Harvard Targeted in U.S. Asian-American Discrimination Probe

这是一篇旧文。 和最近的最高法院一事有关联吧, 贴出来。

 Harvard Targeted in U.S. Asian-American Discrimination Probe

Feb. 2 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. Education Department is probing complaints that Harvard University and Princeton University discriminate against Asian-Americans in undergraduate admissions.

The department’s Office for Civil Rights is investigating a complaint it received in August that Harvard rejected an Asian- American candidate for the current freshman class based on race or national origin, a department spokesman said. The agency is looking into a similar August 2011 allegation against Princeton as part of a review begun in 2008 of that school’s handling of Asian-American candidates, said the spokesman, who declined to be identified, citing department policy.

Both complaints involve the same applicant, who was among the top students in his California high school class and whose family originally came from India, according to the applicant’s father, who declined to be identified.

The new complaints, along with a case appealed last September to the U.S. Supreme Court challenging preferences for blacks and Hispanics in college admissions, may stir up the longstanding debate about whether elite universities discriminate against Asian-Americans, the nation’s fastest- growing and most affluent racial category.

Like Jews in the first half of the 20th century, who faced quotas at Harvard, Princeton, and other Ivy League schools, Asian-Americans are over-represented at top universities relative to their population, yet must meet a higher standard than other applicants based on measures such as test scores and high school grades, according to several academic studies.

Higher Bar

“Many Asian-Americans live for their children, sacrificing everything to pay phenomenal tuition at these private schools,” said former Delaware Lieutenant Governor S.B. Woo, president of the 80-20 Educational Foundation, an Asian-American advocacy group. “They, at the same time, are very much aware that their kids have to cross a much higher admissions bar.”

Harvard “does not discriminate against Asian-American applicants,” and doesn’t comment on the specifics of complaints under federal review, spokesman Jeff Neal said. Asian-Americans comprised 16 percent of Harvard undergraduates in the 2010-2011 academic year, down from 18 percent in 2005-2006, according to the university’s website.

“Our review of every applicant’s file is highly individualized and holistic, as we give serious consideration to all of the information we receive and all of the ways in which the candidate might contribute to our vibrant educational environment and community,” Neal said.

‘Neutral Fact-Finder’

In a Jan. 11 letter to Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Harvard and to the complainant, notifying them that it would investigate the allegation, the Office for Civil Rights said that the action “in no way implies that OCR has made a determination with regard to its merits. During the investigation, OCR is a neutral fact-finder.”

The agency doesn’t release the names of complainants. While the Office for Civil Rights has the power to terminate federal financial aid to colleges, it almost always negotiates agreements with schools on steps required for compliance, rather than taking enforcement action, the Education Department spokesman said.

Princeton is aware of the 2011 complaint and will provide the government with the requested information, university spokesman Martin Mbugua said. The college, in Princeton, New Jersey, doesn’t discriminate on the basis of race or national origin, he said.

“We make admissions decisions on a case-by-case basis in our efforts to build a well-rounded, diverse class,” Mbugua said.

Fluctuating Rates

The proportion of Asian-Americans among Princeton undergraduates increased to 17.7% this year from 14.1% in 2007- 2008. The rise reflects the tendency of incoming classes to “fluctuate based on the assessment of individual applications” rather than the impact of the federal review, Mbugua said.

A Chinese-American student, Jian Li, filed a complaint against Princeton with the Education Department in 2006, alleging discrimination on the basis of race or national origin. Li, who scored the maximum 2400 on the SAT and 2390 — 10 points below the ceiling — on subject tests in physics, chemistry and calculus, was denied admission by Princeton, Harvard, Stanford University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In 2008, the Office for Civil Rights broadened its examination of Li’s complaint into a compliance review of whether Princeton discriminates against Asian-Americans.

‘Substantially Identical’

Because the 2011 complaint against Princeton “raised substantially identical issues,” the agency is folding it into the compliance review, the Education Department spokesman said. Li enrolled at Yale University and later transferred to Harvard, graduating in 2010. He declined to comment, citing concerns about a backlash.

The Education Department received a complaint in September that Yale, in New Haven, Connecticut, rejected an Asian-American applicant on the basis of race, the department spokesman said. The complainant later withdrew the allegation. It also involved the Indian-American student from California, his father said.

Yale is unaware of the complaint, spokesman Thomas Conroy said. Asian-Americans make up 15 percent of Yale undergraduates.

Asian-American applicants have to outperform their counterparts from other backgrounds on the SAT to gain entry to elite universities, recent studies show.

Test Scores

Asian-Americans admitted to the University of Wisconsin’s flagship Madison campus in 2008 had a median math and reading SAT score of 1370 out of 1600, compared to 1340 for whites, 1250 for Hispanics, and 1190 for blacks, according to a 2011 study by the Center for Equal Opportunity, a Falls Church, Virginia-based nonprofit group that opposes racial preferences in college admissions.

“Clearly, both whites and Asian-Americans are discriminated against vis a vis African-Americans and Latinos,” said Roger Clegg, the center’s president. “At some of the more selective schools, Asians are also discriminated against vis a vis whites.”

Because many Asian-Americans come from families that arrived in the U.S. relatively recently, they are less likely than whites to qualify for preference as alumni children, Clegg said. “Stereotyping takes place too” of Asian-Americans, he said.

Asian-American students who enrolled at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina in 2001 and 2002 scored 1457 out of 1600 on the math and reading portion of the SAT, compared to 1416 for whites, 1347 for Hispanics and 1275 for blacks, according to a 2011 study co-authored by Duke economist Peter Arcidiacono.

Higher Standard

If all other credentials are equal, Asian-Americans need to score 140 points more than whites, 270 points higher than Hispanics, and 450 points above African-Americans out of a maximum 1600 on the math and reading SAT to have the same chance of admission to a private college, according to “No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal,” a 2009 book co-written by Princeton sociologist Thomas Espenshade.

Budget-strapped state schools such as the University of California at San Diego are reducing enrollment of Asian- Americans to make room for international students from China and elsewhere who pay almost twice the tuition of in-state residents, Bloomberg News reported Dec. 28.

Asian-American organizations are weighing in on both sides of a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of Abigail Noel Fisher, a white student who was rejected in 2008 by the University of Texas at Austin. Fisher v. Texas marks the first federal court challenge to affirmative action in college admissions filed since a 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision in the 2003 Grutter v. Bollinger case, which upheld the use of race by the University of Michigan law school to achieve a “critical mass” of under- represented minority groups such as blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans.

University of Texas

The University of Texas automatically admits in-state applicants in the top 10 percent of their high school classes, who make up most of its students. It then considers race in selecting the remainder of its freshman class.

The suit contends that the top 10 percent program is enough to ensure campuswide diversity. The university responds that, without taking race into account, many individual courses would have hardly any black or Hispanic students.

After federal district and appeals courts upheld the university’s position, the U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether to hear the Fisher case. The Justice Department supports the university.

Discrimination

“Asian-American students suffer discrimination at the hands of the University of Texas at Austin,” the Asian-American Legal Foundation said in a friend-of-the-court brief for the plaintiff. While the university justifies its preference for Hispanic applicants as an effort to diversify classrooms, it has more Hispanic students than Asian-Americans, the San Francisco- based foundation said.

With changes in the Supreme Court’s composition since Grutter, including Samuel Alito Jr. replacing the retired Sandra Day O’Connor, who wrote the majority ruling, the justices may take the opportunity to strike down race-conscious admissions policies, said Woo, the head of the Newark, Delaware-based 80-20 Educational Foundation.

The foundation plans to submit a brief supporting the plaintiff if the Supreme Court takes the case.

Woo also co-founded a political action committee that endorses candidates who promise to consider Asian-Americans for key positions such as judgeships.

Hiding Racial Identity

“The prevailing college admission policy artificially places highly qualified Asian-American applicants to compete against each other rather than against the general pool of all applicants, instilling such a fear that many Asian-Americans hide their own racial identity” on applications, the committee stated in December.

Four Asian-American organizations backed the University of Texas in a brief to the appeals court, arguing that Asian- Americans benefit from learning in a racially diverse environment.

“It is simply a misstatement to argue that Asian-Americans are victims,” the groups wrote.

There are 14.7 million Americans of Asian descent only, plus 2.6 million who are multiracial including Asian, according to the 2010 U.S. census. The combined 17.3 million comprises 5.6 percent of the population, up 46 percent from 2000. Median household income for single-race Asian-Americans exceeds $65,000, compared with a national average of $50,000. Half of those 25 and older hold college degrees, almost double the national average.

Harvard Revisited

The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights first examined Harvard’s handling of Asian-American applicants more than 20 years ago. It turned up stereotyping by Harvard evaluators, such as this comment about one Asian-American candidate: “He’s quiet and, of course, wants to be a doctor.”

It also documented that Harvard admitted Asian-Americans at a lower rate than white applicants even though the Asian- Americans had slightly stronger SAT scores and grades. Nevertheless, the agency concluded in 1990 that Harvard didn’t violate civil rights laws because preferences for alumni children and recruited athletes, rather than racial discrimination, accounted for the gap.

The issue remains unresolved, said Stephen Hsu, a physics professor at the University of Oregon who blogs about the admissions process.

 


史上第一位打進NBA的哈佛畢業生-林書豪

 

                               Our God is awesome!
        剛剛簽約紐約尼克隊的Jeremy Lin(林書豪)在群雄逐鹿NBA的賽場上大放異彩成為了美國主流媒體的新寵。作為史上第一位打進NBA的哈佛畢業生第一位台裔球員Jeremy的背景也是大家爭相談論的焦點。
        作為亞裔是甚麼力量引他闖入黑白一統天下的NBA沒有傲人高度卻可以進籃有如無人之地在作冷板凳,作第四替補的時候不放棄夢想,在力挽狂瀾的的時候不在掌聲、閃光燈的追逐中迷失自己答案是他所信靠的奇妙偉大神!
         Jeremy, 沒有名校畢業生的自負,沒有球星的狂傲,在鏡頭前只是一個敬虔愛主的年輕人。外表淡定,內心卻是無比堅強。這使人聯想起另外一位在媒體前把基督信仰掛在嘴上、寫在臉上、化在生命里的另一位年輕人、出色的美式橄欖球球員Tebow. 不一樣的禾場,卻是一樣愛主榮耀主的絢爛的生命。
        JeremyLin(林書豪)和林媽媽作客真情部落格, 一段值得觀看的訪談,了解Jeremy Lin的成長和心路歷程。Tibow 15歲和家人去菲利賓宣教,Jeremy Lin 初中在教會教小朋友主日學。原來他們都來自敬虔愛主的基督徒家庭。正如林媽媽所說:兒子作甚麼不重要,重要的是要行在神的旨意里,尊主為大。
       Jeremy is awesome, because our God is an awesome God!
 
 
好消息電台訪談
 
八分鐘 全紀錄 Jeremy Lin 林書豪 28 8助攻 2抄截 初次先發
 

 


Tiger Mom’s Long-Distance Cub (WSJ)

 12/24/2010
Amy Chua on how she has handled her daughter’s departing the den for college. Drilling and discipline from afar? No, not even a growl

 

A lot of people have asked me whether I still "tiger mom" my older daughter, Sophia, now that she’s in college. Do I block sleepovers from afar, drill her on schoolwork remotely, monitor piano practice by Skype and make sure that she never watches TV or plays computer games?


 

Actually, it’s just the opposite. My husband and I are probably the most hands-off college parents we know. We never ask Sophia what she’s going to major in or what she does at night, and we accidentally forgot about parents’ weekend. When we got a few stressed text messages from her about finals, we told her to relax, do what she always does, and she’d be fine. And she was.

Here’s the key to tiger parenting, which a lot of people miss: It’s really only about very early child-rearing, and it’s most effective when your kids are between the ages of, say, 5 and 12. When practiced correctly, tiger parenting can produce kids who are more daring and self-reliant, not less.

Tiger parenting is often confused with helicopter parenting, but they could not be more different. In fact, the former eliminates the need for the latter. At its core, tiger parenting—which, if you think about it, is not that different from the traditional parenting of America’s founders and pioneers—assumes strength, not weakness, in children. By contrast, helicopter parenting—which, as far as I can tell, has no historical roots and is just bad—is about parents, typically mothers, hovering over their kids and protecting them, carrying their sports bags for them and bailing them out, possibly for their whole lives.

I’ve taken a lot of flak over the last year for candidly describing how I raised my daughters and why I did it that way. But what drives me the craziest may be the charge that tiger parenting produces meek robots and automatons. This just misunderstands what tiger parenting is.

 

When it comes to parenting, the Chinese seem to produce children who display academic excellence, musical mastery and professional success – or so the stereotype goes. WSJ’s Christina Tsuei speaks to two moms raised by Chinese immigrants who share what it was like growing up and how they hope to raise their children.

 

Here’s an example of real tiger parenting for you. When I was 15, my father, a professor of chaos theory at Berkeley, took our whole family with him to Europe for his sabbatical year. For one semester, he threw my sisters and me into a local public school in Munich.

When I mentioned to him that we didn’t speak any German and couldn’t understand the teachers, he told me to check out some language books from the library, and reminded me that mathematics and science employ universal symbols. "This is an opportunity," he said. "Make the most of it." It ended up being one of the best years of my life.

Tiger parenting is all about raising independent, creative, courageous kids. In America today, there’s a dangerous tendency to romanticize creativity in a way that may undermine it. Take, for example, all the people who point to Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg and conclude that the secret to innovation is dropping out of college. In fact, both men exemplify extraordinary hard work, drive and resilience in the face of failure—exactly the qualities that tiger parenting seeks to promote. What Mr. Jobs and Mr. Zuckerberg teach us is that we should apply those qualities to something that we feel passionate about.

But you can’t invent Google, Facebook or the iPod unless you’ve mastered the basics, are willing to put in long hours and can pick yourself up from the floor when life knocks you down the first 10 times.

For most kids, college is their first experience truly on their own. Tiger parenting prepares kids for just that moment. For kids who are used to hearing "You’re amazing, that’s great" in response to whatever they do, it must be pretty shocking to fail at something. Tiger cubs, by contrast, are typically resilient. It’s empowering for them to know that you don’t need to be brilliant to succeed—that hard work can fix just about anything.

I remember my own rude awakening when I arrived at college. In the first class that I attended, the professor started lecturing about the Peloponnesian War. Everyone else seemed to know what he was talking about, but I’d never heard of it. Was it recent, maybe just before Vietnam? In my expository-writing class, I got a B on my first paper. Undaunted, I poured myself into the next assignment, working around the clock—and got a B minus. It was a tough year. But I kept bearing down, trying different things, and eventually I got the hang of it.

When our kids go off to college, we want them to have the confidence, judgment and strength to take care of themselves. Even critics of my approach to parenting would probably concede that, after years of drilling and discipline, tiger cubs are good at focusing and getting their work done. If instilled early, these skills also help them to avoid the college-prep freak-out that traumatizes so many American families.

But one of the biggest knocks against tiger parenting is that it supposedly produces kids with no initiative or social skills. This might be true in China, where so much of the educational system is still harsh, authoritarian and based on rote learning. But it’s definitely not true in the West, where tiger parenting is done in the context of a society—or, in my case, in a home, thanks to my husband—that celebrates irreverence, independence, humor and thinking outside the box.

If anything, I’ve found that tiger cubs raised in America have really high emotional intelligence. For one thing, they’ve spent their whole lives maneuvering around their crazy, strict parents. For another, they don’t tend to be prima donnas, because tiger parents are brutally honest.

A lot of parents today are terrified that something they say to their children might make them "feel bad." But, hey, if they’ve done something wrong, they should feel bad. Kids with a sense of responsibility, not entitlement, who know when to experience gratitude and humility, will be better at navigating the social shoals of college.

When I’m not the Tiger Mom, I’m a professor at Yale Law School, and if one thing is clear to me from years of teaching, it’s that there are many ways to produce fabulous kids. I have amazing students; some of them have strict parents, others have lenient parents, and many come from family situations that defy easy description.

 



花卉之国和夏威夷女人–夏威夷的另类玩法(二)

 一年前的大约这个时候, 发表了夏威夷系列的第一篇, 这是第二篇。 算是给自己一个交代, 也给大家一个新年问候。祝福这里的妈妈, 和夏威夷女人一样美丽。

        序号:  ***** 
  记得有人把兰花比作中国的江南女子, 那是指中国文人雅士的所喜爱的幽兰, 其飘逸的叶片, 淡淡的清香. 给人含蓄, 委婉的感觉, 如浅愁轻云般迷蒙. 

这是兰花吗? 

夏威夷却是花团锦绣的, 这里的各类兰花色彩呈纷, 娇艳夺目. 热带雨林的气候, 适合各类花卉的滋润生长, 全世界近2万多兰花品种里, 仅夏威夷大岛(BIG ISLAND)的”HAWAII BONTANTIC GARDEN” 就有超过 2,000 多的品种, 分别来自125 families(族类) and 750 genera. 频繁的花卉展示和评比, 使新培育的兰花品种不断出现. 在檀香山的WAKIKI 海滩, 兰花(DANDTROBIAN)编织的花环信手拈来, 随处可见.

挂满DANDTROBIAN 花环(LEI)的铜像, WAKIKI 海滩

夏威夷的州花, 是黄色的hibiscus, 每个岛也有自己的岛花. 有趣的是, 夏威夷土生土长的兰花, 有人认为只有三个品种. 是那三个品种呢? 我在的网上花了很多时间查找, 还是一无所获. 尽显眼中的全是那些姹紫嫣红, 神采各异的夏威夷奇花异卉.

我喜爱一种结在树上的五瓣花: 赤素馨花(white plumeria), 花瓣比一般花朵厚实许多, 最适合作成头饰. 从花中萃取出的精油, 还具净化与润泽功效.今年回广州, 令我惊奇的是, 在母亲居住的小区园子里, 居然也有这一树木, 淡黄色的花朵结满枝头. 在大城市的节奏里, 女人们却很少把它插在头上. 

赤素馨花

 

鲜花装点的女人, 无论 环肥燕瘦, 年长年少,在夏威夷的街头, 舞台, 海滨, 沙滩, , 踩着空中时而激荡, 时而柔曼的音乐, 款款走过, 享受做为女人的美好, 给春天的岛屿平添几多清新俏丽. 

夏威夷最后一位国王, 居然也是一位美丽的女性. 人们称她为LILIUOKALANI女王. 她是典型的波利尼西亚的后裔, 深棕色的皮肤, 性格热情开朗, 能歌擅舞,受英国式教育, 喜爱读书作曲. 她的祖先从4世纪到11世纪这几千年来陆续从南太平洋的馬克薩斯群岛, 大溪地, 波拉波拉岛(Bora Bora)迁移而来, 他们征服了这一片岛屿, 建立了自己的独立王国. 海风海浪,音乐歌舞, 和海里的鱼儿, 树上的果实一样, 是他们每日悠闲生活的基本元素.

18世纪之后, 英国的传教士的虔诚和先进的医药, 征服了夏威夷王室成员的心. 精明的英国商人和政客却钟情与这美丽富足的岛屿. 最初英国人在保留国王基础上, 设立了君主立宪和议会制. 直到1893年, 一支精简的美国海军支队轻而易举把 女王LILIUOKALANI拉下了王位. 女王被迫退进她的私人住宅,在她的信中呼吁她的支持者耐心和避免伤亡. 两年之后, 一场恢复女王的判乱. 以判军一人伤亡的代价而以失败告终. 女王因此被逮捕.

后来的1959年, 成为美国的第50个州. 

喜爱写作和作曲的LILIUOKALANI在她软禁的日子里, 谱写了这首著名优美的夏威夷歌曲: ”Aloha Oe" ("Farewell to Thee").

Proudly swept the rain cloud by the cliffs,
As on it glided through the trees
Still following ever the "liko"
The "Ahihi lehua" of the vale. 

Farewell to thee,
Farewell to thee,
Thou charming one who dwellst among the bow’rs.
One fond embrace,
Before I now depart,
Until we meet again.

Thus sweet memories come back to me,
Bringing fresh remembrance of the past
Dearest one, yes, thou art mine own,
From thee, true love shall ne’er depart.

Farewell to thee,
Farewell to thee,
Thou charming one who dwellst among the bow’rs.
One fond embrace,
Before I now depart,
Until we meet again.

I have seen and watched thy loveliness,
Thous sweet Rose of Maunawili,
And ’tis there the birds oft love to dwell
And sip the honey from thy lips.

Farewell to thee,
Farewell to thee,
Thou charming one who dwellst among the bow’rs.
One fond embrace,
Before I now depart,
Until we meet again…

她的雕像竖立在夏威首首府, 铺满的鲜花花环述说着人们的怀念, 温柔的海浪仿佛低吟着她的歌曲, 她的故事…

夏威夷 的女子啊, 没有江南女子绣花针般的心事, 连绵的山峦恰如她们的淳朴, 大海成就了她们宽广的胸怀, 绚烂的花朵给了她们万种风情…

惊艳

 

 

 


义邻勇阻盗贼记(ZT)

一位朋友的文章。

 

2011年11月的最后一天,雨。早晨出门上班有些匆忙,忘了带上头天晚上充电的手机。以前也常有忘带手机的事情,从来没当回事。一般也不会有什么急事,等下班回去看留言就行了。但那天有些不一样,说不出什么原因,心神有些不定,似乎隐隐有点不安之感。也许就是人常说的第六感觉吧。忽然决定趁午休时回去取手机。

办公室离家不算太远,在雨中驾车一路绿灯,不到20分钟就进了小区。转进自家所属的小街,到终点的Cul- De-Sac,看到有一辆警车打横停在我家车道的左前方靠邮箱处。心里有些奇怪,但顾不得多想,车驶上车道的同时,手已习惯性地按下遥控器将车库门开启。在车库中停下车,推开车门,正要起身出车门,车库内通内室的房门突然打开了,从里面走出一个男人来……顿时吓了我一跳。腿一软,跌坐回车里。

那身穿黄色雨衣的人却先说话了:“别害怕,我是警察。”我惊魂未定地问:“这是怎么回事呢?”他说:“你家被小偷撬窗而入了。我接到报警刚赶到,正在屋里查看。听到你开车回来,所以赶快出来迎接你,”他笑嘻嘻地加了一句,“不然你可能会以为我是小偷,拿棒球棍打我的。”听他这样一说,我笑了,心情顿时放松了,一边也开玩笑说着“别担心,我家没有棒球棍呢”,一边下了车,走到他面前。

他的雨衣上有警察的标志,敞开的胸襟露出里面制服上的警徽,还可以看到他腰间佩带的手枪。这是位年轻的警察,估计二十来岁三十岁,笑得很阳光:“你回来得正好,我正在想怎么与你联系呢。你运气不错,要是早回来十分钟就可能遭遇上小偷了,那小偷可是个高大的壮年黑人,你遇上他就很难说是不是有危险。现在屋里很乱,你去检查一下看丢了什么东西。你家被盗已经立案了,要是有贵重物品丢失,你可以按照这张卡片打电话报告,上面记有你家的案件号码。”

我接过小卡片随他走进门,屋里乱七八糟。我心疼地看见插着吊兰的花瓶被打翻在家庭厅的地毯上,留下一滩水渍和乱叶。他径直领我去后门处,正对着早餐桌的三扇窗户中的一扇被强力从底下撬开了,上面的扣锁连螺丝都脱位了,外面的纱窗被丢在Patio上。小偷就是从这里入室的。其它房间,所有的抽屉都是开着的,满地狼籍:书本、信封、袜子、内衣、毛巾……,床垫挪了位置,沙发上的靠垫、坐垫都折腾起来了,几个放在柜子里不常用的大小包也都扔在地上,开着口。警察指着那些靠垫、坐垫说,小偷想找现金,也许他知道亚裔有可能在家里放很多现金和贵重物品。我苦笑了一下,说:“那他真是走错了地方,我家既没有多少现金,更没有贵重物品。”

我发现有两个好点的我平时不常用的皮包就放在我的写字台脚下,里面装了些小盒子,翻开一看,有一些是首饰盒——不值钱的别针、耳环、手链之类;一些我旅游时买的小工艺品;还有我收集的一堆以硬币为主的外国钱币。旁边的书柜柜门大开,里面的东西都被翻腾出来,装相机的包也打开了,但还没有来得及拎出来。总之,我们家稍微有点值钱的东西都给收罗到一起了,只是还没有带走。

我粗粗看了一下,对警察说:也许没有什么大的损失。警察笑了笑说:“所以我说你是很有运气的人。你得感谢你的邻居,多亏他发现了,打电话报了警,我才能很快赶来。我进你们小区门口时,看到一辆小卡车冲出去。我感觉那可能就是那个小偷,可我无法去追他,我首先要到现场。”

警察提到报警的邻居,我心中已有人选,正想问他是哪位邻居,门铃响了。警察乐呵呵地说:“保卫了你家的好邻居来了。” 前去开门,进来的是斜对门的John——这正是我猜想的人。

搬到这里居住快一年了。John可算是我们最熟悉的邻居。记得当时我们刚买了房子,拿到钥匙前来视察。最早认识的是两家对门的邻居,John就是其中一位,另一位是印度裔。他们对我们的到来表示欢迎,我们也向他们咨询了一些有关小区的情况,Utility的供应商等。这一Cul- De-Sac由六户人家组成,圈里有四户,我家是位于顶头的两户之一,其余两户中有一户就是那位印度裔。而John的家与另一位韩裔邻居则一左一右扼守在入口。

John叙述了当时的情况。当天中午时分,在家工作的John准备工间休息吃午饭。他卷起窗帘,从正对小街的办公室观看外面的雨景。一辆小卡车急急驶来,在Cul- De-Sac转了一圈,停在了对面韩裔邻居一侧的路边。一个又高又壮的黑人下了车,然后走向了我的右邻。John开始想他大概是那位邻居的contractor,来干庭院草地修剪护理等一类活的。但是下雨天也来干庭院的活么?只见他走向那邻居的门口按门铃,按了一阵,没见回答,就又走向我家门前按门铃。这倒有些奇怪了,如果是干庭院活的contractor,直接干活就是了,根本不需按门铃。如果是干室内的活,那一定是与房主约好了时间,怎么房主不在家?更让John起疑问的是他竟然按了一家门铃又按一家,这不像是contractor。果然,那人一见我家也没人应,就直接走到我家的后院去了。我的左邻右舍都建有栅栏,后院不是很方便进入,还都养有狗,都是那种很喜欢叫唤的矮种小狗。唯有我家没有栅栏也没有狗,可以直接进入而没有动静。John已经可以断定他是具有不良企图的了。John急忙出门,也走到我家的后院去查看。见到我家后门旁的一扇窗户已经被撬开,纱窗扔在一旁,从窗户往里看屋里有人影移动——果然是小偷入室盗窃。John立即走回前院掏出手机报警,并用手机拍下了那辆小卡车的牌照。大约小偷在屋里搜罗东西的时候已经看到John在外面打电话,立即扔下手里的东西慌慌张张地往外跑, John正好在我家门前拦住了他。那人横跳一步绕过John说:“我是与警察一起来的。”John追上几步继续挡住他说:“既然这样那你跑什么呢?就等着警察来吧。”那人说:“你走开,我带着枪的。”当过海军的John一眼就看出他没有带枪,只是吓唬人,照样与他周旋。那小偷急了,摆出一副拼命搏斗的姿态。虽然那人个头高大,练过擒拿格斗的John自信有把握能打倒他。但John不是蛮干之人,他倒是担心自己一时失手把小偷打伤了,而小偷盗窃的毕竟不是他自己的屋子,他不能以自卫为理由,到时反而遭到小偷的反诉。于是,他退让了几步。小偷趁机跳上卡车,开车逃跑了。

警察说,经查证,那车牌属于百里之外的一个county,是否属于小偷本人当时还未得到证实。

事后,当我们登门致谢时,称赞John是英雄。John的太太对我们说,John就是这样的人,经常见义勇为。John还后悔地对我们说:“我应该把他的车胎扎破,让他跑不了!”我们都劝他说:“你已经做得够好了!我们没有损失什么财物,小偷也吓得够呛,以后肯定不会再来了。我们真不想让你受伤或者有什么麻烦。再说,那小偷也没有偷到什么东西,也没有必要抓住他。”

俗话说远亲不如近邻,这回我是千真万确感受到了。如果没有勇敢的邻居John守望相助,我家一定会遭受更大的损失。虽说家里没有太多财物,但仅就小偷收罗的东西来看,损失了也是要心疼的。更何况如果时间充裕,小偷没准还要把相机和几部电脑都带走,相机和电脑本身不值多少钱,但里面存的文件都是我的宝贝,例如我写的文章和拍的照片(当时我拍摄大瀑布的照片都还没有下载到电脑里),如果那些没有了,说痛心疾首,呼天抢地都是轻的。所以,我真是从心底里感谢John,也为自己搬来这个社区,有这么一位好邻居而庆幸。

John大约三十多岁年纪,和太太养育了一儿一女。儿子大约五六岁,女儿尚在襁褓之中。他们是本小区里最老的住户之一。John常陪同活泼好动的儿子在Cul- De-Sac内骑车玩。尤其夏天的傍晚,大家每天都会见面打招呼,有时也在一起聊聊天。John现在在家工作,所以时间比较充裕。热心公益的John关心小区建设,前段时间还说要站出来参加小区居委会理事的竞选,对我们谈了他的一些想法,其中就有加强邻居间的守望相助,在游泳池安装监控摄像等。我们也全力支持他,并决定出席HOA年度会议去亲自投票以表支持,同时也能对小区情况更为了解。我们在会议上拿到候选人名单时发现没有John的名字,还专门过去询问他。他解释说因为愿意出来竞选的人比较多,他于是就谦让了。但他仍然在为两位候选人助选,手里拿着一大叠授权书代表那些原本支持他的人投了他所助选的候选人的票。这事过后,John把事情的经过向小区居委会汇报了,提请居委会向住户通报,提高警惕。真希望下届居委会选举,像John这样的好邻居能成为居委会的一员,更好地守护小区的安全。

近一段时间,因经济状况不好,大亚特兰大地区北部几个城市如Johns Creek,Alpharetta,Duluth等入室偷盗和抢劫案件频发。这一带区域学区好,风景优美,房子建筑不错,社区安全宁静,过去很少有此类案件发生,是比较富裕的阶层和中产阶层中意的地方,尤其亚裔(包括华裔、韩裔和印度裔)数目不少。有的亚裔比较喜欢在家中存放现金和金银珠宝,有些盗贼正是冲着亚裔家庭而去。前几天还听说我的一位朋友居住的那个有名小区(当地中等偏上人家居住区之一),连续发生两起入室抢劫案件。恰好是在晚上八九点钟,一家人看电视娱乐的时候,持枪歹徒冲进家中,把所有人都捆起来,抢走了价值不菲的现金和金银珠宝。据说有一家的一个男孩子躲在阁楼上想打电话报警,被歹徒发现也拖了下来捆起来。所幸的是都没有造成人员伤亡。

那位警察“叔叔”多次叮嘱我,一定要把我家的遭遇告诉所有的朋友,提醒大家注意安全。遵照他的嘱咐,特写下此文,是以为纪.

 


妈妈作派, 儿子最爱

感恩节近了, 去他的狼爸,虎妈,  全是炒作赚银子。自己来点实惠好吃的吧, 这可是咱翻遍个无数烹饪书后才调制出来的, 完全是原创精华。不信,咱家的儿子可以作证。 另外,这个食谱还用了hotchilli 家的金菊挤出来的汁, 更是别处不可复制的。 

还记得一本叫Freaknomics(应该翻译叫抓狂经济学吧)的书上说, 很多孩子成绩好,居然和妈妈爱做菜有关,哈哈, 这话听了很有激励。 说不定, 从现在起, 每天做好吃的给我的宝贝儿子, 就统统把他们送上了名校。 

 家中的苹果树, 接了红灿灿一树的苹果。 脆脆的苹果, 一口咬下来, 满口余香, 这种滋味,就算是whole Food 有机食物专卖超市的苹果也是没有的。苹果香甜, 却招惹苹果虫的光顾。被虫咬过的苹果, 丢了实在可惜, 可是正宗的有机苹果啊。灵机一动, 做苹果派吧。 剔去被虫吃过的部位,削皮,切片, 没想到, 平生第一个苹果派, 儿子们居然喜欢的不得了, 连连夸说, 妈妈,You are the best cook in the world. 

苹果馅:

10-15 只 苹果去皮,切成薄块,约两大杯

1/2 杯红糖,
1-2茶勺cinnamon肉桂粉
一大勺面粉
 
1茶勺香草精
hotchiilli 家的一只金菊汁或者
几滴鲜柠檬汁

一只蛋黄

 

倒入放置好 Pie Crust (派皮)的9英寸派盘。Pie Crust, 可以自制, 或偷懒, 就买市场上现有的pie crust, Pillsbury 或其他牌子都可以。 放入375 F的烤箱 烤45分钟, 或者等中心的苹果馅沸腾起泡, 派皮呈金黄色, 就好了。 

想要更加精致的口味,可加一茶勺Nutmeg, 若又不怕脂肪,可再加两勺奶油和 两勺Cream cheese(奶油奶酪)。


 这个派, 老二带到学校去, 居然赢得了老师和同学的赞誉, 他的同学对他说, your mom is awesome。 一位老师居然抢着吃完
最后一块,让他很有面子哦。

日本南瓜派

朋友送来一只她后院的日本式小南瓜, 半只当菜煮了吃了,另外半只呢,受苹果派的鼓励, 想, 又是正逢感恩节季节,何不就作一只南瓜派呢。 于是开始动手起来。 

把南瓜去皮切块, 用水煮烂,捞起放入一下材料:

一勺姜粉

两只鸡蛋

 1/3 杯红糖,
1茶勺cinnamon肉桂粉
 3/4杯heavy cream
hotchiilli 家的一只金菊汁或几滴鲜柠檬汁

以上材料全部混合搅拌均匀

哇, 今天可是儿子在耐心的搅拌南瓜馅。 

倒入9英寸派盘。 烤45分钟, 或者等中心的馅沉淀下来, 派皮呈金黄色。 

终于, 烤好了, 吆喝来吃。 


儿子尝了一口, 一脸疑惑, 说, 妈, 这个南瓜派,不是南瓜派。

这是什么意思?可这明明是南瓜做的啊?

嗯, 可是,我的意思是说, 不是那个南瓜派。 

完蛋了, 不好吃。 

他吃了一口, 又说, 比南瓜派好吃,而且比苹果派也好吃。 

终于他说, 不管你作什么甜食, 都这么好吃。

哈哈, 儿子, 因为是你在搅和啊。 

不过我明白他的意思了。 我说, 因为市场上卖得南瓜派, 都是用罐头南瓜做的。我们的是人家朋友后院的日本小南瓜, 不但嫩, 又健康。 

 

 


《家有儿子》--妈妈的功课(一)

分享完一些和教育孩子有关的读书心得,做回我的座位后, 我的肩膀从后面被人轻轻得拍了几下。 我回头望去, 一位姐妹含笑看着我, 说, 我也是俩个儿子的妈妈,我真的很能体会你的心情, 带儿子真的是不一样的。 短短几句话, 一下拉近了我们的距离,我们的话匣子也一下子打开了。 原来, 她是全家连同俩个儿子多年前离开美国, 随丈夫去到中国大陆的一个边远地区,她开始在家中给孩子上学。

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《家有儿子》---笑一笑

1)周末儿子把衣服拿去洗, 我提醒他说, 把白色的分在一起, 暗色或黑色的分在另一边。

 

他边走边回头跟我说:

 

妈妈, 你真的很种族歧视啊! 

 

我无语。

 

 

 

2)周五的晚上, 儿子坐在车后, 说, 妈,问你一个问题:

 

A Unicorn, a Hominid, and a Dumb Asian 有什么共同特点?

 

儿子正在学校学进化论,我知道, 这个 Hominid就是进化论几百万年前的史前直立猿人。 

 

unicorn 也是知道的, 就是那个浪漫的单角马, 会飞的, 经常出现在女孩的梦中。

 

那么Dumb Asian,你确定吗? Dumb 是口语里, 笨的意思。 

 

没错,儿子一脸沉着。

 

可我最不擅长猜谜, 猜了三遍, 连续三个不对, 我投降了。

 

哈哈, 他说:

 

 

 

 

 

他们都不存在。

 

 


适合给男孩看的100部电影

 

 

100 movies for boys

 

还有:
The Pursuit of Happyness

Prince of Egypt

  • Something for Joey – the true-life story of 1973 Heisman Trophy winner John Cappelletti. When he wins the trophy, he dedicates the trophy to his little brother, Joey, who has leukemia and is not going to survive. The ending is extremely emotional. I remember seeing this movie on TV when I was in the ninth grade in the late seventies. It bowled me over. A few years ago I searched the Internet to find it for my sports-crazed sons, but no copies were available. I searched again this past year, and I found one. I watched it a few days after Christmas with my sons. You know what? It still bowled me over. Even better, I know it bowled them over, too. A sports movie that reminds us that life is about much more than playing games. (This is also a book.)
  • Miracle – the story of the 1980 U.S. hockey team. Need I say more? Still sends chills up my spine. Or is it down my spine. Oh, well, there were goose bumps on my spine, okay. Kurt Russell does a fabulous job as the coach. There is one part where it shows a montage of different scenes, and the audio for the scenes (gas lines, etc.) is President Carter’s voice as he gives an address to the nation; this speech brought a lump to my throat. I remember that time so well (the hostages in Iran, etc.), and his words about America touched me deeply.
  • October Sky – This movie has some bad language here and there, but if you think your son can handle it, it’ll be a movie he’ll never forget. Or you either. This is the true story of Homer Hickam (gotta do something about that name) and his supposedly out-of-reach dream of building rockets and working for NASA. He pursues his dream against the will of his loving but tough father who wants him to be a coal miner like him. For family reasons, Homer does have to spend some time working in the West Virginia coal mines, and it is absolutely soul-wrenching when the camera shows Homer getting on the elevator shaft to take him down below the ground, while he gazes up into the bright nighttime stars until they are out of sight. Also, there is a nice scene in which we see the mother (of two boys by the way) painting a mural on her kitchen wall, and we realize she has sacrificed dreams of her own. I saw this one in the theatres three times I liked it so much, and I rarely even get to the theater to see a movie once. Beautifully written with outstanding performances from ALL the actors/actresses. Has humor, too.
  • Remember the Titans – Based on another true story about how a high school football coach pulls together a team of blacks and whites and shows them how to work together. Great soundtrack. Wonderful performance by Denzel Washington, as usual. The only weak point of this movie’s plot is that the player who is paralyzed at the end doesn’t seem to be very affected by his misfortune.
  • James Bond movies – My oldest son has loved these movies since he was about nine or so. He collects James Bond memorabilia and reads James Bond books. He simply likes the whole spy theme. I’ve watched a few, and some of them are suspenseful. Of course, James Bond is a womanizer, and there are sexually-suggestive scenes.
  • Brian’s Song – Another true-life movie about two pro football players – one black, one white, and their close friendship that develops. The white one- Brian Piccolo, played by James Caan, dies of cancer at the end, and Gayle Sayers played by Billy Dee Williams gives a heartfelt, moving talk about what the player meant to him. I can still hear him mumble, emotion tumbling out of him, “I loved Brian Piccolo”. Great theme song, too.
  • The Rookie – Still yet, you guessed it, another true-life story about baseball. A high school coach follows his dream and tries out for the Major Leagues and winds up being a terrific player. Dennis Quaid does a fabulous job in the title role. Movie promotes a ‘don’t ever give up’ attitude.
  • Star Wars – Back in 1976, my little nephew, Justin, loved this and went around humming the theme song everywhere. My guys still love this series today.
  • Coach Carter – basketball movie (based on true story) about coach (played by Samuel L. Jackson) and how he made his team realize education must be a higher priority than jump shots and lay-ups.
  • Hoosiers – basketball movie with Gene Hackman
  • Back to the Future – Michael J. Fox blockbuster comedy
  • Rainman – Tom Cruise, Dustin Hoffman
  • Mrs. Doubt-Fire – Robin Williams, Sally Field in family comedy
  • Apollo 13 – Tom Hanks – true life story of the failed mission to the moon. “Houston, we’ve got a problem.”
  • Toy Story – When Buzz Lightyear finds out he’s not a real space hero but a toy, his reaction really hits home. Funny for kids and adults. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen and company do a great job.
  • Toy Story 2 – Meeting Tour Guide Barbie is worth watching the whole movie, but the rest of it is great, too.
  • Monsters, Inc. – One of the most creative story concepts ever! Funny and touching. Billy Crystal and John Goodman are ‘marvelous’ as the voices of the two lovable main characters.
  • Home Alone 3 – by far the best of this series in my opinion
  • The Air Bud Series (especially the basketball and football ones)
  • Angels in the Outfield
  • Napoleon Dynamite
  • Big Fat Liar
  • Secret Agent Cody Banks

 

 

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