Aunt Charlotte's Reward My wife's Aunt Charlotte hives in Brooklyn. A tiny, soft-spoken woman of 74, she could easily pass for 60 with her relatively unlined face and undyed brown hair that is just beginning to break out in gray flecks(雀斑). Only her diminished hearing gives her age away. Her mind and her vision are sharper than those of many 40-year-olds. A shy woman, Charlotte never married. When she telephones us she says, 'It's only me.' Working at the Telephone Company In 1923, when she was 17, Charlotte went to work for the telephone company, eventually attaining the position of customer-service representative, a role she performed with pride, skill and dedication for nearly a half century. She responded with patience and courtesy to every customer, even to those whose complaints were voiced in somewhat questionable language. Charlotte, who would commit had-kin before permitting an unladylike word to slip through her lips, never displayed a hint of anger or disapproval, although she confided to us that some of her clients should have their mouths washed out with soap. The days she was out sick could be counted on her fingers; it took a transit strike to make Charlotte late. Being Forced to Retire As a reward for her dedication, the U.S. Government forced Charlotte to retire. She was given a luncheon, a subscription to a retirement magazine, free home-telephone service and a pension and sent home. Two women in their 20s replaced her. Since the government made it difficult for them to be fired no matter what their attitude or degree of competence, neither felt compelled to duplicate Charlotte's conscientiousness(自觉) or productivity, as we say today. Distress Call: Several months afterward the telephone company sent out a distress call for retired workers. Temporary help was needed in the Upper West Side of Manhattan to handle the problems arising from the minority groups in the area, many of whom either did not know English or were puzzled(困惑) by the complexities of maintaining telephone service—problems the new employees displayed no interest in solving. Giving up her social-security checks, Charlotte set off each day to a part of the city considered dangerous for the young and fit, let alone a woman of Charlotte's age. Before long she had added an extensive Spanish vocabulary to her store of black English and was being presented with gifts by her clients. Unable to change old habits, she arrived early, stayed late and quickly worked herself out a job. City's Whack The government was not finished with Charlotte. Now it was the city's mm to take a whack(重击) at her. It moved welfare families by the score into her neighborhood, many into her building, which was like moving the fox into the hen yard. For many of these families consist of a mother and unsupervised children-children who often stand 6 feet tall and carry knifes or worse. Soon mailboxes were found ripped open, social-security checks stolen. The once neat hallways are now filled with beer cans, soft-drink and liquor bottles and the smell of marijuana(大麻). Groups of youths, radios blaring(奏鸣), gathered on the front steps late into the night, making obscene remarks and giggling as people pass. There are purse snatchings and muggings(偷窃) in the once quiet neighborhood. An elderly couple were found tied to their bed, beaten and robbed. Charlotte has stopped going out at night. When she ventured out during the day she conceals cash in various places on her person, leaving a carefully calculated amount in her purse to comfort an attacker. Visiting Charlotte requires driving past miles of burnt out apartment buildings; rims are set either by landlords for the insurance or by welfare tenants for the hardship money.(Everyone has been given an equal opportunity to profit by the system.) Although Charlotte remains outwardly cheerful, she knows she will have to do something soon. But what? &