When Jeanne Calment entered the world in 1875, telephones and automobiles still lay in the future. Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso were not yet born. The Eiffel Tower was 14 years from being built. As a teenager, she met Vincent Van Gogh, near her home in Arles, in the south of France. He was “very ugly, ungracious, impolite, sick—I forgive him, they called him loco (精神失常的)”, she recalled. When she died last week at age 122, she was the world's eldest person. (There are others who claimed to the title, but only Calment had the official documents to prove her age.)

    Each February 21, her birthday, she would share the secrets of long life. Some years it was “a sense of humour”, others it was “keeping busy”. “God must have forgotten me,” she once explained. The truth probably was that her mother reportedly lived to be 86 and her father 94.

    Her life had its sadness: she outlived her husband, her only daughter and her grandson. According to a friend, she was imperturbable. “If you can't do anything about it,” she reportedly said, “don't worry about it.”

    In her last years she was nearly blind and deaf, but her health remained good. She ate a few bars of chocolate each week and continued smoking until a few years ago, when she could no longer light her own cigarettes. She never lost her sense of humour. On her 110^th birthday, she commented, “I've only ever had one wrinkle, and I'm sitting on it. “Her longevity made her famous; her spirit made her eternal (永恒的).

    Welcome to Inspire 21!

    Our aim is to provide ”Inspiring words for the 21st century”. So, here we offer a unique collection of inspiring short stories, motivational short stories, and humorous short stories for you to read and share.

    If you do care to share, click the “SHARE”button in the bottom left corner of each page. And thanks for telling others about Inspire 21.

    The inspiring stories that are labeled(标记)“TRUE”are done so to the best of our knowledge, but we do not have full proof in some cases. However, all of these stories and messages are provided because of their uplifting content, whether true or not. Many books we've read and movies we've watched were totally untrue, but we enjoyed the inspiration they gave us—especially if they had a happy ending.

    So, please read and share these stories at your own discretion(判断力). Thank you for your understanding!

    Also, many of the inspiring stories used here are used with permission from the author. However, we cannot grant(授予) permission to reuse any of these inspirational stories, as the majority of them are not ours.

    Lastly, many inspiring stories(emailed to us or we came across online )are listed as “Author Unknown” If you happen to know the author's name, to whom credit should be given, please contact us with that information so we can keep our inspiring story collection accurate. Thank you again!

    Entrepreneur and CEO of Tesla and Space X, Eldon Musk may have a little more time on his hands, as he's leaving his position on the board of the Open Al, according to a blog post.

    The departure is likely the result of Tesla's moving into the field of Artificial Intelligence(AI)，which he said in 2017 would be the “best in the world”and would even be able to “predict your destination, ”Musk will continue to “donate and advise the organization,” Open AI said in a blog post on Feb. 20, adding that “As Tesla continues to become more focused on AI, this will avoid a potential future conflict for Eldon.

    Musk and Y Combiner CEO Sam Altman co-founded the nonprofit enterprise in December2015, its mission is to develop safe artificial general intelligence and ensure those developments are made public. Open AI researchers published a paper on the site ArXiv, org, detailing the possible secure threats that come with“malicious”AI. In fact, Musk has heard the “evil AI”alarm several times, On Aug.11，2017, he warned that artificial intelligence poses a bigger threat to humanity, and he told a gathering of state governors that the government needs to regulate Al before robots start “killing people. ”

    Musk's departure from the Open AI board could mean big things for Tesla. As Eton Goodbye, a financial reporter, noted on Futurism, the move “could signal that Tesla is more deeply committed to their own AI projects than we thought. ”He added, “Those who have had their ears to any rumors (谣言)that Tesla is ready to deliver vehicles capable of Level 5autonomy could take this new Open Al development as a sign that the company is inching closer to that unapproachable goal, ”No company has reached that level of autonomy, which means that a driverless car could navigate any road under any conditions and that all the human “driver” would need to do is to input a destination.

    John Blanchard was studying the crowd making their way through the station. He was looking for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn't, the girl with the rose.

    When reading a book in a Florida library a year before, John became interested not in the contents of the book, but in the notes penciled in the margin (空白处). The handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and beautiful mind. He discovered the former owner's name in the front of the book: Miss Hollis Maynell.

    He located her address and wrote a letter introducing himself. The next day he was shipped overseas to serve in the army. During the next year, they grew to know each other through the mail and their friendship developed. John requested a photograph, but she refused, saying if he really cared, it wouldn't matter what she looked like. When the day finally came for him to return home, their first meeting was suggested-7:00 pm at the Grand Central Station in New York.

    She wrote, "You'll recognize me by the red rose I wear on my coat." So now John was in the station to meet the girl with a rose.

    As a pretty and slim girl in green came over, John noticed her blue eyes like flowers in spring. He walked directly towards her, entirely forgetting she was not wearing a rose. As John came closer to her, he saw another woman with a red rose stood nearby. Well past 40, this woman had graying hair done under a worn hat. Seeing the girl in green walk quickly away, John felt as if he were split (劈开) in two. He desired to follow that girl, but longed for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned and supported him.

    The woman looked gentle and sensible. John went to her, saying, "I'm Captain John Blanchard. You must be Miss Maynell. I am glad to meet you here. May I take you to dinner?"

    She replied with a smile, "I don't know what this is about. But the lady in green who just went by, begged me to wear this rose on my coat. She said if you asked me out to dinner, I'd tell you she is waiting for you in the big restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of test!"

    If you are ever in Connecticut, you need to be sure to take the family to Lake Compounce Theme Park. The park lies in Bristol, Connecticut. It has been opened since 1846 and is known as America's oldest park.

    In October, they open the park for an event called Haunted Graveyard which is open at night. The rates are $ 34.99 for regular tickets, $ 25.99 for kids and $17.99 for those over the age of 60. If you go before 5: 00 p. m., you only pay $17.99.Kids under the age of three are free and parking is $8.00.

    The rides at the theme park are so much fun. The ride liked by all is the Boomerang with the top speed of over 45 miles per hour. The drop on this ride is 125 feet. Another popular ride is the Pirate Ship. These two rides are great for thrill seekers because you actually feel as if you were falling out of your seat.

    The park also has plenty of water rides for those who love water fun, such as water guns and water slides. Lights Out is a fast water slide that is all in the dark. It goes around what looks like a lighthouse. Besides the rides, the park also has fun shows for the whole family. They have a great show and a cool circus. There are also some great places to eat at the park.

    You can stop at the entrance to get a map first. You won't be able to visit the whole park in a day so you should have your family choose what you want to and have fun!