The Overturned Bin

“Char siu bao,” I pushed my cart (推车) around table after table of hungry customers. It was Saturday morning — the height of the brunch rush — and everyone in the neighborhood knew that Grandma Wu’s restaurant offered the freshest dim sum. Grandma’s Chinese dishes were so irresistible that customers were numerous.

After a while, my cart was empty and I took some of my favorite char siu bao at the tiny table in the alley (巷子) behind the restaurant. But just as I was about to take my first bite, I noticed something strange. Our garbage bins had been knocked over! Trash and half-eaten dim sum littered the ground.

Swallowing my bao, I quickly picked up the mess. Then I headed back inside to help with the rest of the rubbish. I forgot all about the mystery of the knocked-over bins until I took out the trash only to find the garbage bins had tipped over again!

Could it have been the wind? As I cleaned up for a second time, I looked at the darkening sky. A storm was heading our way, but the tree branches were not moving. Determined to avoid cleaning up a third time, I placed three stones on top of the bins.

I was met with another surprise early next morning. Looking out of my window for signs of the storm, I spotted the garbage bins — knocked over again! I complained as it started to rain. That’s when I noticed two yellow eyes staring back at me — it was a little gray cat!

“So you’re the one that keeps leaving messes!” I rushed to the alley, finally understanding. I watched as the cat tried to get the half-eaten bao inside. Cats aren’t supposed to eat bao. Garlic could be deadly to cats. But the cat was clearly too hungry to care.

I took a cautious step toward him when there was suddenly a loud thunder above us.

Like all of Grandma’s customers, the cat cheered up at the scent (气) of the warm char siu bao.

Feeding the Hungry

Last Sunday I visited the Emergency Food Shelf in the city of Burlington, where volunteers help to provide daily meals for those who have difficulty purchasing enough food to avoid hunger.

60 or so men and women were gathering outside of the building. Inside, volunteer students from the University of Vermont (UVM) were working busily to bake chicken. re-heat donated pizza, chop vegetables, make peanut butter and sandwiches and put bananas and beverages (饮料) within easy reach of anyone who came through the door.

Six nights a week, the Salvation Army makes dinner for the hungry. But on Sunday, the Army's day of rest, the UVM kids take over and make sure that anyone who's hungry gets fed.

"This year the program is headed by a tall, blonde chemistry major. At age 22, senior Carly Hodgins has been a part of this group for four years and is a masterful organizer.

"Time to open up!" Carly yelled.

The door swung open. Men and women who had been waiting outside silently flowed into the building. Ten steps inside the door each man or woman picked up a waiting plate and the students started piling it with food. Every person got a portion (一份) of meat, vegetables, salad, potatoes, and pizza.

Carly stood at the end of the food line offering a beverage. "Apple juice?" she asked, looking straight into the eyes of each diner. "Orange juice?" Her smile was a flash of sunshine.

What impressed me most was the volunteer's enthusiasm for their work.

I talked with a man who came to get food.

A Move to a New Life

I was shocked when my parents told me we were moving from Baton Rouge, Louisana, to New York. First, I complained about not being able to make new friends and not knowing anything about New York.

My mom said, “You’ll make new friends, and it’s not like you know anything about Baton Rouge anyway.

I protested, “But I don’t want to leave Louisiana. The weather is perfect here!”

My mom shot me a disapproving look and said, “You’ll get used to the weather in New York.”

I remember thinking about running away and joining a circus somewhere, but then I remembered that circus animals smell really bad, and I would miss my parents. So I wandered around the house pick picking up random things, like my baseball and glove, and throwing them into a cardboard box. I felt like a big, heavy rain cloud I was hanging over my head.

Within three days, all the furniture we were taking e taking with us was packed into a moving van (小型货车). Oder things were ready to be sold for nowhere near what we paid for them. Little by little our yard sale decreased until no one even looked at the well-worn coffee table, chewed-up plastic toys, and slightly damaged coffee cups—all of which I had my teeth on at one time or another

The next day was Monday, and we got up early to beat the traffic. I’ll spare you the details of how boring it was to sit in a van and watch each tree as it passed by only to see another tree getting closer until it a so passed by. Halfway there, we stopped at a motel (汽车旅馆) to spend the night. This time, no one could sleep because of the smell coming from the heater in the room. By the time we finally made it to New York, it was the middle of the night, and my head was already drooping (低垂) on to my shoulder.

When I woke up, I didn’t find a smog-filled city as expected.

As I got used to this new setting, I realized that I didn’t have to be afraid of change