【推荐1】I grew up in the 1950s with very practical parents. My mother washed aluminum foil (铝箔纸) after she cooked in it, and then she reused it.She was the earliest recycle (回收利用) queen before people had a name for it.

My father was no different.He preferred getting old shoes fixed to buying new ones.Their marriage was good and their dreams were focused (集中).Their best friends lived just a wave away.Though my parents have passed away,I can see them now-Dad in trousers,a T-shirt and a hat and Mom in a house dress,lawnmower (割草机) in one hand and dishtowel in the other.

It was the time to fix things-a curtain rod (挂帘杆) the kitchen radio, the screen door, the oven door, and so on. They fixed all things we had.It was a way of life,and sometimes it made me crazy.All that re-fixing and renewing made me want to scream.I wanted just once to be wasteful.Waste meant being rich.Throwing things away meant you knew there’d always be more.I often thought like that.

But then my mother died,and on that clear summer night,in the warmth of the hospital room,I learnt that sometimes there isn’t any more.Sometimes,what we care about most gets all used up and goes away and it will never return. So, while we have it, it is the best that we love it,care for it,fix it when it’s broken and cure it when it’s sick.

This is true for marriage,old cars,children with bad report cards,dogs with bad hips and aging parents and grandparents.We keep them because they are worth it and because we are worth it.

【推荐3】Johnny Georges from Arcadia, Florida, had a dream. He wanted to build the business he started with his father to help farmers lower the costs associated with tree irrigation.

Like so many brilliant innovation their big idea was born out of their need to find a better way to complete a task more easily. Georges got tired of packing the dirt around the young trees and removing it the next day to protect the weak root systems of their trees and decided to try something different. Together, he and his father came up with a product called the Tree T-Pee, which uses just 800 gallons of water per tree per year, instead of the typical 25,000 and does a better job. The irrigated water is contained around each tree, and irrigation takes less than an hour, instead of 10 to 12 hours.

At first, the farmers didn’t think much of their idea and stuck to the conventional ways but Georges kept at changing one farmer at a time, believing they would eventually approve the product. Georges got an opportunity to be on the Shark Tank, where he asked for $ 150,000 in exchange for 20 percent of his company.

Georges explained to the judges that his product, which could save farmers 3,000% of their water usage, costs $ 2.95 each to make. They were astonished to learn that he was only charging $4.50 each. Investor Kevin O’Leary expressed his desire for a larger profit and the need for a higher sale price — up to $ 12 per unit to attract more distributors (经销商). But Georges said his customers were farmers and he stood firm in his belief to put his customers first. Thinking Georges was new to the field, Kevin stepped out.

John Paul DeJoria, another investor, was clearly touched and stepped in. “What you’re doing is right, and you deserve a chance to make it big. I’d like to be your partner, Johnny.” said DeJoria.

【推荐1】The theatrical magic that keeps New York’s Broadway going these days has been ready for performers to step in in an emergency. Actor Carla Stickler went a step further. She returned to acting from retirement to save the musical Wicked.

Stickler started a new career as a software engineer in Chicago three years ago. But she called off her vacation this winter and went to New York City’s center of theater performances, Broadway. She had agreed to replace a star of the show after much of the cast became infected with COVID-19.

Stickler played the green skinned Elphaba in the musical play. She may have been playing a bad .woman, but Stickler’s effort was all good. Her effort is just one example of the work Broadway’s understudies (预备演员) do. They are standbys and fill-ins who keep shows open. Often, they learn several parts with little official rehearsing (排练). The heavy pressure on theater companies to keep shows open is eased by these skillful understudies.

Stickler had last performed the part on Broadway in 2015. She had spent 10 years with the Broadway Company and starred in a national series of Wicked. “ Elphaba is kind of something that lives in my body. I think everybody is really doing the best they can. I do think the fact that the show has been able to stay open is a proof of how devoted the actors are to the show and how great and talented the group of people that they have hired over the years are, ” said Stickler.

Stickler is staying in New York this week just in case this musical needs her help. Then, she will travel back to Chicago, but she would not likely refuse a similar call to act in the future. “ I would do it again in a heartbeat. I love the show, ” Stickler said. “ If I turn 100, I’ll do it at my 100th birthday party. ”