You can learn a lot sitting in a parking lot. The other day I was sitting in my car with my sons reading a book while my daughter finished grocery shopping. From time to time, I would look up and observe what was going on outside. One of those times I saw a huge, new, bright red, Cadillac SUV pull up in the parking spot beside me. Out of it stepped a well-dressed young woman in high heels. Her face was tight and determined and her eyes hidden behind sunglasses. I watched her as she headed for the store and wondered about her life.

A moment later a 30-year-old station wagon pulled up beside the SUV. It smelled of burning oil and probably didn’t have many months of life left in its engine. Out of it stepped a young mom with 4 little girls all under the age of 12. All were dressed in worn clothes. She gathered them together and they headed to the store laughing and talking all the way.

A while later I saw the Cadillac lady coming out, pushing a cart filled with a new television set. She threw it in the back and pulled out quickly, her eyes still hidden, her face still frowning. Fifteen minutes after her the station wagon mom emerged with her little girls. They had a week’s worth of groceries in their cart. After unloading it, the mom took out two pieces of cookies, broke both in half, and gave each girl a half of cookie. They smiled like it was the most priceless gift in the world. As they pulled out I thought about the two women. I clearly knew which one had the most money, but I wasn’t sure which one really had the most.

In this life there are many kinds of riches but the most valuable one of all is love. The truth is the one who loves the most: learns the most, lives the most, gives the most, and grows the most in this life. It is the real riches of this life.

I was nine when I arrived at the Children's Home in Nashua, New Hampshire, in 1965. I failed third grade that year, barely made it through a second time, and had merely passed through fourth grade by the time I reached Pauline Jambard's fifth­grade class at Charlotte Avenue Elementary School.

I believed I wasn't “smart” and popular like the other kids, and I hoped I could make it through fifth grade. Ms Jambard took an instant liking to me. Of all the subjects in school, reading was my favorite. She would tell me, “Terry, you keep reading. If you can understand what you're reading, you'll be smarter than most kids.” After I read all the books in our program, I started reading the classroom's set of Encyclopaedia Britannica. I couldn't find enough to read, and I started to really like school.

That December, the children's home threw a Christmas party for family and community members. My brother and I had no family to invite. I still remember looking up and seeing Ms Jambard walk through the front doors of the children's home and I realized that she was there on behalf of my parent. That made me feel it was the best Christmas of my life.

We have stayed in touch, and I call Pauline at least once a year. Because of the confidence she instilled (灌输) in me, I went on to have a successful career in engineering and law engagement. I don't know if Pauline realizes how much she helped me, but I'll never forget her kindness and faith in me. I treat her as my family member.

The driver, Zhang Sal, wandered outside an apartment building in Wuhan, the central Chinese city at the heart of the Coronavirus(冠状病毒) outbreak. He had been ordered not to take food to customers’ doors in order to minimize the risk of infection. But the woman on the phone was pleading, he recalled. The food was for her mother, who couldn't go down to meet him.

Mr. Zhang relented. He would drop off the order and sprint away, As he placed the bag on the floor, Mr. Zhang said, the door opened. Startled, he rushed away. Without thinking, he said, he jabbed the elevator button with his finger, touching a surface he feared could transmit the virus.

That was how Mr. Zhang, 32, found himself speeding back to his delivery station with one finger held high in the air, careful not to touch the rest of his hand-a quarantine in miniature. (小型隔离现场)

For many in China, delivery drivers like Mr. Zhang are the only connection to the outside world. Once a common but invisible presence on the streets of nearly every Chinese city, the drivers are now being praised as heroes.

Throughout China, at least 760 million people-almost a tenth of the world’s population-face some form of household lockdown. The rules are particularly strict in Wuhan, where government efforts to contain the virus have blocked most of the 11 million residents in their homes.

Each household can send someone out for necessities just once every three days. Many residents do not go outside at all, for fear of infection of the more than 2, 100 deaths and nearly 75,000 infections linked to the new virus, the majority have been in Wuhan.

But people still have to eat, which is why Mr. Zhang and many delivery drivers find themselves on the street each day As Wuhan and the rest of China stay at home, they have become the country’s vital arteries, keeping fresh meat, vegetables and other supplies flowing to those who need them.

It is grueling and dangerous work. Mr. Zhang, who works for Hema, a supermarket chain owned by the tech giant Alibaba, crisscrosses the city armed only with the face masks and hand sanitizer that his company supplies each morning.

The epidemic (疫情) has brought some unexpected bright spots. Before, Mr. Zhang said, he sometimes ran red lights during rush hour in order to meet his delivery goals for the day. Now, the streets are empty. He has no problem getting around.

People are nicer, too. Some customers hardly opened the door or avoided eye contact. After the outbreak erupted, everyone said thank you.