The Power of a Note

          On my first job as sports editor for the Montpelier(Ohio) Leader Enterprise, I didn't get a lot of fan mail, 1a letter that was dropped on my desk one morning seemed 2  to me.

         When I opened it, I read: “A nice piece of writing on the Tigers. Please3 the good work.” It was 4  by Don Wolfe, the sports editor. Because I was a teenager (being paid for 15 cents a column inch ), his words couldn't have been more 5 . I kept the letter in my desk drawer 6  it got rag-eared. Whenever I  7whether I had the ability to be a writer, I would reread Don's note and feel 8  again.

        Later, when I got to know him, I learned that Don made a 9  of writing a quick, encouraging word to people in10  . “When I made others feel good about 11  ,” he told me, “I feel good too.”

    Not 12  , he had a body of friends as big as nearby Lake Erie. When he died last year at 75, the paper was 13  with calls and letters from people who had been recipients of his 14  words.

  15 the years, I've tried to copy the example of Don and other friends16  care enough to write uplifting comments, because I think they are on to something important. In a world too often cold and unresponsive, such 17 bring warmth and reassurance. We all need a push from time to time, and a few lines of 18  have been known to turn around a day, even a life.

        Be 19  with your praise. Superlatives like “greatest” “smartest” “prettiest” make us all feel good. Even if your praise is a little ahead of reality, remember that expectations are often the20  of dreams fulfilled.

    One day, I went to my favorite cafe for lunch. I 1 a burger and went to the outdoor seats. While waiting for my meal, a homeless man on a bicycle stopped to ask if there was a grocery store nearby. After I gave him 2, he asked if I had 3 from Santa Clara University. (I was wearing a SCU T-shirt. )I told him, yes. Little did I know that this 4 response would lead to a 90-minute conversation. The man, Michael, told me he was very intelligent. 5, drug use had ruined both his formal education and his pursuit of 6 in his work. He drifted from one topic to another, 7 the fact that I was ready for my lunch.

    He clearly had more of a 8to talk than I did. I made every 9 to give him my full attention, never 10 our talk would go on and on... Eventually, I did eat my meal, bite by bite 11 responses in our conversation. Michael was a bit strange. 12 his interests and viewpoints. We had little in 13, but he was fascinated with talking with, as he 14 it,“intelligent people.” I have to admit, I wish our conversation had been 15 to ten or fifteen minutes, but when Michael finally 16 off, he thanked me for listening so 17 to him and for my 18 to talk with him for so long. It was then that I 19 that, just maybe, that was my purpose in life for today … to be there, in that place, at that time, to 20 in that conversation.

    As the saying goes, rose given, fragrance in hand. I am always in the 1 of giving money to every beggar or homeless person I pass by. My friends say it is not good to 2. We may come across beggars or homeless people begging every day and all beggars have their ability to survive. It 3 them that I never listen.

    On a 4 day, my friend and I were walking to the 5 when I passed a beggar lady. I had seen her several times before and had always given her a few 6. That day, I gave her 2 Euros. I was waiting for the bus and reading a book when I7 to see that lady standing in front of me. She 8 me a piece of paper covered in a plastic bag to prevent it from getting 9. She stood there, looking at me 10. Putting away my book, I took the paper, which 11 she and her family had to 12 their country because of floods, and she was 13 to support them. She had got a bit of money, but she needed 5 14 Euros to get home. I 15 in my pockets and found 20 cents. My friend 16 a 5 Euro note. I asked her to give it to the lady, and said that I would 17 the next day. When she got the money, the lady hugged us and said thanks again and again, and went on her way. Later on the bus, I wondered where her home was and 18 she had gotten to this country. In her story, I felt that my friend and I would always remain part of it as the 19, who helped her get home on a rainy day. But for me, helping a stranger did bring me happiness, giving me a pleasant 20.

    When I was about 12, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my 1. Week by week her list grew: I was very thin; I wasn't a 2student; I talked too much; I was too3, always feeling superior to(胜过)others, and so on. I tried to hear all this as long as I could. 4, I became very angry. I ran to my father with 5in my eyes.

    He 6 to me quietly, and then he asked. "Are the things she says true or not? Janet, didn't you ever 7 what you're really like? Well, you now have that girl's 8. Go and9a list of everything she said and mark the points that are10. Pay no attention to the other things she said."

    I did11 he told me. To my great12, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn't 13 (like being very thin), but a good number I could – and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I went to a fairly 14picture of myself.

    I brought the list back to Daddy. He15to take it. "That's just for you," he said. "You know16than anyone else the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to17, not just close your ears in 18, feeling hurt when something said about you is true, you'll find it of help to you. Our world is full of people who think they know your affairs. Don't 19your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do what you know is the right thing to do."

    Daddy's advice has always 20 me at many important moments. In my life, I've never had a better piece of advice.

    Todd Jones is a 15­year­old student from Washington, D.C. In a chat room called Webfriends, he started talking to someone 1 to be a 13­year­old junior high school student in Texas named Josh. For several weeks, they chatted online about their hobbies and quickly 2. Then Josh started telling Todd about his 3. He said that his father had lost his job and his grandmother was very ill. 4 money was urgently needed, he wondered if Todd could help. Feeling bad for his new friend, Todd transferred(转账) $50 to Josh's bank account.

    Two weeks later, Josh asked Todd for $50 to help pay for school supplies like notebooks. 5, Todd sent the money. Over the next month, Josh asked Todd for money five times, for a total of $300. Gradually, Todd was beginning to feel 6 of his chat room friend. He turned to Bob Howard, a cybercrime specialist at the police department. After some checking, Howard discovered that Todd's chat room friend was not 13­year­old Josh from Texas but 38­year­old David Klein from New York. As it 7, Klein had made friends with more than twenty middle school students in different chat rooms, using a different 8 each time. By claiming to be poor or ill, Klein had 9 more than $3, 000 from these students.

    Howard urges everyone to be 10 when they visit chat rooms: "Never send money to someone you meet online or meet online friends in person."

    Like many military wives, I had to stand the long separations until my husband retired. Though I supported him in his chosen career, I1every moment away from him.

    To 2 our separations, I wrote letters every day. I made up dozens of small 3 for him which I secretly put into his bag, so that he could 4 them when he was out to sea. To this day those notes are still 5 to us.

    6in 1996 my husband retired from the Navy. But the only job 7 for my husband was six and a half hours of driving away in Norfolk, Virginia.

    We spent eight months 8. That was our hardest separation, perhaps because we had 9 planned to be apart again. He 10 to apply for jobs in the area where we hoped to live. We expected we would soon be able to be 11 again.

    One day Louie called me with the good 12 . He found a job in southwest Virginia. We were excited! There was only one small 13. Louie would have to live in a camper (露营车), while our daughters and I lived in a little house an hour and a half of driving 14. My daughters were 15 enough to take care of themselves? So I left them and stayed with Louie.

    Louie and I spent several 16 weeks together. One morning after he left for work, I sat 17 in the camper trying to remember any possession that was as priceless as the 18 we stayed together. I couldn't 19 a single thing. Then all of us moved into that camper and lived there for a year. It was pure joy! I've learned that the greatest 20 I have is the time I've spent with the ones I love.