A woman in a（n）1suit stepped in．"Hi, Libby．" she said．Wow, what a 2! The first time she came to the cafe two years ago, she had no money to pay. 3many customers, she volunteered to wash dishes and 4. Look at her now: confident and hopeful. Wasn't this what we'd hoped for?

    In 2003, we'd 5this crazy dream: start a restaurant with a donation box instead of a cash register（收款台). Right away we hit hurdles（阻碍) " There is no such thing as a 6 lunch," one potential landlord（房东）sniffed. I met brokers, bankers and suppliers, only to watch them 7, shaking their heads. No bank would lend us the money to open a restaurant with no 8. The only fund we could get was our individual retirement account. 9we rented space from a landlord on Colfax Street．We put flyers (传单) around the neighborhood, asked friends to 10 the word, and held our breath．

    Word traveled fast, 11stories in the papers and on TV. Soon we had more than 50customers a day．A few ate without paying or 12 an hour of work. But most gave what they could, 13it was just a dollar. Those with money gave, and then more．One of our customers left a 14for 500 dollars. Another bought 1000 dollars in gift certificates.  15another donated a truck so we could transport 16from suppliers．

People came here partly for what our cafe17 —SAME: So A11 May Eat, We 18everyone with dignity (尊严). We hoped to develop a sense of community—so that we might19 one another. The woman in business suit was one of them. Our20 to open the cafe was worth it.

    Recently, my family and I attended a neighborhood oyster(牡蛎)roast. While standing at the large tables 1 and eating oysters, I noticed a school aged boy across the table from us. He was being 2 oysters and by a man having a great deal of 3 and displeasure trying to swallow them down.

    At first, I thought the man wanted the boy to 4 the oysters and it would stop.  But 5  we stood there, it continued. And with  6 oyster the suffering of this boy becoming more and more  7 as he fought back tears and struggled to swallow them. I  8  learned that the man felt the boy had been impolite and this was his 9 .

    I couldn't watch. I hesitated whether to get involved or 10 . Then I had an idea. I grabbed my daughter and our frisbee(飞盘) 11 walked our way next to the man and the boy, attracting their attention 12. Then we introduced ourselves as not to knowing many 13 there, we invited the boy to come and play frisbee with us.

    The man allowed it and 14 the boy's situation changed. He became friendly and 15. He ran up and down happily to 16 the flying dish. We pulled another child into our 17 and played frisbee for a good 30 minutes together. I was so relaxed to 18 the suffering I was witnessing in that moment. And it made me feel 19 that trying to help in that or any situation where you 20 suffering is the best thing to do.

    Teaching second grade is always a challenge. Each student arrives at school with his own needs and difficulties. One year a student called Billy 1me with his behavior as well as his academic requirements. He struggled daily with his 2emotions and often became angry or violent. I knew that, to make 3progress，his emotions needed controlling.

    One 4I tried to help Billy was to have him come directly into the classroom when he arrived at school. Billy's mom would 5me to alert(警告) me to a particularly emotional morning at home. Then, I would focus on 6his anger and calming him down before the other students arrived.

    One week our class was studying 7.I thought one way to bring learning into the classroom was to bring my dog Rocky to school for the day.

    That day began as normal. I was preparing activities focused on dog themes 8I was told that Billy had a 9morning at home and I might need to get him 10. As I was talking to his mom，Billy 11into the classroom. To Billy's12, Rocky immediately ran up to his new13, wagging his tail and licking Billy's face with doggy affection. Billy couldn't 14Rocky's charm(魅力)and began laughing as his anger melted away.

    Throughout the day，Billy never left Rocky's side, feeding him, being gentle with him and even 15the other students while Rocky was sleeping.

    Billy was known for doing anything he could to avoid16, but on this day he found a good dog story, “ Clifford's Puppy Days”, and read it to Rocky. How 17I was at the sight of Billy reading happily! My little dog was able to 18Billy's day from one of anger and frustration to one of laughter, gentleness and 19.

    That day Rocky more than helped me with my20; he helped to change the life of a child！After that Billy's behavior definitely improved.

    There was a man who played the piano in a small bar. There were not too many 1, but because he was a good piano player, some people 2 came in every night just to hear him play. But one night, a patron (老主顾) told him he didn't want to hear him play but to sing a song.

    The man said, "I have never 3 that before in public. I think I'm 4at playing the piano."

    But the customer 5. He told the waiter, "I'm6 listening to the piano day after day. I want to hear something new and I want that guy to sing."

    The waiter7 across the room, "Hey, buddy! If you want to get 8 , sing a song. The patrons are asking you to sing!"

    9 in order to bring some money home that night, the piano player who had never sung in public did so for the very first time. And 10had ever heard the song Mona Lisa sung before 11 that night by Nat King Cole, and it surprised all, including the12 himself!

        He had talent he was 13 on! He may have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar, but because he had to sing, he 14 to become one of the best-known entertainers in America.

    You, too, have skills and 15. You may not feel as if your "talent" is particularly 16, but it may be better than you think! And with persistence (坚持), most skills can be 17. Besides, you may as well have no ability at all if you sit on whatever talent you 18! The19 is not "What ability do I have that is useful?" It is 20 "How will I use whatever ability I have?".

    William Franklin came to my class half a year ago. But from his first day here, he 1 himself in his own world and he never spoke to others. As his teacher, I tried to start a talk with him but 2. It seemed as if he just didn't want to break his3.

    After the Thanksgiving holiday, we received the news of the4 Christmas collection of money for the5 in our school. "Christmas is a season of6, "I told my students. "Some poor students in our school might not have a7 holiday. By giving a little money, you will help8 some toys, food and clothing for these needy students. We will9  the collection tomorrow."

    The next morning, 10, I found out almost everyone had11 this matter except Willard Franklin. He came up to my desk with his head down. 12, he dropped two coins into the small box. "I don't need milk for lunch," he said in a13 voice.

    After school I couldn't help sharing what had14 in the morning with our headmaster. "I may be wrong, but I 15 Willard might be ready to become part of our class. "I am 16 to hear that, "he nodded. "And I just received a list of the poor families in our school who most need 17. Here, take a look at it. "

    As I sat down to18, I found Willard Franklin was at the top of the list. At that moment, I felt I really 19 Willard for the first time：a cold face with a warm heart. From this20, I also learnt that whether rich or poor, every child has a kind heart.

    One Friday afternoon in my first year of high school, I saw a kid from my class walking home. His name was Kyle. He seemed to be carrying all his books. Then some kids ran at him, 1 all his books out of his arms. His glasses went 2 and landed in the grass. My heart 3 to him, so I jogged over and handed him his 4. He thanked me with a big smile.

    Monday morning came and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books 5. I teased him, "Boy, you are gonna build some real 6 with this pile of books every day!" He just laughed and handed me half the books.

    He turned out to be the best student of our class and had to make a 7 on the graduation day. As he stood on the stage, he 8 his throat, and began: "Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it 9those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings…but mostly your friends… I am here to tell you that being a(n)10to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story."

    I just looked at my friend with 11 as he talked about the first day we met. He had planned to 12 himself. He had cleaned out his locker 13 his mom wouldn't have to do it later and carry his stuff home.

    He looked 14 at me and gave me a little smile. "15, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the 16."

    I heard the gasp (倒抽气) in the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us about his 17 moment. I saw his Mom and dad looking at me with that same 18 smile. Not until then did I realize the 19 of the smile. With one small action you can change a person's life. God puts us all in each other's lives to 20 one another in some way.