It was a cold night in Washington, D.C., and I was heading back to the hotel when a man came to me. He asked if I would give him some money so he could get something to eat. I'd read the signs: “Don't give money to panhandlers (乞丐）.” So I shook my head and kept walking.

    I wasn't prepared for a reply, but he said, “I really am homeless and I really am hungry! You can come with me and watch me eat!” But I kept on walking.

    I couldn't forget what happened to me that day for the rest of the week. I had money in my pocket and it wouldn't have killed me to hand over a dollar or two even if he had been lying. On a very cold night, no less, I thought the worst of a fellow human being. Flying back to Anchorage, I still couldn't help thinking of him.

    I was the writer of a weekly garden column (专栏）at The Anchorage Daily News. One day, out of the blue, I came up with an idea. Bean's Cafe, the soup kitchen in Anchorage, feeds hundreds of hungry people every day. Why not try to get all my readers to plant one row in their gardens for Bean's? Plant a row and take it down to Bean's. Clean and simple.

    We didn't keep records back then, but the idea began to take off. People would call me when they took something in. Those who only grew flowers gave them away. Food for the spirit.

    In 1995 , the Garden Writers Association of America ( GWAA) held their meeting in Anchorage and alter learning of Anchorage's program, Plant a Row for Bean's became Plant a Row for the Hungry. The idea was to have every member of the Garden Writers Association of America write or talk about planting a row for the hungry.

    As more and more people started working with the program, many companies gave free seed to customers and had the logo (商标）seen in public.

    Garden editor Joan Jackson raised more than 30,000 pounds of  fruits and vegetables her first year, and showed the public how the program could really work. Texas fruit farms gave away food to their local food bank alter hearing about Plant a Row. Today the program continues to grow.

    I am shocked that millions of Americans are threatened by hunger. If every gardener in

    America - and we're seventy million strong - plants one row for the hungry, we can make a difference in the number of neighbors who don't have enough to eat. Maybe then I will stop feeling guilty (愧 疚) about walking past a hungry man I could have helped.

    I was in line waiting to pay. A little boy in the front was buying some clothes.

    I noticed that the little boy was paying mostly with change (零钱). It seemed that he had broken his pig bank to do this shopping. However, the cashier(收银员) told him he was $ 8.00 short after counting his money.

    It was clear that the boy had already used all the money. The lady in front of me said, "Well, I could pay half of that." I told the boy that I could pay the other half. We dug into our handbags. However, both of us only had ten-dollar bills (纸币). Other shoppers began digging into their pockets to find some change. It was amazing and touching as all these strangers seemed to react (反应) with the same mind. All wanted to be of help. Within minutes the cashier said, "I have too much money." The cashier didn't need our ten-dollar bills. Then the lady in front of me said, "Wait! I didn't even get a chance (机会) to give anything!"

    I smiled at her and said, "You did your share, because it was your idea and you started all this." The little boy smiled and thanked us. I left with a good feeling. I saw the love and goodness of others all around me. The woman in front of me smiled and said, "It feels good to give, doesn't it?" I smiled back and said, "Yes!"

    A lion was getting tired of hunting. He called all animals and passed an order. "Every day one of you should come by yourself as my food." All animals started to obey this order.

    It was the rabbit's day. The rabbit was very sad. As he was going to the lion's den (兽穴), he came across an old well (井). He looked into it. It was very deep and dangerous. He made a plan in his mind.

    The lion was very angry that no animal had come that day. The rabbit slowly came towards the lion. The lion shouted, "Why are you late?" The rabbit humbly (低声下气地) replied, "On my way another lion chased me. I got away with much difficulty to give my life to you."

    The lion was pleased with the rabbit. But the thought of another lion in the jungle made him angry. The lion shouted, "Do you know where he lives?" The rabbit replied, "Yes, sir. Please come with me."

    The rabbit took the lion to the old well. He said, "Sir, that lion lives in this well." The lion looked into the well. He mistook his reflection (倒影) for another lion. He shouted and there was an echo.

    He thought that the other lion was shouting too and jumped into the well. That was the end of the lion.

When my daughter was in primary school, she brought home four small twigs(细枝) from school to plant. None of them looked very strong and lively. But with hope for the future, I planted them somewhere in our backyard which could give them enough sunlight. Over the years, because of the poor soil(土壤), three of them died. Only one lived at last.

It grew crooked(不直的) and very slowly. In fact, it looked more like a fat bush than a tree. Later, I noticed that it was starting to die. The branches(树枝) were becoming bare. Only the top third of the tree was still green. I did my best to save it by feeding it a lot of fertilizer, but it didn't work.

Later one morning, I went out and looked at it again. I was thinking if it would be better to just cut it down. It would make the yard look cleaner. As I walked over to take a closer look at it, however, I noticed something moving within the leaves. It was a bird patiently building a nest in the topmost branches. I smiled when I looked at it. I thought maybe this old tree was still useful. It might not be healthy or pretty, but it was still giving a bird a home.

This tree let me know that all of our lives have a purpose. It doesn't matter if we are young and strong or old and sickly. Until our last breath, we have things to do, love to give, and joy to share. We can help to make this world a better and more beautiful place.