As a little girl growing up in the early 1960s in a suburb of Pittsburgh, it was not always easy to find role models, But I was lucky. In my childhood, I knew smart, strong women who had accomplished much, one of whom invented the world’s first computer compiler (编译器).

Recently, though, I learned about a role model who was right under my nose—my own mother.

Growing up, I knew she had worked as a secretary before I was born. I knew that she had joined the WAVES—the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service branch of the U.S. Naval Reserve (海军预备队)—during World War Ⅱ. And I knew she’d worked in an office that was involved with codes (编码). But when she talked about it—rare, because she had been sworn to secrecy—she described her duties as ordinary, routine. I never questioned it. After all, the woman I knew was a reserved suburban mom.

Not long ago, a chance conversation with a colleague led me to the book, Code Girls. It tells the story of the WAVES, who decrypted (解码) and encrypted secret messages during the war. They worked around the clock, knowing that the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers—their brothers, husbands, fathers—were on the line.

Inspired, I began a journey to explore the mystery of my mother’s service that continues to this day. I got some of her working records about her unit, OP19. In two years, she was promoted three times. She was no secretary, and her duties were hardly ordinary.

My mother always encouraged my interest in science and insisted to my father that I go to college. “You’re going to grow up to be another Madame Curie,” she told me. She was always pointing at other women. She did not see herself as someone to model on. Neither did I. Now I see her differently.

The Four People You Don’t Want to Sit Next to on a Plane

Let me begin by promising you that I am not an angry person. I would actually vow that I am inherently happy and all-around quite friendly and nice. But one thing that really grinds my gears, is being seated next to a nightmare neighbor on an airplane.

【小题1】

Perhaps you normally like them, but when you are sitting next to them on a plane it’s a different thing. They usually spend all the flight moving around and dropping their toys on the floor, and when they’re drinking their orange juice it ends up on your trousers. 【小题2】. So you can’t have the little sleep that you were planning.

Conversation makers

You recognize this type as soon as you sit down. They immediately start talking about the plane, or the weather, or they ask you a personal question. It’s very difficult not to talk to these people. 【小题3】.

Nervous fliers

These are the people with white faces who sit down and immediately ask for something to drink. Every five minutes they call a flight attendant to ask if there are any problems with the plane. 【小题4】. The best thing to do is to pretend to sleep.

Space invaders

【小题5】. But they have a terrible habit of taking up all their room, and some of your room too. They usually sit so that you can’t move, with their arms and legs in your space.