Two-year-old Samantha Savitz is deaf and loves interacting with her neighbors, so they all learned sign language in order to communicate with her better. The little girl is just so charming and adorable that it’s hard not to want to be able to have simple conversations with her.

In the United States，about two to four of every 1,000 people are functionally deaf—about 2 million people. Around 28 million Americans, 10% of the population，have some degree of hearing loss. Around 500, 000 deaf people in the country use American Sign Language (ASL), and it's the third most commonly used language in the US; many hearing people are also fluent in ASL. With so many people using ASL, it's only right that Savitz's neighbors learn the language，not only for her but also to be able to communicate with other deaf people.

Located at the end of Islington Road in Newton, Massachusells, this little neighborhood is absolutely charmed by one little girl. Savitz is a super engaging girl, and she loves interacting with people in her community. She is delighted when they are able to sign with her. However, she gets really sad when they can't understand her when she tries to communicate with them. Because of this, Savitz's neighbors collectively hired an instructor for ASL classes. With the help of their instructor, Rhys McGovern, the neighbors are able to help Savitz feel a sense of belonging.

What the neighbors did for this little girl is wonderful because she will grow up being well-adjusted in society .Instead of feeling separated because no one outside of her family will understand her, Savitz will be accustomed to constantly interacting with different people. Her family is so thankful that they are fortunate to have such caring and compassionate neighbors. Savitz calls her neighbors “friends,” and accurately so.

Other than speaking with the darling of their neighborhood, the residents of Islington Road will also be able to communicate with any other deaf person they encounter. “We are really enjoying the whole process，not only the learning of ASL, but the learning together,” says McNeil, one of Savitz’s neighbors. “It's made our neighborhood a closer place.”

Every man wants his son to be somewhat of a clone, not in features but in footsteps. As he grows you also age, and your ambitions become more unachievable. You begin to realize that your boy, in your footsteps, could probably accomplish what you hoped for. But footsteps can be muddied and they can go off in different directions.

My son Jody has hated school since day one in kindergarten. Science projects waited until the last moment. Book reports weren’t written until the final threat.

I’ve been a newspaperman all my adult life. My daughter is a university graduate working toward her master’s degree in English. But Jody? When he entered the tenth grade he became a “vo-tech” student. They’re called “motorheads” by the rest of the student body.

When a secretary in my office first called him “motorhead”, I was shocked. “Hey, he’s a good kid,” I wanted to say. “And smart, really.”

I learned later that motorheads are, indeed, different. They usually have dirty hands and wear dirty work clothes. And they don’t often make school honor rolls(光荣榜).

But being the parent of a motorhead is itself an experience in education. We who labor in clean shirts in offices don’t have the abilities that motorheads have. I began to learn this when I had my car crashed. The cost to repair it was estimated at $800. “Hey, I can fix it,” said Jody. I doubted it, but let him go ahead, for I had nothing to lose.

My son, with other motorheads, fixed the car. They got parts from a junkyard, and ability from vo-tech classes. The lost was $25 instead of $80.

Since that first repair job, a broken air-conditioner, a non-functioning washer and a non-toasting toaster have been fixed. Neighbors and co-workers trust their car repairs to him.

These kids are happiest when doing repairs. They joke and laugh and are living in their own relaxed world. And their minds are bright despite their dirty hands and clothes.

I have learned a lot from my motorhead: publishers need printers, engineers need mechanics, and architects need builders. Most important, I have learned that fathers don’t need clones in footsteps or anywhere else.

My son may never make the school honor roll. But he made mine.

Some time ago, I discovered that one of my chairs had a broken leg. I didn’t think there would be any difficulty in getting it mended, as there were a whole lot of antique (古董) shops near my home. So I left home one morning carrying the chair with me. I went into the first shop expecting a friendly reception. I was quite wrong. The man wouldn’t even look at my chair.

The second shop, though slightly more polite, was just the same, and the third and the fourth — so I decided that my approach must be wrong.

I went into the fifth shop with a plan in my mind. I placed the chair on the floor and said to the shopkeeper, “Would you like to buy a chair?” He looked it over carefully and said, “Yes, not a bad chair. How much do you want for it, sir?” “Twenty pounds,” I said. “OK,” he said, “I’ll give you twenty pounds.” “It’s got a slightly broken leg,” I said. “Yes, I saw that, but it’s nothing.”

Everything was going according to the plan and I was getting excited. “What will you do with it?” I asked. “Oh, it will be easy to sell once the repair is done.” “I’ll buy it,” I said. “What do you mean? You’ve just sold it to me,” he said. “Yes, I know but I’ve changed my mind. I’m sorry; I’ll give you twenty-seven pounds for it.” “Your must be crazy,” he said. Then, suddenly the penny dropped. “I know what you want. You want me to repair your chair.” “You’re right,” I said. “And what would you have done if I had walked in and said would you mend this chair for me?” “I wouldn’t have agreed to do it,” he said. “We don’t do repairs, not enough money in it and too much trouble. But I’ll mend this for you, shall we say for a fiver (五镑钞票)?” He was a very nice man and was greatly amused by the whole thing.