When was the last time someone unexpectedly did something nice for you? Not someone you knew, but a total stranger? It's happened to me a few times, but two instances really stand out.

    A few years ago, I was dining in a restaurant with a friend who kept talking about himself, completely not aware of the fact that I was sitting there in misery. It wasn't my friend's talks that made me suffer. I was recovering from a broken heart, and just sitting down to dinner reminded me of my last relationship. I could have burst into tears right there at the table.

    When we picked up the check, the waitress said, ―Your meal was already paid for.  My friend and I didn't have a clue how it happened. Then I remembered a man coming in out of the corner of my eye. He was dressed in mostly white, sat down at the bar, had a beer, and stayed for maybe ten minutes. The waitress said, ―Yes, the gentleman in white paid for you.  It felt like an angel was saying ―I see you, honey. It's going to be okay.

    Just last year, I was running a half-marathon. With just 1 mile to go, I was out of gas. Runners call it ―hitting the wall . I thought I couldn't move another inch. Out of nowhere, a stranger came up to me and said, ―What's your name, sweetie? Jennifer? Okay, Jennifer, let's go! Come on! It's just around the corner! You can do it!  And he ran with me until I picked up my pace. I found him at the finish line to thank him for the encouragement only to learn he wasn't even supposed to be in the race that day.

    I still shake my head when I think of these momentary angels that came to me at my point of need.

    Do you have any experiences like these?

    Earlier this month, 6-year-old Isaac went on vacation to Fort Walton, Florida, with his family. While they were there, his mother Garrett learned about LuLu, a restaurant that offers food to customers with food allergies(过敏).

    At LuLu, Isaac could eat a salad and a bowl of chicken soup with rice. "Isaac looked at me as if asking, 'Is this OK?' " Garrett said. Once his mom gave the OK, Isaac enjoyed for the first time the experience of eating at a restaurant. "That look on his face was like, 'This is the coolest thing I've ever done,' " Garrett added.

    Garrett and her family rarely eat out because of Isaac's food allergies. When they do, she cooks something for Isaac at home before they leave and brings it with her to the restaurant. "It's not fun and it feels unfair," she said.

    Their night at LuLu marked a celebration for Isaac. Garrett shared the moment on the restaurant's Facebook page. "Thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving Isaac this wonderful experience," she wrote in her post.

    Barnett, the restaurant's manager, said, "When customers tell the staff that someone in their group has a food allergy, I assist with the order by passing it to the kitchen, ensuring it's cooked in a separate station and delivering the finished food to the guests. We have been improving this process over the past ten years since our allergy program was started."

    On Garrett's Facebook post, LuLu thanked Garrett for sharing her story. "Thank you for sharing your experience with us," the restaurant wrote in a comment, "We are excited to see your son so happy!"

    Garrett is hoping her post's popularity will convince other restaurants to be more considerate. "LuLu takes it seriously as we take it – nothing could make us happier than that," she said.

    Love working with children? Looking for an exciting new opportunity? Want to work on a friendly, fun and supportive team? This is what our team member Anna says about working at My Crèche:

    "It's the nicest place I've ever worked. Everyone is so friendly and we have so much fun working together. They give me opportunities to learn new things every day. They care about my personal development. Working at My Crèche has enabled me to build relationships with the children as well as parents within the community which makes me feel so welcomed in the local area."

    Conveniently located in the heart of crouch End, London, N8, My Crèche offers drop-in and pre-booked childcare for children aged 6 weeks to 5 years of age. We also provide after-school and breakfast clubs for children up to 8 years old. Our goal is to enable parents to pursue personal and professional activities when they need to, with total peace of mind knowing their children are being cared for in a safe and fun environment.

    We are looking for an enthusiastic and committed professional with excellent interpersonal skills, who is committed to ensuring the best outcomes and care for children. This is an excellent opportunity for a proactive individual to be a part of a fresh and progressive childcare concept and we welcome newly qualified professionals. We are a small and very supportive team with great training opportunities.

    The successful candidate will:

    Have a certificate Level 3 in Childcare and Education.

    Have experience working with children.

    Be an excellent communicator with strong people skills.

    Be energetic and able to multi-task.

    Salary:£16,500—£19,000 per year depending on experience and qualifications.

    Full time(flexible work available) and 28 days annual leave.

    When Sir Ector saw Arthur pulled the sword out of the stone and then pushed it back, he rubbed his eyes. "I can't believe it!" he cried. Then he fell on his knees before Arthur. "Father, please do not kneel before me. Tell me what you mean!" Arthur said with great confusion.

    "Listen, then," said Sir Ector. "Years ago the wise magician, Merlin, carried a baby in his arms. That baby was you. Merlin told me to bring you up as my own son. Now I can guess. You must be the late king—King Uther's son. Who else could have pulled out the sword? Arthur, we must let all England know you are qualified to be the new king."

    "I would rather be your son than be a king!" cried Arthur.

    "On Christmas the Bishop (主教) will give everyone a chance to pull the sword. You must take your turn and show everyone that you are the only person who can pull the sword out."

    On Christmas Day the great crowd of knights (骑士) and lords gathered before the church. They pulled and pushed, but no one could make the sword move.

    Down the street came Merlin. Behind him came Sir Ector with Arthur. "Who are these men?" asked the Bishop. "Here is one who will try the sword," said Merlin. He laid his hand on Arthur's shoulder. "Here, lords of England, is the true son of King Uther!" Arthur stepped upon the stone and laid his hand on the sword. Smoothly and easily he pulled it out. He held it high so all could see.

    So Arthur became King of all England. Some of the lords did not want him, and he had to fight them. As the years went by, he became stronger and greater. Knights came from all lands to be in his court. At Camelot Arthur started the famous Knights of the Round Table. These were the greatest of all the knights. They made their names famous for all time.

    Distance, just like currency, becomes incomprehensible when it reaches large quantities.

    So, when outdoor enthusiast and Midwest Mountaineering employee Elizabeth John says she only hiked the nearly 500 miles of the Colorado Trail over a period of six weeks, don't let her fool you. That's like walking from St. Paul to St. Louis—give or take a few dozen miles—plus thousands upon thousands of feet of altitude.

    "I'm a gardener, I'm a busy-hands person, but busy feet are just as good," she explains. "I don't meditate, but maybe that's the way I think about it—walking as a way to relax."

    John took childhood hikes in the Boundary Waters and caught her case of busy feet while hiking in Alaska as a teenager. With a background in paddling, mountaineering, and backpacking, she found long-distance hiking rewarding, though exhausting.

    Since then, thru-hiking—hiking a long-distance trail (考验，试验) end-to-end in one hiking season—has gotten friendlier to beginners. John has given up 60-pound packs in favor of a lighter modern backpacking equipment. For her 50th birthday, she decided to fly to Spain and walk close to 500 miles of the Camino de Santiago. The Colorado jaunt, her first solo long-distance hike, followed a few years later in 2017.

    "Going on a big walk is unreasonable and includes being uncomfortable, wet, hungry, sore, tired, lonely…it's challenging," she says. "It's a leap of faith. But I found the rewards surprising and unexpected, some even waiting for me at home after the trip. There is a rhythm to walking, a physicality and simplicity…a discovery."

    Logging some 4, 000 feet of elevation daily, John met many "trail angels" who provided shade, snacks, and sometimes beer at remote points in the wilderness, purely out of the goodness of their hearts. "You're so excited, because you're someplace so incredible, and it wasn't easy to get there," she says. "There was this moment when you love humanity, and you're so proud of people for doing it."

    Every year in May, art galleries and museums prepare shows to honor Leonardo Da Vinci, who died in France on May 2, 1519. He is remembered as one of the greatest artists and creative thinkers of all time. His most famous paintings are The Mona Lisa and The Last Supper.

    Recently, researchers have been studying a painting-Landscape 8P which, they think, is Da Vinci's earliest-known artwork. They used special lighting to study the artwork and discovered there were two images(图像), not one. One drawing is on the back of the piece, which dates back to August 5, 1473.

    The drawing on the front was painted when Leonardo was 21 years old. It shows a river valley and a castle outside the city of Florence. There is little left of the drawing on the back, perhaps because it was wiped off. Only a bridge over a river can be seen. But there is writing on both sides.

    The writing on the front gives the date and goes from right to left. Some people would call this "mirror-writing". It's a way Leonardo often wrote in his notebooks. The writing on the back goes from left to right and tells about an agreement, probably to produce a work of art.

    Cecilia Frosinini is an art historian. She said, "Leonardo was born left-handed, but was taught to write with his right hand from a very young age. By looking at his writings, including from this drawing, we can see his right-handed handwriting is educated and well done. "

    Experts compared the two handwriting samples(样本)and said they were both made by Leonardo. They show he could write well using his left hand or his right hand.

    The drawing is known as Landscape 8P from its number in an art list. It will be part of an exhibit at Italy's Uffizi Gallery. The gallery director, Eike Schmidt, said by studying the drawing researchers gave us a new way of looking at Leonardo's drawing technique and his abilities in writing.