斯特拉和她的魔法椅

一张红色椅子、一把剪刀、一个人，她穿梭于大街小巷，为那些不幸的、急需帮助的人们免费理发。让那些孤独的人知道，他们还被关爱着。

难词探意

1. margin /?mɑ?d??n/ n. 边缘;界限

2. keenly /ki?nli/ adv. 敏锐地;强烈地;锐利地

3. cosmetology /?k?zm??t?l?d??/ n. 美容学

4. beam /bi?m/ v. 笑容满面

5. offshoot /??f?u?t/ n. 分支

Wheeling her red chair and scissors around the city， a salon owner gives out?of?luck strangers the gift of visibility—one free hairdo at a time.

To date， Steller has given 30 or so such haircuts to people around the city. These clients are all living on the margins， and she is keenly aware of the power of her clean?up job. “Its more than a haircut，” she says. “I want it to be a gateway to show value and respect and to get to know people. I want to build relationships.”

Steller knows that a haircut can change a life. As a teen， she suffered from a severe disease， and her hair thinned drastically. Seeing this， her mother arranged for Stellers first professional haircut. “To sit down and have somebody look at me and talk to me like a person and not just a patient， it helped me feel cared about and less alone，” she said. After that， Steller knew she wanted to have her own salon so she could help people feel the way shed felt that day. Not long after finishing cosmetology school in 2009， she began what she now calls her Red Chair Project， reaching out to people on the streets.

“Part of what broke my heart was just how lonely people looked，” she says. “I thought maybe Id go around and ask if people want free haircuts. I cant fix their problems， but maybe I can help them feel less alone for a moment.” Steller listens to peoples stories of loss， addiction， and struggle to get back on their feet. The attention apparently works. When she was cutting a womans hair one day， someone drove by and yelled， “You look amazing！” The woman in the chair beamed.

“Im not invisible，” she exclaimed. “I thought I was invisible. Look， people see me！”

Another man was on his way to a job interview at a pet?supply store when he accepted Stellers offer. When she followed up， she learned he didnt get that job， but he did get a landscaping job soon afterward.

An offshoot of the Red Chair Project is the Steller Kindness Project， in which people who commit acts of kindness like volunteering for hurricane relief or helping neighbors in need are invited for a free makeover at Stellers salon. In exchange， they tell their stories， which Steller shares on her website. Her hope is that by reading about kind acts， others will be inspired to spread their own.