Every night after I tucked her into bed, I sang to her, a silly song, a made-up song, our song. “Stay little, stay little, little little stay; little stay little stay little.” She would giggle and I would smile. The next morning I would say: “...
Until last year, the greatest sorrow of my life was that my wife Alice and I couldn’t have any children. To make up for this in a small way, we always invited all the children on our street to our house each Christmas morning for breakfast. We w...
A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted. As Graduation Day approached,...
The summer before fifth grade, my world was turned upside down when my family moved from the country town where I was born and raised to a town near the beach. When school began, I found it difficult to be accepted by the kids in my class who seemed...
There is a temple at the foot of Nanshan，and an ancient banyan（菩提树） is in front of it. One morning, a young monk gets up to clean up the courtyard and sees the fallen leaves from the ancient banyan are everywhere, he can’t help worrying an...
The Board Meeting had come to an end. Bob started to stand up and jostled the table, spilling his coffee over his notes. "How embarrassing.I am getting so clumsy in my old age." Everyone had a good laugh, and soon we were all telling stories of...
When I was a kid, I remember my dad used to sing an old, WWI song, “Pack up your Troubles,” while he was getting dressed for work in the morning. The lyrics from the chorus of the song play in my head often when I’m packing for a trip—“Pack up y...
Time is running out for my friend. While we are sitting at lunch she casually mentions she and her husband are thinking of starting a family. "We're taking a survey,"she says, half-joking. "Do you think I should have a baby?" "It will chang...
