Having worked at a 7-Eleven store for two years, I thought I had become successful at what our manager calls “customer relations”. I firmly believed that a friendly smile and an automatic “sir” ,“ma’am”, and “thank you” would see me through any situation that might arise, from comforting impatient or unpleasant people to apologizing for giving out the wrong change. But the other night an old woman shattered (粉碎) my belief that a simple and plain response could smooth over the rough spots of dealing with all kinds of customers.

The moment she entered, the woman presented a sharp contrast to our shiny store with its bright lighting and neatly arranged shelves. Walking as if each step were painful, she slowly pushed open the glass door and hobbled (蹒跚) down the nearest aisle. She coughed dryly, wheezing (气喘吁吁) with each breath. On a forty- degree night, she was wearing only a faded dress, a thin sweater too small to button, and black slippers with the backs cut out to expose calloused (满是老茧的) heels. There were no stockings or socks on her blue-veined legs.

After wandering around the store for several minutes, the old woman stopped in front of the rows of canned vegetables. She picked up a can of corn and stared with a strange intensity at the label. At that point, I decided to be a good, polite employee and asked her if she needed help. As I stood close to her, my smile became harder to maintain; her red-rimmed (边缘红的) eyes were partially closed by yellowish crusts (痂); her hands were covered with layer upon layer of dirt, and the stale (陈腐的) smell of sweat rose from clothes.

“I need some food,” she muttered (喃喃低语) in reply to my bright “Can I help you?”

“Are you looking for corn, ma’am?”

“I need some food,” she repeated, “Any kind.”

“Well, the corm is ninety-five cents,” I said in my most helpful voice.

“I can’t pay,” she said.

For a second, I was tempted to say, “ Take the corn. ” But the employee rules flooded into my mind: Remain polite, but do not let customers get the best of you. Let them know that you are in control. For a moment, I even entertained the idea that this was some sort of test, and that this woman was someone from the head office, testing my loyalty. I responded dutifully, “I’m sorry, but I can’t give away anything for free.”

The old woman’s face collapsed a bit more, and her hands trembled as she put the can back on the shelf. She shuffled (拖着脚走) past me toward the door, her torn and dirty clothing barely covering her bent back.

Moments after she left, I rushed out of the door with the can of corn, but she was nowhere in sight. For the rest of my shift, the image of the woman haunted (萦绕) me. I had been young, healthy and proud. She had been old, sick and desperate. Wishing with all my heart that I had acted like a human being rather than a robot, I was saddened to realize how weak a hold we have on our better instincts.

After the re-location for my husband’s career, making friends wasn’t simple for me. Our teenaged son and daughter immediately enjoyed school and social groups through sports and clubs. I wondered when I’d feel a sense of belonging. One day, I was invited to a monthly dinner for moms in my new neighborhood, being a substitute for a woman who couldn’t attend. When hiking came up, I just played along.

The next day, I got up early and styled my hair. I left it a little messy, so it didn’t look like I had tried too hard. When I arrived a little early, one of the other three women was standing there waiting. She hugged me cheerfully. When the others joined us, we naturally broke into two groups of two and walked rapidly along the sidewalk to the base of the mountain in North Glendale. I was a little out of breath before we even started going uphill.

We hiked and talked about our families, jobs, and dogs. They continued to invite me to hike on Saturday mornings and to join them for birthday lunches and couples’ nights. Over the years, we hugged and laughed over broken-down cars, broken hearts, and even the complexities of the worldwide situations, though they had nothing to do with our lives.

Recently, nine years after that first hike, my husband and daughter put together a surprise birthday dinner for me. My hiking friends were among the first invited. At the party, they sat close to me all evening, even though we’d been together twice in the previous week, on a hike and at another event.

By accepting the invitation to hike, I stretched myself, and made amazing new friends. I still enjoy hiking with them, and I imagine I will always remain connected to these lovely women who enveloped me in their circle. I also feel confident that there are some other hikers, who I’ll come to love simply by agreeing to try something new.

Zara Rutherford, who is just 19 years old, is flying around the world by herself in a small plane. When she finishes her trip, which will take over two months, she’ll become the youngest woman to fly all the way around the globe by herself.

Ms Rutherford, who’s British-Belgian, began her trip in Belgium on August18. She plans to fly across five continents, through 52 countries before returning to Belgium in November.

She’s making this trip in a small two-seater plane called a microlight. One of the seats has been replaced with an extra gas tank, which will allow Ms Rutherford to cover longer distances. The plane has had several other updates for safety, including a second radio, and satellite communications that let her talk to people whenever she needs to.

To follow her route, Ms Rutherford needs to be able to see, since her plane can’t be guided using its instruments alone. That means she can’t fly at night or in bad weather. To avoid clouds, she has to fly close to the land or ocean, which can be dangerous.

Because of the danger, Ms Rutherford worked hard to prepare for emergencies. She has even been trained in escaping from a plane landing in the ocean.

She plans to stay a night or two in each place to visit with schools and youth groups. She advises young girls to explore areas like aviation (航空), science, mathematics, and engineering. As her father points out, currently, only about 5% of pilots are women.

“It’s an easy thing to say, but just go for it,” Ms Rutherford says. “If you don’t try and see how high you can fly, then you’ll never know.”