Every fast-food employee knows that the drive-through window is the worst position. The window sticks with constant ice; the roar of engines hurts your 1; your words are lost in the howling wind.

    On a 2 afternoon, everything changed.   

    Every once in a while, the sub-zero temperatures seal a 3 windows shut. Drivers don't exactly enjoy having to stand outside in the cold, 4 their orders into a speaker box, when they expect to drive through on their heated leather seats. In such cases, most customers tend to show their annoyance to the employees.

    This woman was 5.

     “I'll get the next car's 6 a s well,” she said as she came up to the window to pay. She stood outside, 7 much snow on her hair. Though she was obviously freezing, her bright 8 lit up her face like a fire.

     “You can't 9 their drinks,” I said, confused and tired.

     “No, but I'll buy them,” she said. “Pay it forward and all that.”

    Completely puzzled, I charged her as 10, and when the next customer arrived at the window I explained what had just happened. I watched as his 11 changed — first angry to be out in the cold, then 12 at the random act of kindness, and finally, delighted by his 13.

     “I suppose I'll pay for the next order then,” he replied, nodding and waving at the impatient driver 14 him. He 15 over the cash and received his pre-paid hot drink.

    The trend continued. Customers arrived annoyed, only to leave 16 and pleased. Some were shocked to spend much more than they had expected, 17 others ended up receiving their order for less than half the price.

    Five vehicles passed, then ten, then twenty. No one refused to pay. Customers stood at my window 18 a fist-full of change to buy drinks for a complete stranger. Cars drove off, honking (鸣笛) and 19 their thanks.

    It only takes one customer, one person, to change the entire 20 of traffic. It only takes one moment, one smile, to warm up even the coldest of days.

    After 22 years of marriage, I have discovered the secret to keep love alive in my relationship with my wife, Peggy. I started dating another woman.

One day Peggy said to me, "Life is too 1, you need to spend time with the people you love. You probably won't believe me, but I know you love her and I think that if the two of you spend more time together, it will make us2.

The "other" woman my wife was encouraging me to3is my mother, a 72-year-old widow who has lived alone since my father 4 20 years ago. Right after his death, I5 2,500 miles away to California and started my own life and career. When I moved back near my hometown six years ago, I promised myself that I would spend more time with mom. But with the 6of my job and three kids, I never got around to seeing her much 7family get-togethers and holidays.

    Mom was 8 and suspicious when I called and suggested the two of us go out to dinner and a movie.

    We didn't go anywhere 9, just a neighborhood place where we could talk. 10 her eyes now see only large shapes and shadows, I had to read the menu for both of us.

"I used to be the 11 when you were little," she said.

"Then it is time for you to relax and let me 12the favor," I said.

    We had a nice talk 13dinner, just catching up on each other's lives. We talked for so long that we 14 the movie.

"15was your date?" my wife asked when I got home that evening.

    Nice...nicer than I thought it would be,' I said.

    Mom and I get out for16a couple of times a month. Sometimes we take in a movie, but 17we talk. Through the talks, I know what it was like for her to work in a factory during the Second World War. I know how she met my father there, and know how they 18the difficult times. I can't get enough of these stories. They are 19 to me, a part of my history.

    Peggy was right. Dating another woman has20my marriage.

    Everyone should go to his or her 50th high school reunion. There was a time I thought I'd never go even if the opportunity 1. But now I feel 2for people who don't go.

    I went to the 3of my high school on a Saturday evening, and I am glad I did. It was a gift to recognize some4classmates right away — and to be recognized. 5, we had name tags and our 6photos on our clothing to help identify us. I recognized one woman immediately!

    The most memorable and moving experience of the night was 7by a schoolmate and neighbor to whom I was once close. Unfortunately, we had a falling out in the high school. I never saw her after 8, but this time, I saw her name on a place setting. At first, I feared that I would 9her. But my better self won over, and I 10 her out. I kept looking until I got a(n) 11on my shoulder. There she was 12. We hugged as if nothing had ever 13and exchanged affectionate words. When the party 14, my old-new friend walked towards me, 15me again and wished me well. I returned her good wishes. All the bad 16melted into thin air.

    I am grateful I had this 17to reunite with old classmates. After all, we are almost 18the final lap of our lifelong journeys. Some classmates had already left this 19, and their names were deleted from the list. Sometimes we have to walk back into the past because time does heal old wounds. We're not the 20people. We are better people.

    Most teens I meet these days lack basic social courtesy(礼仪) when dealing with people.

    My own son, who basically grew up with his grandmother, the original 1 guru(专家), has perfect table manners. This is partly because he was 2to manners at a very young age. However, when we eat at home, he would not  3manners. So I asked him why. He said," I behave the way I am supposed to 4 when I'm out, but when I am at home I want to be  5"

    That's when I realized that most parents, myself included, do6 their children the proper way to behave outside the home, but they are also 7to believe that at home, anything goes.

    My 8to him was "good behavior has nothing to do with where you are or whom you are with".

    Then he answered, "But I behave 9when I'm with others so that they think better of me." And that is when I realized that I was doing things all 10. I explained to him that it had nothing to do with what people think. This 11him even more.

    So I went on to explain that behavior, whether in your everyday  12with people or at the dining table at home, is an 13of who you are. Well, at the age of 13, he got it.

    So basically, what I am saying is that teaching your children 14comes with the underlying lesson that it is not about 15to do or not to do, but rather, who they are. This way it is not 16; it comes from within.

    Teach your teens or children the 17courtesy of greeting their friends' parents and 18themselves when they go to someone's home. Teach teenage boys to open the door of a car, or any door 19 anyone who matters, for any girl, whether they are their girlfriends or not. This includes holding elevator doors or letting women step out of the elevator first.

    Just 20that teenage boys who practice good manners' and courtesy grow up to become men who respect people in general.

    My l4-year-old son, John, and I spotted the coat which was hanging at a secondhand clothing store in Northampton Mass. While the other coats drooped(低垂), this one looked as if it were1itself up. The coat had beautiful tailoring, a Fifth Avenue label and a(an)2price of $28, which was popular just then with3, but could cost several hundred dollars new. This coat was even better, bearing that4of classic elegance(优雅). John tried it on and the fit was perfect.

    John5the coat to school the next day and came home wearing a big smile" Did the kids like your coat?" I asked. "They loved it," he said,6folding it over the back of a chair and smoothing it flat. Over the next few weeks, a7came over John. Agreement replaced contrariness (作对) and reasoned discussion replaced fierce8. He became more mannerly and9, eager to please. He would generously loan his younger brother his tapes and lecture him10his behavior.

    When I mentioned this incident to his teacher and11what caused the changes, she said laughing. "It12be his coat!" Another teacher told him she was giving him a good13not only because he had earned14but because she liked his coat. At the library, we ran into a friend "Could this be John?" he asked surprisingly,15John's new height, assessing the cut of his coat and extending his hand, one gentleman to another.

    John and I both know we should never16a person's clothes for the real person within them.17there is something to be said for wearing a standard of excellence for the world to see and for18what is on the inside to what is on the outside.

    For John it is a time when it is as easy to try on different approaches to19as it is to try on a coat. The whole world, the whole future is stretched out ahead, a vast landscape20all the doors are open. And he could picture himself walking through those doors wearing his wonderful, magical coat.

In March, 5-year-old Wynn Radke came home from preschool with no idea that she wouldn't return for months because of the COVID-19. Her mom Colleen1her to think of a goal to work toward that involved a(n)2activity. Wynn wasted no time and shouted, “67 waterfalls (瀑布)!” While the number was3, her mom loved the idea so much that she4to help the little one!

The lovely pair's first 5 took place on March 28, 2020 at Fairy Falls, and it was amazing! From there, they 6 hiking to different waterfalls, documenting their progress7they inched closer and closer to their goal.

8, Colleen said the challenge was simply a way to get Wynn outside instead of "just watching YouTube all day." But it ended up being something therapeutic (有益身心健康的) for them to do during the92020 has brought their family. Between Wynn missing her friends and Colleen losing her job, the waterfall10have helped a lot.

It took Wynn and Colleen five months, but they finally11Winnewissa Falls—their 67th waterfall—in August!12reaching her goal, Wynn 13, "I did it!" And she wasn't the only one who was14. When she returned to school, her friends and teachers15 her with celebratory balloons! For her mom, the adventure was less about the milestones (里程碑) and more about the time they spent together.