Cheating happens a lot in our city. It can be hard to know who is really in 1 and who is trying to take advantage of other people's   2.

    Recently, I was finishing my work at home3 the dog barked letting me know that 4 was at the gate. I rushed to see who it was and there I saw a 5 weak woman in her late fifties.

    I said to her, “May I ask what you6?”

    She 7, “Hello, my name is Parvathy. My husband and I live nearby. We earn our living8working at construction sites. A few days ago my9 fell off the stairs while 10 a heavy load. He is 11hurt and hasn't been able to 12for the past five days, so we have no food. Now he is at home in bed with a high fever. Please help me! I need to take my husband to a doctor!”

    “Oh!” I said. “Please13here.” I went into the room. I felt really bad about her 14but ...Was she telling me the15or trying to cheat me out of my money?

    Finally, I 16 to help her. But first I said a simple prayer, “Dear Lord, you know17 I earn my pennies, so please make sure that my hard earned money helps those who 18 need it.”

I went out with a fifty note and19 it to her. The moment she got the money she broke down in tears. She took my hand and said, “Thank you so much!”

    I was so 20, and turned back to my work smiling.

    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 I 1 a hand rest on my shoulder. I looked up to 2  my grandfather. “It isn't 3 , is it, Billy?” he said softly.

    He gently 4  my hand in his, and then we walked, hand in hand, to the front yard, 5 a huge red rose-bush sat alone.

    “What do you see here, Billy?” he asked. I looked at the flowers, not knowing 6  to say, and then answered, “I see something soft and 7 ,  Grandpa.”

    He pulled me 8 . “It isn't just the roses that are beautiful, Billy. It's that special place in your heart that makes them so.” “Billy, I 9 these roses when my first son was born. It was my 10  of saying ‘thank you' to God. I 11 to 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 good-bye, Billy. Never 12  to the sadness and the loneliness. Instead, I want you to remember the joy and the 13  when you first said hello to a friend.”

    A year later, my grandpa became very 14 . Then all members of the family were 15  back, and I returned to the old house. When it came to my 16 , I took his hand as 17  as he had once taken mine.

    “Hello, Grandpa,” I 18 . His eyes slowly opened and said, “Hello, my friend.” With a brief (短迅的) 19  he died. Suddenly, and truly, I knew what he had 20  about never saying good-bye — about refusing to give in to sadness.

    My wife and I moved to the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee in November, from New York to a very rural area. While moving we had the1of our adult daughter.

    During the 2days of moving into our new home, we3in the local community a lot. One evening we decided to have a meal at a buffet style restaurant. It had been a long day of 4boxes and furniture, and the next day would see us on the long drive back to our former home for another 5, a thousand mile long trip. We were all 6. But the buffet was great, and we7our meal feeling rested and relaxed.

    When I went to pay our bill,8in hand, the waitress cashier told me that they didn't 9credit cards. Being from the big city, it was10to use a credit card. Oops!

    I had no11in my pocket, but about 10 miles back down the road I'd seen a bank with an ATM. I told the lady that I would 12my family there and return in a few minutes to pay for our meals. “ Oh, you 13do that,” she told me. “ You just come back 14time and pay us then.” WHAT? I looked at her in 15. These people had16seen me before, did not know if I would ever return, yet they 17me to return to pay for three adult meals? This is not something that I had ever experienced in the big 18, that's for sure.

    We have lived there for almost six years, and every single week I see other acts of trust like this happening. It may be a “country” thing, or just19Southern hospitality. Whatever it is, I certainly like it, and I pass on this 20every chance I get.

    My father was a self-taught mandolin player. He was one of the best string instrument players in our town. He could not1 music, but if he heard a tune a few times, he could play it. I loved to sing, but I never learned how to 2 the mandolin. This is something I 3 to this day.

    Dad loved to play the mandolin for his 4 as he knew we enjoyed singing, and hearing him play. He was always there,5his time and efforts to see that his family had enough in their life. I had to mature into a man and have children of my own 6 I realized how much he had sacrificed.7played the mandolin like my father. He could8your soul with the tones. He seemed to shine when he was playing. You could see his9 in his ability to play so well for his family.

    One day, he was involved in an 10.On this particular day, Dad got the first finger of his left hand 11 by the machine. The doctor who operated on the finger could not 12 it, which did affect his 13 to play the mandolin.

    After the accident, Dad felt that he could not play 14.When I came home and asked him to play, he would make15 for why he couldn't play.

In August of 1993 my father was diagnosed with16lung cancer. About a week before his death, we asked Dad if he would play the mandolin for us. He said17.He knew it would probably be the last time he could play for us. When I looked around, there was not a18eye in the family. We saw before us a quiet man with an inner19 Dad was always doing something he had done all his life20.

I was working as a lifeguard at Tower 15 on Newport and two blocks to my right was another guard named Mike, working at Tower 17. He called me over the phone and said, “Hey, I have 1 two kids who are swimming in the dangerous zone. I have to give them a warning. Keep an eye on us.” I said “Sure.” In case of 2, anytime we got out of our tower, we were supposed to 3 somebody else.

Mike hung up the phone and 4 the lifebuoy(救生圈). Then he realized that these two kids had been 5and that there was a great tendency for them to be 6 by the wave. 7, Mike rushed toward the ocean. I 8 the water and all I found was two small heads. The mother of the two kids knelt(跪) down on the beach with 9 .

    When I dropped my binoculars(望远镜) and reached the mother, Mike was in waist-deep water, 10 the two kids. I turned to the mum and said, “Hey, it's OK. They are safe.” I saw the terror started to 11. Then she glanced back and got her first good look at Mike. A new kind of 12 washed over her face as though there was another threat to her kids' lives. She snatch(抢) her kids without 13 .

    Mike had some seemingly 14behavior, and his shaved head showed a scar(伤疤). Maybe he had no 15 manners, but his lifesaving ability 16 his unsatisfactory skills in PR(public relation). In the mother's 17 , Mike was a really terrible guy. However, that couldn't change the fact that he had just18her kids.

    Mike just glanced at me and smiled. As I jogged back to my tower, I promised myself I'd never let my own 19 prevent me from 20 a hero when I meet one.

    I've always taught piano lessons in my spare time. Over the years I found that children have 1 musical abilities. Although I've taught some gifted   students, I've also met so-called "musically 2" pupils. One such student is Robby.

    Robby was already 11 years old when his mother sent him for his first 3 lesson. I prefer that students begin at an earlier age. I 4 it to Robby, but he said it had always been his mother's 5 to hear him play the piano. So I took him as a student.

    6 Robby tried very hard, he didn't have the basic sense of music. However, he 7 and he would always say, "My mom's going to hear me play some day." But it seemed 8, and I was disappointed by his slow progress. Then one day Robby didn't come. He 9 me his mother was sick. I was glad that he stopped coming, since he was really a bad 10 for my teaching!

    Several weeks later I was 11 my students for the music show when Robby came and said, "Miss Handorf, I've wanted to play." I don't know what made me 12 him to do that. Maybe it was his 13 that touched me.

The night for the show came. It went well. Then Robby came up on stage. I was 14 when he said he had chosen one of the most difficult pieces of Mozart. But I was not prepared for what I heard next. His fingers were light on the keys. They 15 danced on the keys. He played so well that everyone was 16excitedly.

    In tears I 17 up to stage. "Oh, Robby! How would you do it?" "Well, Miss Handorf, I 18 practicing at home. Remember I told you my mom was sick? In fact she had cancer and passed away this morning. And she was born 19, she could never hear me play the piano, but tonight was the first time she ever heard me. I wanted to make it 20."