The day finally came，when I had to leave the warm home where I'd grown up.I ran to the back yard，as tears came up from my heart.Suddenly I1a hand rest on my shoulder.I looked up to2mygrandfather.“It isn't3 ， isit，Billy？”he said softly.

    Gently4myhand in his，we walked，hand in hand，tothe front yard，5a hugered rose­bush sat alone.

    “What do you see here，Billy？” he asked.I looked at the flowers，not knowing6to say，and then answered，“I see something soft and7 ， grandpa.”

    He pulled me8.“It isn't just the roses that are beautiful，Billy.It's that special place in your heart that makes them so.”“Billy，I9these roses when my first son was born.It was my10of saying 'thank you' to God.I11to watch him pick roses for his mother. Then, as a young man of only 20，a terrible war robbed him of his life.” Grandpa slowly stood up.“Never say good­bye，Billy. Never12to the sadness and the loneliness.Instead，I want you to remember the joy and the13when you first said hello to a friend.”

    A year later，my grandpa became very14.Then all members of the family were15back，and I returned to the old house. When it came to my16 ， I took his hand as17as  he had once taken mine.

    “Hello，grandpa，”I18.His eyes slowly opened and said，“Hello，my friend.” With a brief19he died. Suddenly，and truly.I knew what he had20about never saying good­bye—about refusing to give in to sadness.​

    Learning experiences happen to us throughout our lives, and not too long ago, I had one that I would like to 1 . This story began with a 2 three years ago. It's a story of pizza and being3of buying ice cream with a US $20 bill.

    I was going to Marblehead, Massachusetts, with my racing team on the highway and we were all 4Luckily, we saw a rest area5. I had a brand-new US $ 20 bill, and I had 6had that kind of cash before. Spending it on food 7to me like throwing it away.

    We all rushed into the pizza line. 8 I got a cheese pizza and drink. Halfway through the 9, I realized I had not actually 10 any money to the cashier. I felt terrible. I just couldn't go back to the cashier and11my stolen pizza. I would feel embarrassed.

    I was so upset that I refused to give myself the12of an ice cream in fear that someone would say, "Hey, Jeff, why don't you 13 the change from the pizza instead of that nice, new US $20 bill?"

     was not so proud of my 14 now.

    For the next two years, whenever I was15of the "Pizza incident," I 16my eyes and said to myself, "Not gonna think about it, not gonna think about it…"

    I think this 17the saying, "A coward (懦夫) dies a thousand deaths, a hero dies 18." I was a coward and have felt19 about that incident at least a thousand times. If I had been a "hero" and gone 20up to pay for the pizza, then I would have felt a little embarrassed about it only once, or maybe twice.

    “And this is me kissing the Blarney Stone”, says Carrie, my seventeen-year-old daughter. She turns the pages of her new photo album, recounting her recent ten-day1 abroad, and my mind wanders back…way back to when she was only five.

    “Someday I'm going to Ireland”, she said, holding her Childcraft book in her lap. Her blue eyes 2 as she looked at the beautiful pictures. “Well, maybe you can!” I said. However, it was3 for our family to pay for the luxury of traveling. I was working as a secretary. My husband Charlie had to close his 4 last year due to his poor health…

    Ten years later, Carrie came home from school one day, hardly able to contain her5“Mama, you'll never 6where the class is going. To Ireland!” she smiled 7“You're kidding!” I said. “Ireland! Where you've always wanted to go!”

    “The trip is 8 for year after next, and the $2,100 can be paid in installments (分期付款).” Then she added, “But that's too much… isn't it?” Her voice was9 yet doubting. “Well,” I said slowly, “Daddy and I can't help much10 you have two years to earn the money.” “You think so?” Carrie's face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Well,” I11 “maybe you could use your father's bakery and sell baked goods.” Sell baked goods? We12 at each other. Carrie was an excellent 13! This would work!

    So the plan was14 Carrie began working, making a variety of baked goods. She used dried apples, cooked, seasoned and spiced to perfection. Soon, however, fried apple-pies became the customer favorite. All ingredients were 15—real shortening (起酥油), real butter—and the crust (皮) was handmade and hand-rolled. Finally the pies were fried to a beautiful, golden brown! The finished product was an extremely pleasant treat, winning16from even the little old ladies in these hills who have been making dried-apple pies for decades17 began rolling in, and the Ireland fund grew, and well 18 the given time the trip abroad was paid in full…

    Now I'm looking at her album as she proudly points out the19 she visited: castles of Ireland, historic bridges and churches, cobblestone (鹅卵石) streets of Dublin… so much like those in her Childcraft book. My daughter will forever remember this dream come true, a dream that began in the heart of a five-year-old girl and was completely made 20 by the delicious apple pie!

    I was walking around in a Big Bazar store doing a shopping, when I saw a Cashier talking to a boy who couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 years old. The Cashier said, "I'm sorry, 1you don't have enough money to buy this doll." Then the little boy turned to me and asked, "Uncle, are you sure I don't have enough money?"

    I 2 his cash and replied, "You know that you don't have enough money to buy the doll, my dear." The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand. Finally, I walked 3 him and I asked him 4 he wished to give this doll to. "It's the doll 5 my sister loved most and wanted so much. I wanted to gift her for her Birthday. I have to give the doll to my mommy so that she can give it to my sister when she goes there." His eyes were so 6 while saying this.

    "My Sister has gone to be with God. Daddy says that Mommy is going to see God very soon too, so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister." My heart 7 stopped. The little boy 8 me and said, "I told daddy to tell mommy not to go 9. I need her to wait until I come back from the mall."

    Then he looked again at the 10with sad eyes, very quietly. I quickly11 for my wallet and said to the boy. "Suppose we check again, just 12 you do have enough money for the doll?" I added some of my money to his, without him seeing and we started to count it. There was enough for the doll and even some13money.

    The little boy said, "Thank you God for giving me enough money! I asked last night God to 14 I had enough money to buy this doll. He heard me! I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my mommy, but I didn't 15 to ask God for too much. But He gave me enough to buy the doll and a white rose. "

    I finished my shopping in a totally different 16from when I started. I couldn't get the little boy out of my mind. Then I remembered a local newspaper article two days ago, which mentioned a 17 man in a truck, who hit a car occupied by a young woman and a little girl. The little girl died right away, and the mother was left in a 18 state.

    The love that the little boy had for his mother and his sister is 19, to this day, hard to imagine. And in a 20 of a second, a drunk driver had taken all this away from him.

Be Happy

    Twenty years ago I was living in Seattle and going through hard times. To my 1 I was driving a school bus to make ends meet although I had a Masters degree. I had been through five interviews with a company and one day they called to say I did not get the job. I went to the bus bay like a zombie(僵尸))of 2.

    Later that afternoon, I had an inner wave, like a scream, "why has my life become so 3?" Immediately after the scream I pulled the bus over to 4a little girl who handed me an earring saying I should keep it in case somebody got back for it. The earring5"BE HAPPY"

    I got angry but then it hit me. I had been putting all of my energies into what was wrong with my life rather than what was right. I should be grateful for what I had. I decided to make a list of 50 things I was 6 for.

    At first it was hard, then it got 7. One night there was a phone call for me from a 8 who was a manager at a large 9. She asked me if I would do a one-day lesson for her 200 hospital workers. I said yes and 10 my job as a driver.

    My day with the hospital workers went very 11. I got a standing ovation(热烈鼓掌)and many more days of 12. To this day I know that it was because I changed attitude 13 gratitude.

    I spent the next year conducting training workshops and then decided to go back to Scotland where I had lived 14. One month later I met my wonderful English wife and best friend of 15 years now. We live in a small beautiful cottage.

    "The only attitude is gratitude" has been my motto for 15 now and yes, it completely changed my life.

When he was only six years old, my son was attracted by the beauty of ballet. Afterwards, when he showed 1 in learning to dance, the classmate who lived next door laughed. "Don't be silly," she said. "There are no boys in my 2 class." 

In fact, the neighbourhood friend wasn't the only person who didn't

3 his interest in dance. Including me, many family members and friends tried to 4 him by saying depressing words. "Boys don't dance." "Dancing is for girls." To stop his 5 , I enrolled him in swimming lessons and science camp. But he never lost enthusiasm for learning to dance, and it 6 when he watched dancers in Broadway shows.  

Finally, he got to have his dance and voice classes during high school. His goal was to 7 the school's chorus(合唱团), a group of 28 students that performed at various community events. The competition to become a 8 was fierce and my son's hard work paid off. He performed well as a member of the chorus and it 9 the way to his dance career.  

The summer after graduating from high school, my son designed dance for a group of students. How 10 I was on the final night of the play when the dancers thanked my son on the stage! 

During his first year of college, he was 11 a role in a national touring company. When my son asked if he should finish 12 first and then dance, I didn't 13 to give him my support, "No more

14 dreams. Go for it!" 

Several years later, he got a 15 to join his idol, an excellent dancer, in his tour of Sweet Charity. Over the years, my son has danced in many theatres, television and other musicals. Indeed, boys dance, too.