My grandfather Jack is 96 years old，and he has had an interesting life. He has travelled a lot in his life in the Far East. He visited the Taj Mahal in India and the Pyramids in Egypt. He hunted（狩猎） lions in Africa, and rode a camel in the Sahara Desert. He says the most beautiful place he has travelled to is Kathmandu in Nepal.

    Jack has married twice. His first wife died when she was 32. He met his second wife Maria while he was cycling round France. They have been married for 50 years, and they have lived happily in a small village since they got married.

Jack says that he has never been ill in his life. The secret of good health, according to my grandfather, is exercise. He goes swimming every morning. He has done this since he was a boy. He also has a glass of wine every night! Perhaps that is his secret!

    While it is common for restaurant owners to connect with their customers, a restaurant owner in the U.S. is taking it to a whole new level. Tim Harries gives out free hugs（拥抱）to every customer at the end of each meal. The atmosphere（气氛）at his restaurant “Tim's Place” is so positive(积极的)that customers often call it the "World's friendliest restaurant”.

    "Tim's Hug” is in fact an item on the menu described as a "love” treat. Tim's hugs are doubly special because of everything he has achieved. The 26-year-old is probably the only Down syndrome sufferer(唐氏综合症患者)in the U.S. to own a restaurant，but he has several other things to be proud of— he's a skillful special Olympian, an excellent sailor, and all experienced fisherman. He was also chosen as Homecoming King and Student of the Year in high school! So when a man like Tim hugs you，it is sure to be a special and unforgettable experience

    When Tim expressed interest in opening a restaurant，Keith，a small businessman himself, supported him. Tim hired other people to manage the place and do the cooking, and he introduced the idea of free hugs. He realized that people want to feel at home at a restaurant. That is why he included "love” as all item on the menu. Customers can order the free hug from Tim，and even if they don't, he'll probably hug them anyway．

    The restaurant has been around since 2010，and Tim has given out over 19,000 hugs in the past five years — he keeps count using a special Hug Counter．Many customers love visiting "Tim's Place". "I've been coming here once a week." said Michelle Garth-Jones, a regular customer. "I love local restaurants, and this special one has a story that stays with you."

A Father and a Son

    Passing through the Atlanta airport one morning, I caught one of those shuttles that take travelers from the main terminals (航站楼) to their boarding gates. Not many people consider them fun, but on this Saturday I heard laughter. At the front of the first shuttle were a man and his son.

    We had just stopped to let off passengers, and the doors were closing again. “Here we go! Hold on to me tight!” the father said. The boy, about five years old, made sounds of happiness.

    “Look out there!” the father said to his son. “See that pilot? I bet he's walking to his plane.” The son turned his neck to look forward.

    As I was early for my flight, I decided to go back to the terminal. Where I went back again, I saw that the man and his son had returned too. I realized then that they hadn't been heading for a flight, but had just been riding the shuttle.

    “I want to ride some more!”

    “More?” the father said, mock-angry but clearly pleased. “ You are not tired?”

    “This is fun!” his son said.

    “All right.” the father replied, when a door opened, we all got on.

    There are parents who can afford to send their children to Europe or Disneyland, and there are parents who live in million-dollar houses and give their children cars and swimming pools, yet something goes wrong.

    “Where are all those people going, Daddy?” the son asked.

    “All over the world,” came the reply.

    The other people in the airport were leaving for far destinations (终点) or arriving at the ends of their journeys. The father and son, though, were just riding this shuttle together, making it exciting, enjoying being together.

    So many troubles in this country. So many questions about what to do. Here was a father who cared about spending the day with his son and who had come up with this plan on a Saturday morning.

    The answer is so simple: parents who care enough to spend time, and to pay attention and to try their best. It doesn't cost a cent, yet it is the most valuable thing in the world.

    The shuttle picked up speed, and the father pointed something out, and the boy laughed again.

    Long long ago, there was a blacksmith(铁匠). He was always unhappy with his life. "I'm always hot as a blacksmith. I want to be a stone on the mountain. There it must be cool." A wise man could change everything. The blacksmith went to the wise man. The wise man said, "Be a stone!" The blacksmith became a stone. A moment later, a stonemason(石匠) came and saw the stone. "It's what I want," he said and began to cut it. The stone cried, "Ouch! I don't want to be a stone. I want to be the sun. That would be great." The wise man said, "Be the sun!" And he became the sun. But the sun was much hotter, so he said, "I don't like this. I'd like to be the moon. It looks cool!" The wise man said again, "Be the moon!" And he became the moon. "This is hotter than being the sun, because the light from the sun shines（照射）on me" he said, "I don't want to be the moon. I want to be a blacksmith again. That's the best life."

    But the wise man said, "I'm tired of your changing. You want to be the moon, now you are the moon, and you'll be the moon in the future."

    When he was small, Hill was a famous bad boy.

    At the age of 9, his father married his stepmother. At that time they lived poorly in the countryside while his stepmother was from a wealthy family.

    His father introduced Hill to his stepmother as he said, "Dear, I hope you notice in the entire shire this is the worst boy, who has made me have no other way. Maybe before tomorrow morning he will throw a stone at you, or do a bad thing you will never imagine."

    To Hill's surprise, his stepmother went up to him with a smile, held up his head and looked at him carefully. She then turned around to tell her husband, "You're wrong. He is not the worst boy in the entire shire, but the cleverest and most creative boy. Only he doesn't find a place to show himself."

    His stepmother's words warmed his heart, his eyes full of tears. Then he started building friendship with his stepmother. And this became the drive of his life, making him create 28 successful golden rules, which helped tens of thousands of ordinary people walk on the road to success.

    Before his stepmother came, no one praised him smart, and his father and neighbors considered him as a bad boy. However, his stepmother's words changed his life.

    When Hill was 14 years old, his stepmother bought him a used typewriter and said to him, "I believe you will become a writer." Hill accepted his stepmother's gift and expectation, and started writing things to a local newspaper. He understood his stepmother's strong feeling of interest in his family while he saw with his own eyes she had changed his family. Therefore, he would do as well as she expected him to.

    The strength from his stepmother made him a rich man and famous writer in the United States and one of the most important persons in the 20th century.

    Praise will never be unnecessary, especially for children. Sincere (真诚的) praise may be better than 10,000 bad words.