be either awkward or boring.     1    

●Have some conversation starters ready.

When you are sharing the same experience with someone, it’s easy to start a conversation.     2     If you are at a party and a song comes on that you like or that reminds you of something, you can talk about that.

●Ask open-ended(开放式的) questions.

These types of questions require more thought and more than a simple one-word answer. If you ask questions that need more details to answer, the conversation will go on longer. If you are at a summer pool party, don’t ask people if they like summer.     3    

●Become a student.

Nobody knows everything. So, as someone is answering one of your open-ended questions, they raise something about which you know nothing. So, tell them!     4     They feel good about sharing their knowledge and you get to learn something. It’s a win-win situation.

●    5    

Some people do not like their jobs or maybe they don’t want to talk about them. So, instead of asking, “What do you do for a living?” ask something like, “So, what have you been doing these days?” or “So, what have you been up to?” One general question can contribute to an opportunity to share something you have in common. Ask people about their families, their passions, their ambitions or even their fears. However, balance these questions with comments about yourself. Asking too many questions may make people feel they are in an interview rather man in a conversation.

【推荐1】Fred Rogers was a curious man, six feet tall and without pretense (虚伪). He liked to pray, to play the piano, to swim, and to write, and he somehow lived in a different world than I did. We became friends for some 20 years, and I made lifelong friends with his wife, Joanne. I remember thinking that it seemed as if Fred had access to another realm (领域) like the way pigeons have some special magnetic compass that helps them find home.

Fred died in 2003, somewhat quickly, of stomach cancer. He was 74. “Just don′t make Fred into a saint (圣人),” That has become Joanne's refrain (叠句).91 now, still full of energy, she lives alone in the same roomy apartment, in the university section of Pittsburgh, that she and Fred moved into after they raised their two boys. Throughout her 50-year marriage to Fred, she wasn't the type to hang out on the set or attend production meetings. That was Fred′s thing. He had his career, and she had hers as a concert pianist. For decades she toured the country with her college classmate, Jeannine Morrison, as a piano duo; they didn′t retire the performance until 2008.

“If you make him out to be a saint, people might not know how hard he worked,” Joanne said. Disciplined, focused; a perfectionist - an artist. That was the Fred she and the cast and crew knew. “I think people think of Fred as a. child-development expert,” David Newell, the actor who played Mr. “Speedy Delivery” MeFeely, told me recently. “As a moral example maybe. But as an artist? I don't think they think of that.” that was the Fred I came to know. Creating, the creative impulse (冲动),and the creative process were our common interests. He wrote or co-wrote all the scripts for the program - all 33 years of it. He wrote the melodies. He wrote the lyrics. He structured a week of programming around a single theme, many of them difficult topics, like war, divorce, or death.

I don′t know that he cared whether people saw him as an artist. He seemed more intent (急切的) that people not see him at all. The focus was always on you. Or children. Or the tiny things. It was hard to see Fred.

I like you just the way you are. One day he told me where that core message came from. His grandfather, Fred Brooks MeFeely, who like the rest of the Rogers family lived in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, about 40 miles east of Pittsburgh. “He was a character,” he said. “Oh, a lot of me came from him.”

His grandfather represented a life of risk and adventure, the very things Fred's boyhood lacked. He was a lonely kid, an only child until he was 11, when his sister came. He was bullied. Here comes Fat Freddie! He was sickly. He had asthma. He was not allowed to play outside by himself. He spent much of his childhood in his bedroom.

He had music, and he had puppets to keep himself amused. He didn′t need much. He was expected to fill his father′s shoes, become his business partner at the brick company. “My dad was pretty much Mr. Latrobe, he told me.” He worked hard to accomplish all that he did, and I've always felt that that was way beyond me. And yet I'm so grateful that he didn’t push me to do the kinds of things that he did or to become a miniature (缩小的) version of him. It certainly would have been miniature.

Fred wanted to be like his grandfather. “He taught me all kinds of really neat stuff!” he told me. “I remember one day my grandmother and my mother were telling me to get down, or not to climb, and my grandfather said: ‘Let the kid climb on the wall! He’s got to learn to do things for himself!’ I heard that. I will never forget that. What a support that was. He had a lot of stone walls on his place.” I think it was when I was leaving one time to go home after our time together, Fred told me, “that my grandfather said to me: ‘You know, you made this day a really special day. Just by being yourself. There′s only one person in the world like you. And I happen to like you just the way you are.”’

【推荐2】Peter loved to shop used articles. Almost a month ago, he bought popular word game that used little pieces of wood with different letters on them. As he was purchasing it, the salesgirl said, “Uh, look, the game box haven’t even been opened yet. That might be worth some money. ”

Peter examined the box, and, sure enough, it was completely covered in factory-sealed plastic. And he saw a date of 1973 on the back of the box.

“You should put that up for auction (拍卖) on the Internet, and see what happens.”the salesgirl said.

“Yes, you’re right. People like something rare.” Peter agreed, “I can’t imagine there being very many unopened boxes of this game still around 40 years later.”

“Don’t forget to tell me if you sell it.” the salesgirl smiled.

“No problem.” Peter said.

After he got home, Peter went online to several auction websites looking for his game. But he couldn’t find it. Then he typed in the name of the word game and hit Search. The search result was 543 websites containing information about the changes of the game. Over the years, the game had been produced using letters in different sizes and game boards in different colors. He also found some lists of game fans looking for various versions of the game. Peter emailed some of them, telling them what he had.

Two weeks later, Peter went back to the shop.

“Hello. Do you still remember the unopened word game?”

The salesgirl looked at him for a second, then recognized him and said, “Oh, hi!”

“I’ve got something for you,” Peter said. “I sold the game and made $1,000. Thank you for your suggestion.” He handed her three $ 100 bills.

“Wow!” the salesgirl cried out. “Thank you, I never expected it.”

【推荐3】The light from the campfire brightened the darkness, but it could not prevent the damp cold of Dennis’s Swamp (沼泽地) creeping into their bones. It was a strange place. Martin and Tom wished that they had not accepted Jack’s dare. They liked camping, but not near this swamp.

“So,” Martin asked as they sat watching the hot coals. “How did this place get its name?”

“Are you sure you want to hear it? It’s a scary story,” warned Jack.

“Of course!” cried out Tom. “If there were anything to be scared of, you wouldn’t have chosen this place!”

“Ok, but don’t say I didn’t warn you,” said Jack, and he began this tale.

“Way back in time, a man called Dennis tried to start a farm here. He built that cottage over there to live in. In those days, the area looked quite different — it was covered with tall trees and the swamp was a crystal-clear river. After three hard years, Dennis had cleared several fields and planted crops. He was so proud of his success that he refused to listen to advice.

“You are clearing too much land,” warned one old man. “The land is a living thing. It will hit back at you if you abuse it.”

“Silly fool,” said Dennis to himself. “If I clear more land, I can grow more crops. I’ll become wealthier. He’s just jealous!”

“Dennis continued to chop down trees. Small animals that relied on them for food and shelter were destroyed. He was so eager to expand his farm that he did not notice the river flowing slowly towards his door. He did not notice salt seeping (渗透) to the surface of the land. He did not notice swamp plants choking all the native plants.”

“What happened?” Martin asked. It was growing colder. He trembled, twisting his body closer to the fire.

“The land hit back — just as the old man warmed,” Jack shrugged. “Dennis disappeared. Old folks around here believe that swamp plants moved up from the river and dragged him underwater. His body was never found.”

“What a stupid story,” laughed Tom. “Plants can’t…” Before he had finished speaking, he screamed and fainted. The other two boys jumped up with fright, staring at Tom. Suddenly, they burst out laughing. Some green swamp ivy had covered Tom’s face. It was a while before Tom could appreciate the joke.