【推荐1】My brother Tom pushed me hard with his elbow. “Walk faster. We have to make it to the front door before Dad sees Mr. Fleming. He’s sitting on a bench across the street.” I glanced over my shoulder at our father, who walked several paces behind us. He was busy searching for the house keys and didn’t notice the man we wished to avoid. “If Dad stops to talk to him, our lives will be ruined! By tomorrow it will be all over school again that our dad is friendly with a bum. Remember the last time? I got into that fight because Jim said Dad was just like Mr. Fleming—a miscreant（恶棍）and that people of the same kind tend to stick together.” I didn’t know what a miscreant was, but I figured it was something bad. “I don’t know why Dad bothers with him. Mr. Fleming has no job. His family left him. He spent time in jail. He doesn’t even have his own home. ”

Just at that time, Mr. Fleming saw my father. “Mr. Clements! How are you today?” He crossed the street and shook our father’s hand. “I was announced last week that I’ll be out of work.” There was a note of concern in Mr. Fleming’s voice when he replied. “I’m sorry to hear that. If there is anything I can do for you, you just knock on my door.” Dad’s eyebrow furrowed as if he was in deep thought. “I have a job offer in New Jersey that I’m pretty sure I’ll have to accept. It’s far away, so I’ll only be able to come home on weekends. If you have the time I would like to hire you to take care of the things here during my absence.” Shock, then hope ran across Mr. Fleming’s face. “Are you sure you want to hire me? You know what people will say.” “Let them talk. I’m hiring you because you are a good man, a hard worker, who made a mistake in his life—a mistake you’ve paid for dearly.”

After Mr. Fleming left, Tom boldly questioned our Dad’s decision. “You can’t hire him! He’s no good! Nobody will want to be friends with us if he’s around!” Dad’s words, when he quoted Martin Luther King Jr., were firm: “The final measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Dad looked from my face to Tom’s. “Do you understand? Just because other people won’t approve, our family shouldn’t be afraid to help him.”

Dad cupped my chin in his large hand, continued, “You know, after the factory laid off Mr. Fleming, his little daughter became ill. In desperation, he stole the drugs he needed to help keep her alive. He went to prison. While he served his sentence, the child died, and his sad wife returned to her parents where later she also died. He was left with nothing, not even his dignity.” I suddenly felt terrible. I could tell by the way Tom looked at the ground instead of up at Dad that he regretted what he’d said about Mr. Fleming.

The new year brought many changes to our family. We only saw our father on the weekends, but we didn’t worry when Dad was away because of Mr. Fleming. He handled everything with a smile, from a broken pipe to a leaky roof. Some nights Mom invited him to stay for dinner during which his tales of travels during World War II held our attention. And it was Mr. Fleming who carried a bloody Tom four blocks to the hospital when he fell off his bike.

Despite the good Mr. Fleming did for our family, some people continued to keep away from him—and now us. Mom was dropped from several committees. Tom and I were not invited to classmates’ parties. Strangely enough, we found that none of this bothered us because we knew what Dad said had already rooted in our hearts.

【推荐2】One summer night, the whole family of Irene was asleep with the windows open. It was very quiet when there was a loud noise from the stable(马厩）.Irene woke up from her sweet dream,and the noise continued.Then she heard a horse running fast towards the house.The next thing she saw was her horse,Thunder,standing outside of her window,neighing(嘶叫） and shaking his head.She knew something was wrong.Irene quickly got everyone out of the house before the earthquake hit.Thunder saved her life.

As amazing as this story is,it is not as uncommon as you may hear of the story of Doris and her cat Maggie.One night,Doris was in a deep sleep when she was woken by her cat Maggie.Maggie was meowing wildly outside Doris's bedroom and throwing herself against the closed bedroom door.When Doris opened her eyes,she saw her bedroom full of smoke.As she escaped her house,she saw a fire was burning in her kitchen.Even though Maggie could have escaped the house through a cat door,she wouldn't leave Doris.

There are also stories of wild animals coming to the rescue of humans.Once,Lyndon was surfing with his friend when he was attacked by a four-meter shark.During the attack,a group of dolphins came to his rescue by forming protective ring around Lyndon until be could get safely to shore.Without the help of the dolphins,there is little chance that Lyndon could have escaped.

No one is sure why animals have so often come to our rescue.However,it is clear that most of us haven't realized their kindness.It is important that we care for them as much as we can.

【推荐1】Their combined ages of 211—with 80 years of marriage-makes them the oldest living couple on Earth, according to the Guinness World Records, but for John Henderson, 106, and his wife Charlotte, 105, of Austin, Texas, it's as if time never mattered.

The couple, who met in 1934 while attending the University of Texas where Charlotte was studying to become a teacher and John played for the university's football team, married in 1939 during the Great Depression.

Longhorn Village, the senior living community where the Hendersons live, helped the couple celebrate their anniversary on December 22 by throwing a huge party with friends and family. The two lovebirds were also surprised with a 1920s roadster for the day, similar to the one John used to drive to impress Charlotte when they first met.

The couple's great-nephew, Jason Free, who applied for world records for them, spoke to a reporter of NBC in Austin, Texas about his great-uncle and aunt's special relationship.

“They are a wonderful couple, and an example of a very happy couple.. . glad to be around each other, travel together, and live life,” Jason said. "They'll tell each other the stories of the past, but they don't dwell on the past-they remember it, but they look forward to the future, and they've always been that way. ”

The couple settled in Longhorn Village, a retirement community for University of Texas alumni and staff, after returning 10 years ago. Although they never had kids, the two were always surrounded by children, Charlotte while teaching and John while coaching junior high football. John is currently the oldest living football player for the University of Texas and according to PEOPLE, the two have attended at least one game every year for the last 84 years.

“I'm thankful for life itself and being able to live a full life and really a healthy life,“ said John. "I'm thankful for every day that rolls around," Charlotte added. "I'm just thankful for everything. ”

【推荐2】Recently, my mother asked me to drop off some letters at the post office and pick up some stamps for her. Without giving it a thought, I took the letters and purchased her stamps.

A few days later, she mentioned that one of the letters I had mailed was missing a stamp, and asked me if I had put a stamp on it. She had remembered asking me to put a stamp on it, though I certainly had not heard her. So, unfortunately, it looked like the letter, which was a bill of course, would come back marked "Return to Sender for Insufficient Postage". A few days went by and I returned to the post office to pick up our mail. While I was there, I saw the postmaster and happened to tell him about Mom’s letter missing the stamp. I asked him to be on the lookout for it coming back. It was then that he told me his story. "You know," he said, "I immediately saw after you had dropped the mail off that your letter was missing a stamp. I also noticed that it was a bill for a credit card company. I thought to myself that you have always been kind to me and my partner, and I wanted to return the favor. So, to prevent your mother from getting charged a late fee from the credit card company, I took money from our change dish (extra pennies for folks who need one), and purchased a stamp for you."

When I heard it, I couldn’t believe it. What a blessing that was! I thanked him over and over again for putting the stamp on the letter for us. Then, I immediately dumped(倾倒) all the change out of my purse and into the penny dish in order to help others out in the future. When I got home, I was able to tell Mom the good news. This was kindness karma(因果报应) in action, I believe!