I was in the middle of coding a web page when my wife emailed me these questions: Ever wonder what it would be like to have the face, the brains, the personality and the body? What it would be like to have everyone stop when you walk in a room? What it would be like to be able to get anything or anyone you want? I stopped for a moment and thought about it because my wife wouldn't email me this unless something had driven her to do so. I emailed her back with what I thought was a pretty good answer. Here is what I wrote her back.

    Yes, I had thought many times about what it would be like to be one of the beautiful people. To be able to take your breath away when I walked into a room, or to be the life of the party and have everyone fawning (奉承) over me as I wore only the finest clothes and sported the perfect body? But then I always came back to the realization that a lifestyle like that is so fragile. As you get older, your body changes; as you get older, the money changes. Your body never looks the same, the clothes become more and more expensive to maintain. And once you have crossed the line, suddenly you are out. The next fresh face comes in and you are quickly forgotten.

    All through growing up I was never an attractive person. I was overweight and picked on. But that didn't stop me from being a nice person — a good, clean, funny and helpful person. I was the person who you came to when you needed a friend after a breakup. I was the one you came to when you needed a joke to brighten up your day. And in the long run, I will be the one you remember, not the new face, or the fresh style.

    In closing, I would like to say that we, as a people, have developed into looking (or things that are bigger and better instead of what will last. I don't know about you, but I will remember the friend who helped me when I was down, more than the hot girl I just saw walking down the street.

    I wish I could teach the world some more jokes.

    Ben, at the age of 23 ,was the youngest man to ski solo to the North Pole. He dragged a 180-kilogramme sledge (雪橇) over 1,420 miles through the worst Arctic conditions. This year, Ben plans to ski solo from the Antarctic coast to the South Pole and back in the autumn, carrying all his supplies on his sledge.

    Ben Saunders was fired after persuading the firm to support his disorganized first adventure. “Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. We didn't get to the Pole, so we had no media interest. No one heard about it.”

    “People said it was impossible for me to get to the Pole. I said, “No, I can get there,” and I did. Self-belief, I see it as being a bit like a muscle — it's my belief that the more you stretch yourself the stronger it gets. If you never do anything that's uncomfortable or risky then your self-belief gets weaker. So that's one of the lessons I've figured out along the way.

    “My Antarctic adventure is just practicable and that's what is exciting to me. If I knew I could do it without too much bother, I wouldn't be interested." Why? “Personally I'm attracted by the human performance element to it. Not that long ago, running a marathon was seen as the top point of human attempt, and now I wouldn^'t be that surprised if my mum said she was going to run one."

    People^'s horizons are changing. “I'm not particularly gifted. I've just chosen this one goal to achieve and I've been working hard to realize it. And that^'s the thing that attracts me: with enough training and enough determination, enough focus and preparation, how far can we go? And I don ^， t think I've found out yet.”

    It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.

    Over the phone, his mother told him, “Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday.” Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.

    “Jack, did you hear me?”

    “Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago.” Jack said.

    “Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd reminisce (回忆) about the many days you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put it.” Mom told him.

    “I loved that old house he lived in.” Jack said.

    “You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man's influence in your life.” she said.

    “He's the one who taught me carpentry. I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important… Mom, I'll be there for the funeral.” Jack said.

    Busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser's funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.

    The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time, which was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture… Jack stopped suddenly.

    “What's wrong, Jack?” his Mom asked.

    “The box is gone.” he said.

    “What box?” Mom asked.

    “There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was 'the thing I value most'.” Jack said.

    It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.

    “Now, I'll never know what was so valuable to him,” Jack said sadly.

    Returning to his office the next day, he found a package on his desk. The return address caught his attention.

    “Mr. Harold Belser” it read.

    Jack tore open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside.

    “Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It's the thing I valued most in my life.” A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, and tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch. Running his fingers slowly over the fine cover, he opened it.

    Inside he found these words carved: “Jack, Thanks for your time! Harold Belser.”

    “Oh, My God! This is the thing he valued most…” Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his assistant and cleared his appointments for the next two days.

    “Why?” his assistant asked.

    “I need some time to spend with my son.” he said.

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    The idea that you can use humor, laughter, and play to make you healthier probably seems too simple to be true. However, it is really true and simple. The sense of humor, laughter and play has an important part in keeping you healthy.

    Use "the best medicine" to treat the blues with a sense of humor, which is closely tied to laughter. Laughter is infectious. Have you ever heard a big laugh of a young child and been able to keep yourself from smiling? When laughter is shared between people, it makes them closer to each other and increases their happiness. Smiling is the beginning of laughter and a smile is also just as infectious as laughter is. You can experience something by smiling at everyone around you, and you will feel happier just by sharing a smile, even with a stranger.

    Play is an important part of making sure that we stay healthy. We are often encouraged to make sure our children play, and are told of the benefits of being out playing. However, what we often forget is that it is just as important for old people to make play be part of their life as it's for children. Physical play is important for the old and it certainly helps prevent illness. While the studies are still in the early stages, the studies that have been done have shown that physical play certainly plays a part in preventing cognitive (认知的) falling.

    Anyway, adding humor, laughter, and play to our life will influence us mentally, physically and socially and bring us many advantages. So we should make full use of humor, laughter and play to make our life more active, interesting and happier.

Tuesday, 1^st September

    I had mixed feelings today, nervous, worried, happy, excited… My heart went down when Miss Chan, our head teacher, said that Matthew and Beth, two students from England, would spend three months with us! I was worried that I had to speak English so much! But at the end of the school day, I was happier than I thought: the morning with them today was more enjoyable than I expected.

    Today is the most unforgettable first day I have had! Matthew is fantastic! His English is clearer and easier to listen to than I thought. The other English student, Beth, is the most helpful girl I've ever met. There were lots of things to do on the first day. Beth offered to help Miss Chan put up all the notices. Of course, some of the credit (功劳) should also go to ME because I translated some of the notices for her. Miss Chan praised us!

    We finished all the preparations 10 minutes earlier than expected, then Beth and I talked for a while, Matthew sang several English songs and did some stand-up comedy (单人喜剧表演) at the party. We all praised him. When the bell rang to end the first school day, none of us wanted to leave.

    When I went back home, I had a little headache. I have probably spoken more English today than the whole of last year.

    It was really a happy day! I hope our friendship can continue, even after they gone back to England!