Six years ago, I walked into a local animal shelter on a cold, rainy day.1my house was already full of cats and dogs, I still couldn't 2an occasional visit to the shelter. This time as I was walking down the row of pens(畜栏) full of barking dogs, I3a small boy looking into one of them.

    He had a malnourished（营养不良的）looking body and a4face with a big nose5out of the middle of it. He was looking at a small golden dog. Its ribs（肋骨）were showing and its thin tail was folded between its legs. It wasn't begging for6like the other puppies7was hiding in the corner instead. The boy looked up at me with8eyes and asked what was wrong with it. “It was probably abused and9 ” I said. “That is why it is so 10 ”

    The boy 11turned to an old lady and said, “ Grandma, I want this one.” The old woman smiled and walked to the front desk to fill out the 12forms. I followed her and asked 13the boy. She told me that he'd had a 14start in life, too. She had just gotten custody(监护权) of him15the state had taken him from his parents. She hoped getting a dog would make his life 16for him. I looked back at him, holding his scared puppy, and said a prayer for them both.

    It was yesterday that I was driving down the road enjoying a gloriously sunny, spring day. Then in a green front yard I saw the boy. His 17body was tall and strong. His nose no longer 18big but fit well into his smiling face. He was throwing a ball to a healthy, happy dog shining golden hair. His little act of love and 19had indeed gone a long way. It had saved a dog's life, 20his own heart, and given this middle-aged man fresh hope for the whole world.

    For me personally, I could write for days about many different situations where adversity (逆境)1my life. Now let me tell you one experience where I almost let adversity2.

    We had a glass studio, which was located 50 feet from our home. A couple of years ago we experienced an 3winter; we had a lot of snow and ice. The4of the ice and snow5the roof on our studio, taking with it one of our sources of income.6it did fall down, we got on the roof and tried to 7the snow and ice, but when you have 5 feet of ice and temperatures of minus 20 Celsius, it was pretty8to do.

    We had a partner come in to help us try to9the roof by supporting. In the end, there was 10that could be done. The roof came down. We had moved a lot of our goods and tools from the studio11 we lost a lot also: glass, kilns, work benches, to name only a few of the items. It was a 12experience.

    Here we were in the middle of winter with our studio collapsed. We couldn't work as we had almost 13all the material in a building we were not using. We could have done one of two things: we could simply say that we can no longer 14 our glass business. Let me tell you that this was certainly a thought that15our mind. Or we could find a way to get our studio back up and running.

    We picked the16option. We had a large barn that we were not using. So we renovated (翻新) the barn17our working area and today we have a nicer studio than we 18 had. If the adversity we were19had not happened, we probably would20be working in the old studio—a studio that was less efficient.

    I still remember that the year when I started university. It was a very 1 time for me. Like many other new students I missed my mother's cooking and my friends, got quite homesick想家的 and 2 thought of leaving university and going home.

    The 3 time for many students was getting letters from home, and at first my mailbox was full. But 4 the letters gradually became fewer and finally the day came when I found my mailbox was 5. It made me feel quite miserable痛苦的. Then one day while I was waiting for the postman I saw that I had a postcard in my box. Happily I sat down to read it, 6 that it was from one of my friends. 7 it was 8 of a young woman called Annie and her new baby. I took the card back to my room, put it into my desk drawer and 9 all about it.

    Several days later, I 10 another postcard. This time it was about Antonio, Annie's cousin. Soon later, another card came and then another, 11 full of interesting information about people I had 12 met. I began to really look forward to them, 13 to see what the writer would 14 next. They made me feel 15 unhappy with my own life and I even began to smile. 16 while the cards 17 coming, I joined some societies and made some new friends. At last I was beginning to enjoy 18 life. The postcards had made me feel happy and helped me begin a new life so I 19 all the cards and even now bring them out 20 I feel miserable.

    A beautiful September evening, my 11-year-old grandson, Josh, and his team were warming up for their first football game of the season.

    At six, the 1called the captains forward, said something and 2 his whistle. The two teams 3 separately. I was 4 .The other team was,  5, ten inches taller than our players. It didn't take long for their 6 advantage to show. They took a 7-0 lead very 7 .At the half, the score stood at 34 to 6. Josh 8 minimal play time. In the second half, they used Josh more often. The score climbed to 40 to 6.

    Once again, the other team began their 9 down the field. Their quarterback threw the ball. The receiver caught it and 10 the goal. There was only one man in his 11 —Josh. Josh dove and 12 that boy's legs with all his strength. The receiver dragged Josh a couple of yards and 13 fell down.

    On the next play, their quarterback shot through an opening and rushed to the goal, but there was Josh again. Josh took him off his feet and 14 another goal. They scored on the last play, but it wasn't Josh's 15 .The game ended with a score of 48 to 6.

    On the way home. I wanted to 16 Josh, but he turned to me with a 17 smile. “Grandpa, that was a 18game.”

    “But you lost, 48 to 6!”

    “I know, but I did good.”

    The boy understood the 19 better than I did. They didn't win, but he did his best. I was proud of him. More 20, he was proud of himself.

    All of us can give others a hand as long as we are willing to do so. Actually, there are some people doing kind things all the time. Spreading kindness, one good deed at a time, is Karla Gibson's mission. "I wish everyone could join me. There are so many 1 things going on in the world; I mean every day," said Karla.

    Karla had the 2 and sense of duty in December of 2013. The single mother of three said she tended to feel depressed around the holidays, so she 3 to do something to cheer others up. She started a Facebook page and 4 her good deeds each day, from feeding the homeless to giving Easter gifts to the incarcerated (囚犯). She hoped to 5 others.

    "We have to do something. Our 6 can make a difference in someone's day. You 7 know when someone might be having their worst day, and then something like buying them a coffee can change their whole attitude," Karla 8.

    Karla's greatest 9 so far had to do with coffee. On September 27th, Karla's birthday, she went to her local Starbucks and gave the 10 $127 to pay for other people's drinks. She sat at the end of the drive-through holding a 11 that read, "Have a great day." She ended up 12 about 23 customers. "It was really fun. It was 13 one of the best birthdays ever." she said. Her kindness that day didn't go 14. One couple was so grateful that they surprised her with flowers and balloons to show their 15.

    Karla's acts of kindness have become a 16 affair. Her two sons are always 17 others. "Sometimes I'll ask Kyle, 'So, did you do anything extra nice today?' and his answers are like 'Somebody 18 something in the hallway and I picked it up' or 'I held the door for someone', that kind of thing," said Karla.

    It's because of Mom that the boys think it's 19 to give a hand to others. "I think it's a great idea of hers. It's always nice to help someone out 20 they really need it," said Karla's 15-year-old son Chad.