Since September, I’ve been spending about eight hours per w…

Since September, I’ve been spending about eight hours per week as a volunteer “math assistant” in algebra classes at one of the local high schools. There’re many immigrant students and I often resort to Google Translate for Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian or Ukrainian. Math is just a medium to help them understand life’s possibilities. The work has helped me as much or more than I’ve helped the kids. My classes meet Tuesdays and Thursdays. Today, a Wednesday, I felt I needed to be alone. I donated to the ACLU, then went bird-watching. Years ago I gave Alex a pair of binoculars and occasionally we’d talk about birds, especially the owl she sighted in her back yard. I watched one little bird, maybe a sparrow, for an unusually long time until I decided it was Alex. — Pat Hays (Alex’s father) PS: I’m very grateful to read all of your messages and kind deeds. I especially thank Nancy and those of you who helped her launch this project.