This is a true story. Tristin Saghin enjoyed the movie Black Hawk Down very much, which is about the conflict in Somalia. The battle scenes and the exciting rescues of people who are dying, interested him greatly.

There was just one problem: Tristin was only 9 years old, and it was thought that movie was not for children. When his parents caught him watching it on TV, they made him turn it off, though he had finished his homework and it was not late. Then one day, Tristin and his family were visiting his grandmother in Mesa, Arizona. Tristin’s 20-year-old sister got out of the house and fell in the backyard pool. Realizing the little girl was missing, the family ran outside, only to find the girl had fallen into the water.

Pulled from the pool and placed on the ground, the child wasn’t breathing. The family called the ambulance (救护车), but no one knew how to do first aid. No one, that is, except for Tristin. A scene in Black Hawk Down describes a doctor giving first aid. Tristin remembered it. Then the 9-year-old gave first aid to his sister at once and saved her life.

His parents don’t stop him seeing the movies he likes any more. Tristin taught himself how to do first aid but he had never thought he could use it to save his little sister’s life. Any skill can be used in time, so you should always learn.

How do you kill your time when you go to work? Most of us stare at our cell phones, and refuse to make eye contact with others. We just read, chat with others online or play games online. Or maybe we’re using the time between stops to do our makeup, catch up on emails, or read a few chapters of a book. However, Dina Alfasi takes a very different approach.

Each day she has to travel hours on buses and trains to get to her engineering job at a hospital in Israel. Rather than look at her cell phone in silence, she uses one very special way to have connection with strangers. It is portraits of the people she meets on public transport every day that she is taking. The photographs catch those quiet and personal moments of people readying themselves for the day ahead. Some people lean their head against the window and go to sleep, some stare into space and have a daydream, and others sit quietly to read their documents or books. Each picture captures one tiny moment in people’s lives, ripe with potential for your imagination. It is wonderful for her to look at someone’s commute and make up an entire story about the rest of their daily existence, from the father travelling with a baby to the woman welcoming a change.

“What inspires me very much are the little moments that happen every day, ” Dina told My Modern Met. “My work is to tell stories through a single portrait, and it proves that all you need is just to look around and find those magic moments.”

As you know, money was recently received for improvements to the café, and the Board (董事会) has made some suggestions about how to spend it. The purpose of this letter is to show the reaction of the staff (全体员工) to your ideas and to present some suggestions of our own.

As we understand it, the Board has three main suggestions:

We are very happy with the idea of repainting and curtains. This would certainly make the café more attractive. However, we do not feel that there is any need for new tables and chairs. The present furniture is in good condition and because the tables are small, they encourage a friendlier feeling than long tables would. As for plants, we feel the money could be better spent on other things. Our suggestions are:

Also, would it be possible to change our servicing company?

We hope that our suggestions will be given serious consideration, particularly those related to the two machines.

We look forward to discussing them with you at a convenient time.

Constanza Brookes, Staff Representative