There was a pretty strict system of segregation (种族隔离)in Atlanta. For a long, long time I could not go swimming. until there was a Negro YMCA(黑人基督教青年会). A Negro child in Atlanta could not go to any public park. I could not go to the so-called white schools. In many of the stores downtown, I couldn’t go to a lunch counter to buy a hamburger or a cup of coffee. I could not attend any of the theaters. There were one or two Negro theaters, but they didn’t get any of the main pictures. If they did get them, they got them two or three years later.

I had grown up hating not only segregation but also the cruel acts that grew out of it. I had seen police violence with my own eyes, and watched Negroes receive the most tragic injustice in the courts. I can remember the organization known as the Ku Kux Klan. It stands out white supremacy(至高无上), and it was an organization that in those days even used violent methods to preserve segregation and to keep the Negro in his place. I remember seeing the Klan actually beat Negro. I had passed spots where Negroes had been savagely lynched (用私刑). All of these things did something to my growing personality.

In my late childhood and early adolescence, two incidents happened that had a tremendous effect on my development. The first was the first empty seats at the front of the store. A young white clerk came up and murmured politely:

”I’ll be happy to wait on you if you’ll just move to those seats in the back. “

Dad immediately replied, ”There’s nothing wrong with these seats. We’re quite comfortable here. “

”Sorry, “said the clerk, ”but you’ll have to move. “

”We’ll either buy shoes sitting here, “my father said quickly, ”or we won’t buy shoes at all. "

Therefore he took me by the hand and walked out of the store.

I remember riding with him another day when he accidentally drove past a stop sign.

I went to the beach nearby for some relaxing time myself. After a tiring week, all I wanted was a book, some loneliness, and a good snack. It was a lovely time watching people come and go for a warm weekend here in California. Kids were joyfully playing in the water, row boating, building sandcastles and sharing meals with their family.

After a few hours, I decided to walk along the waves to get to my car on the other side as I was leaving. As I was near the end and about to head off the beach, I noticed a girl playing by herself, maybe around 8 or 9. It looked like she built a little sandcastle with a moat (护城河) around it and was now trying to fill the moat with water.

Unfortunately, there was no container around to carry water or the usual sand toys. She was playing alone, unlike most of the other kids. She would go to the waves, cup her hands and then walk back to her little castle. Sadly not much of the water was making it to the moat. But she kept trying and was still smiling and hopeful. I so wished I could help her out, but I didn't have a container with me.

As I was standing there watching her, feeling helpless, I had an idea. I realized that I had a bottle of water in my bag that I had completely forgotten about. I quickly dug in, took it out, and walked over to hand it to her.

Confused at first, she smiled but shook her head shyly, saying no. I told her that it would make getting the water much faster. She smiled broadly and finally took it from my hands. Not wanting her to feel uncomfortable, I walked off the beach right away and watched her in the distance.

The girl began to carry water using the bottle.

Seeing this, I decided to carry more water for her with a bigger container.

Kelsey Golden works in media marketing for a school and usually takes her 5-year-old son, Barrett, around the neighborhood. All too often, they offer help to people in need and the boy becomes increasingly caring and sympathetic, especially to the homeless.

On a rainy Monday morning, Golden was working on the school’s annual yearbook on her computer at home. She was transferring photos from her phone to her computer when Barrett started browsing (浏览) her phone.

The boy loves the camera feature on her phone. He likes to look at his reflection, instead of playing games or engaging in other activities on her phone. But this time, Barrett didn’t just stare at his reflection. He started pressing the screen, swinging it around like his arm is a roller coaster.

He even mentioned seeing his favorite chain restaurant’s mascots (吉祥物) online, which was really unexpected.

Then, Golden received a message that her take-away food order was taking longer than usual-which was unusual, because although she sometimes ordered the food for her two older children’s lunches at school, that morning she had packed their lunches. The teacher furthered the confusion when she told Golden that her children were indeed eating their packed lunches at school-no take-away food in sight.

Golden’s confusion was deepened when she was playing with Barrett at the gate. But in that moment, a car pulled in. Golden felt more confused-the delivery driver got out a huge chain restaurant’s bag which had 31 cheeseburgers!

At first, Golden thought the delivery driver was at the wrong house. Then it occurred to her that Barrett had played her phone that morning, leaving her phone unlocked, so she went back and looked at the phone, only to find an order was placed at that time that he was playing with it. “That’s crazy!He really did this. ”

She turned her head to Barrett questioningly.

The picture of Barrett handing out cheeseburgers spread widely.

After watering the trees and grass in our yard yesterday, I’m pleased to see that it is raining this morning. The tree and grass are dry and they are dying for lack of water. We really need some showers to give the yard a drink and bring freshness to the air and coolness, making the morning pleasant. There is nothing quite like a rainy day in spring and the simple joys it brings.

In fact, as a boy I hated rainy days. They meant that I was stuck in the house and couldn’t go out to play. It was only as the years passed that I realized there could be no water without rain and there could be no life without water. The truth is that rain is a gift from nature. Now I look at each gentle rainfall with a smile and know that nature is giving the world and us the water we need to live.

Of course, we all prefer the sunshine after the rain. The sun gives us light. It energizes us. The white clouds and blue skies just naturally make us feel good. When my thoughts are racing, my mother comes over. “Henry, your morning coffee. It’s raining today. Why don’t you sleep more?” I smile and say, “Mum, it is a nice day. After the rain, the plants in our yard will come alive again. But I have an important thing to do today.” She seems to understand and says, “Go ahead, baby. Have a good day!”

Maybe rainy days give us a chance to rest today, and even rest on the fields for the next day. I know there would be no morning coffee or afternoon tea without rain. I think when I go out to help others in the rain today, I will send thanks to nature. When the rain falls on my head, it brings me great fun, but it also causes trouble for some homeless people on the streets. On the other hand, the rain seems to make me a little sad. I decide to walk out and see if there is anyone in need.

I am walking along the streets.

I decide to help the person in need.