The Power of a Note

          On my first job as sports editor for the Montpelier(Ohio) Leader Enterprise, I didn't get a lot of fan mail, 1a letter that was dropped on my desk one morning seemed 2  to me.

         When I opened it, I read: “A nice piece of writing on the Tigers. Please3 the good work.” It was 4  by Don Wolfe, the sports editor. Because I was a teenager (being paid for 15 cents a column inch ), his words couldn't have been more 5 . I kept the letter in my desk drawer 6  it got rag-eared. Whenever I  7whether I had the ability to be a writer, I would reread Don's note and feel 8  again.

        Later, when I got to know him, I learned that Don made a 9  of writing a quick, encouraging word to people in10  . “When I made others feel good about 11  ,” he told me, “I feel good too.”

    Not 12  , he had a body of friends as big as nearby Lake Erie. When he died last year at 75, the paper was 13  with calls and letters from people who had been recipients of his 14  words.

  15 the years, I've tried to copy the example of Don and other friends16  care enough to write uplifting comments, because I think they are on to something important. In a world too often cold and unresponsive, such 17 bring warmth and reassurance. We all need a push from time to time, and a few lines of 18  have been known to turn around a day, even a life.

        Be 19  with your praise. Superlatives like “greatest” “smartest” “prettiest” make us all feel good. Even if your praise is a little ahead of reality, remember that expectations are often the20  of dreams fulfilled.

    Many years ago, I was working in an office in Halifax, Nova Scotia. We had a large1that looked out over a busy street. I was standing by it one day when a woman in a2 car looked up and made eye contact. Naturally I 3. As she turned and tried to identify me, a quiet laugh 4my lips. My co-workers began taking an interest, and stood back watching the5I received, and laughing happily. Then the stress of work was6away.

    Christmas approached, and job 7 were announced. Several of my co-workers were losing their jobs, and everyone was8. While I was working a night shift, a red jacket, a box of foam (泡沫橡胶) packing and strips of tape in the corner attracted my 9 They could be Santa's jacket and beard! Then I folded a red file into a 10 and tied the beard to it.

    The next day I walked 11 down into the office in the costume. My co-workers 12 around me and laughed for the first time in weeks. Suddenly, my boss came up to me13 shook his head and then left. I feared 14. Then the phone rang.

    With a bead of sweat 15 my forehead, I entered the boss' office.16he laughed: “Thanks, Mike! It's been hard to enjoy the Christmas season. Thanks for the laugh. I 17 it.”

    That evening, I stood 18by the window and waved at my fans, with my heart 19with joy. For a few minutes of that day, we'd been able to forget our 20

    For years, I followed the materialistic standards around me. I thought that without the purses, shoes, and all the other “1” things, I would not be as pretty, smart, or important as others of my age.

    As a freshman (新生) of my high school, I thought top social status could be gained by doing everything to 2. So I became a(n)3 and bought fake (伪造的) designer purses. I felt popular and important, and I4 it.

    But, my parents couldn't understand my strong 5to be someone just to 6 others. They tried endlessly to convince me that I was hurting myself,7 I wouldn't listen. I felt 8 with this way of my life until one day I looked at myself in the mirror and saw someone with makeup and the product-filled hair wasn't me. That person was 9.

    So I quit cheerleading and 10 swimming again, something I had loved for eight years before high school. I also attended my school's top vocal (声乐) performance group, and 11 myself whole-heartedly to community service.

    I wrote articles in my school newspaper that questioned the materialistic 12 of many students at my school. I started 13 my limits academically, which I14 considered less important than improving my social status.

    I found a new group of friends who15 me, unlike my old friends. I found I no longer needed to impress others materialistically. Starting over was 16. My classmates looked at me as if they didn't know me.

    I am to 17 the materialistic culture. I am confident, talented, and optimistic. I know who I am. I'm motivated to explore even more of my 18 as a student and a member of my community.

    I took one of the worst 19 in my life but I turned it around and 20 something beautiful——a life that fits me, with meaning and happiness.

    My eight-year-old son's soccer team in Washington DC was put together several years ago. The team has won 1 one game in the last three seasons. Yet, despite the endless 2, soccer is my son's favorite activity. He plays soccer at every 3, even at break time and at the aftercare(病后护理), and although he doesn't play as well as the best players in his school, this hasn't 4 him in the least.

    This has been repeated often, but I 5 it first-hand: soccer is about friendship as much as it is about learning to control the ball and make successful 6. Watching the children, I see that winning is a distant 7 goal for them. What they enjoy is each other's presence and the fact that they're in this game 8.

    Actually, I went through a phase of giving my son suggestions such as: Why aren't you more 9 once you have the ball? He 10 my sudden torrent(滔滔不绝) of guidance. "Mom, I play midfield or defense, not forward. And 11, soccer isn't about being aggressive. It's about 12." After hearing that, I paused and 13. How strange it is that I, who never played any sport for a single day of my life, wanted my son to be a(n) 14 footballer!

    Isn't it extraordinary that kids don't necessarily 15 their attempts to have impressive results? They love the activity for itself. Becoming an adult means a gradual 16 of that spirit. To stand out or 17, people develop a spirit of competition. How often have I become 18—professionally and personally—when things haven't gone the way I wanted? I've 19 there's much to learn from soccer-loving eight-year-olds: do your best, be passionate, enjoy yourself, and then, regardless of the 20, move on.

    It was many years ago. I was a1father on my way home to my wife and baby boy after spending all day2college classes. I had gone back to school to get a degree in education. I wanted to secure a3job that would help me to build a better life for my growing family. It was a two-hour round trip to the4, so every day I would pray for my 20-year-old car to5it all the way.

    As I started down a lonely stretch of highway about 12 miles from my home I6a car parked along the side of the road with its emergency flashers7. A small woman was struggling to8a flat tire. This was long before the age of cell phones9I knew that any other help might not arrive for a while. I10behind her car and offered to give her a hand. Her own hands were bruised(擦伤的)and11from struggling with the lug nuts(四方螺帽)and she had tears of frustration in her eyes. The lug nuts were rusty(生锈的)and12and the lug wrench(单向扳手)a little small, but after a while I got the flat off and the13tire on. As I said goodbye the little lady hugged me with tears of14this time. I waved and drove off a little embarrassed at her15. After all, it had just been one kind act.

    It took me a lot of years after that to learn the true16of one kind act. One kind act can change the world. One kind act can teach more17than a million words. One kind act can save a lost soul and heal(治愈)a18heart.

    Never pass up the possibility of using your own19to make this world a better place. Every day we are given the choice to be20or kind. Always choose to be kind.

    There was once a bridge which crossed a large river. During most of the1the bridge sat with its length running up and down the river paralleled with the banks, allowing ships to2through freely on both sides of the bridge. But at certain times each day, a train would come along and the bridge would be turned sideways across the river, allowing a train to cross it.

    A switchman sat in a small house on one side of the river where he3the controls to turn the bridge and lock it into place as the train crossed. One evening4the switchman was waiting for the last train of the day to come, he looked off into the distance and5sight of the trainlights. He stepped to the control and6until the train was within a prescribed(规定的) distance to turn the bridge into7,but, to his horror, he found the locking control did not8. If the bridge was not securely in position it would wobble(摇晃) back and forth at the ends, causing the train to jump the9and go crashing into the river. This would be a passenger train with many people aboard. He10across the bridge to the other side of the river where he would have to hold the lever(控制杆) back11as the train crossed. He could hear the rumble(隆隆声) of the train now, and he took hold of the lever and12backward to apply his13to it, locking the bridge. He kept applying the pressure to keep the mechanism locked. Many lives depended on this man's strength.

    Then, he heard a sound that made his blood run cold. "Daddy, where are you?" His four-year-old son was crossing the bridge to14him. The man almost left his lever to run and seize his son and carry him to15. But he realized that he could not get back to the lever. Either the people on the train or his little son must die. He took a16to make his decision.

    The train sped safely and swiftly on its way, and no one aboard was even17of the tiny broken body, thrown mercilessly into the river by the onrushing train. Nor did they notice the18figure of the sobbing man, still holding tightly the locking lever19after the train had passed. They did not see him walking home more slowly than he had ever walked: to tell his wife20their son had brutally died.