知名雷达专家为他的工人儿子自豪--

　　As a retired radar engineer who sometimes teaches in China, I have become good friends with many engineers here. Often we talk about our families, our children. My Chinese friends are surprised to hear that my younger son, now 36 years old, lives in Alaska. Alaska? Why, they ask, does he live in such a strange out-of-the-way place? Is he an engineer like his father? Does Alaska have work for electrical engineers?

　　No, I answer with a chuckle, there's no such industry in Alaska. But that's okay, because my son is not an engineer. As it happens, none of my three children became engineers. When they were small, they certainly were aware of my work and career, and I did sometimes hope that they would gosintosscience or engineering. What I showed them certainly fascinated me, but not them, I guess. There are many influences in the life of young children in the US, and we let our children find their own way perhaps more than in other cultures.

　　Our two older children went to university. Our elder son is a manager of fine clubs and restaurants and our daughter is an accountant (though for now she is a full-time mother). John, however, preferred working with his hands. He studied hard in school but took less interest in the technical subjects. After high school he got a job instead of going on to university. I will never know for sure whether I was encouraging or discouraging my children's interest in technical work by my example. Nowadays John and I chuckle about those years when we visit.

　　John always liked the outdoors and rural living. How lucky he was to marry a girl who also took pleasure in these things. Becky and John enjoyed camping in our big national forests on their vacations. Once they went camping with friends who had moved to Alaska. Soon they asked us a question: how would it be if they were to move per-manently to Alaska? John and Becky were then in their late twenties and had no need of our permission, but we encouraged them to give it a try. Life in Alaska, we knew, would be a challenge but undoubtedly very interesting. For people who enjoy nature and working with their hands, Alaska is the perfect place.

　　So John and Becky settled near Haines, a town of about 1500 persons on the south coast of Alaska. Becky worked in a store doing bookkeeping, while John found work driving a truck and also cutting the flammable undergrowth in the forests ("thinning" them) for the US National Forest Service. He also helped people build houses and became a skilled carpenter.

　　Soon Becky and John bought some woodland near Haines on a lovely river, with a view of snow-capped mountains and glaciers. There John built his own split-level house with electricity and plumbing. For several years after arriving in Alaska they had lived with no electricity or in-door plumbing in a smaller house, a cabin. You can see why we still call settlers in Alaska pioneers.

　　Next, John and Becky bought a small office-cleaning business. They both worked very hard cleaning offices in Haines each night. To keep their company going they had to satisfy their customers and attract new ones. Later, when their first daughter was born, they sold this business: with their growing family, night work was no longer possible. Today, John has added rooms to his house because they have a second daughter.

　　So John and Becky and their two little girls go on with their semi-rural life in Alaska. This summer my wife and I will once again visit them. Many large tour ships stop at Haines, which is a place of great beauty.

　　Do you see what my children have taught me? There are many paths in life, and in our culture we let our children choose. Parents can show children certain things, but ulti-mately, children must decide for themselves what kind of lives they wish to lead. From my children I have learned about other paths in life, paths I did not take. I have never built a house - I am not a good carpenter. I have never thinned a forest, while keeping an eye out for bears. I have never owned a small company - I always had a government job. My son John has done so many things that I have never attempted, and he has done them well. And that is why I am proud of him.