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.

    We all love college reunion(再聚). I feel very lucky to have been able to 1my 25th anniversary reunion. The meals were2welcomed. The celebration was inspiring,3 an overview of the past years. And the 4of my four years on campus were satisfying and5.

    One of my favourite parts was 6about the lives of my classmates. Their7lives-families, relationships-and also their professional work. There's the classmate who is an organic farmer and a leader in the effort to 8 other farmers about organic farming skills; the classmate who9over her family's power plant; the classmate who 10her own company; the classmate who went to a(n)11school and now works as a delivery nurse. All are inspirational. What they also 12 is a commitment to learning, leading, challenging and contributing, all things we learned the value of in college.

    Then there is our classmate who passed away in January 2017. He shared the commitment to all the 13listed above, as well as to the value of adventure and positive thinking. He was missed14 words. As a class, we 15him on Saturday evening and as a college, we did honor to him, along with other classmates who have passed away in the past five years, at a memorial service on Sunday morning. I was honored, on16 of our class and our college, to read his name and 17a candle for him at the service. This classmate was an18throughout his short life.

    I have been 19 on my 25th reunion and on my college days and all the days since. I am 20for the lessons I have learned so far. And I am inspired.

    A lady wanted a birthday gift from her husband. For many months she had liked a beautiful1, and knowing her husband could 2 it, she told him that was all she wanted. On the morning of the 3, her husband told her how 4 he was to have such a good wife, and how much he loved her. He 5 her a beautiful gift package (纸盒). She opened it and 6 a Bible. 7, she raised her voice and said to her husband, “With all your money, you give me a Bible?” She was so 8 that she left him.

    Many years passed and the lady was very 9 in business. She owned two large companies. She 10 her husband was very old, and thought perhaps she should go to 11 him. But before she could, she 12 a letter telling her that he had died, and gave all of his possessions (财产) to her. She needed to come back and 13 things.

    When she arrived at his house, sadness 14 her heart. She saw the still new 15, just as she had left it years before. With 16, she opened it and began to turn the pages. A ring 17 from the Bible to the floor and a 18 could be seen. She picked it up and found it was the ring she wanted in those days. And on the card was the date of her birth, and the words “LUV U ALWAYS”.

    19 your gift is not packaged the way you want it, it's because it is better packaged the way it is! Always appreciate little things; they usually lead you to bigger things! The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched for they must be felt with the 20.

    I had offered to watch my 3-year-old daughter, so that my wife could go out with a friend. I was getting some work done in my study while she 1to be having a good time in the other room. No problem, I figured. But then it got a little too2 and I shouted, "What are you doing?" No response. I3my question and heard her say, "Oh…nothing." Nothing?

    I got up from my desk and ran out 4the living room, where I saw her running across the hall. I followed and watched her as her little behind（小屁股）made a quick5into the bathroom. I had her6! I told her to turn around. She 7. I pulled out my big Daddy voice, "Young lady," I said, "turn around!"

    8, she turned toward me. In her hand was what was left of my wife's new lipstick. And every square inch of her face was9with bright red! As she looked up at me with fearful eyes. I heard10voice that had been shouted to me as a child. "How could you… You should know…How many times have you been 11…What a bad thing to…" It was just a matter of my picking out which old 12 I was going to use on her so that she would know what a bad girl she had been. But 13 I could let loose, I looked14 at the sweater on her. In big 15 it said, "I'M A PERFECT LITTLE ANGEL (天使)!" I looked back up into her tearful eyes and, 16seeing a bad girl who didn't listen, I saw a little angel full of17that I had come dangerously close to18. "Sweetheart, let's take a picture so Mommy can see how 19you look." I took the picture and thanked God that I didn't 20 the chance to prove what a perfect little angel he had given me.

    Dad had a green comb (木梳). He bought it when he married Mum. Every night, he would hand me his 1 and say, “Good girl, help Daddy clean it, OK?”

    I was 2 to do it. At age five, this dull task brought me such 3. I would excitedly turn the tap 4 and brush the comb carefully. Satisfied that I'd done a good job, I would happily return the comb to Dad. He would 5 affectionately (慈爱地) at me and place the comb on his wallet.

    Two years later, Dad started his own 6, which wasn't doing so well. That was when things started to 7. Dad didn't come home as early and as much as he used to. Mum and I became 8 with him for placing our family in trouble. With 9, an uncomfortable silnce grew between us.

    After my graduation, Dad's business was getting back on track. On my 28th birthday, Dad came home 10. As usually I helped him carry his bags into his study. When I turned to leave, he said, “Hey, would you help me 11 my comb?” I looked at him a while, then 12 the comb and headed to the sink(水槽).

    It hit me then: why, as a child, 13 Dad clean his comb was such a pleasure. That routine(习惯) meant Dad was home early to 14 the evening with Mum and me. It 15 a happy and loving family.

    I passed the clean comb back to Dad. He smiled at me and 16placed his comb on his wallet. But this time, I noticed something 17 . Dad had aged. He had wrinkles next to his eyes when he smiled, 18 his smile was still as 19 as before, the smile of a father who just wanted a good 20 for his family.

Failing Successfully

    Two years ago I took part in a speech competition. It was a hard time for me when the judge1 the winners. At last, the moment of truth came. I got the worst.2  not being placed in the competition, I really wanted to 3  again. I realized that finding the right topic was the most important part of the whole 4 . It needs to be motivational and inspirational to the 5 . So I reworked my speech for the following year,6  a different topic and spending countless hours 7  the speech, line by line, word by word to make it 8 better.

The next year I participated in the 9  again. As was expected, my speech 10 down well and I was hoping to do that a bit better this year.11 , my wish didn't come true. The competition was so fierce that again I didn't 12 it.

    I was deeply disappointed, since I couldn't accept the fact that I had 13  twice in something that I had worked so hard on. However, I knew that losing is 14  and part of life. One of the judges said to me that my speech was quite good,15  it needed to be better if I wanted to go any further. He advised me to struggle to16 something like some of the empty gestures. He said that I would surely succeed some day.

    While I didn't earn 17 in the competition, I did gain a new viewpoint. I discovered that I could fail successfully. I think I'll 18  to work hard and enter the next competition. Now, whenever I'm faced with a defeat, I 19  myself of what a famous person said, "The path was worn and slippery. My foot slipped from under me, knocking the other out of the way, but I recovered and said to myself that it's a slip and not a20 ."