【推荐1】17-year-old Elexis Webster grew up homeless with cruel family members and serious health problems. But Webster has got over these difficulties to become an honor student at her high school.

The teen spent her childhood living in dug-outs (防空洞), cars, and any place where her family could find shelter. She was treated cruelly by her mother, a drug user, who left her and her sister alone without food for days. Her older brother disturbed her study too many tunes. Her poor living conditions led to her becoming extremely weak, which caused her to miss school often.

However, she got a 4.1 GPA in the exam, though many wouldn’t expect her to have such a hard life. Surviving in the family in an environment like that, she was able to come out of it, and she knew she had to make the best of what happened to her.

At 14, her mother was put in prison for leaving Webster and her sister in a car in the middle of a school day. The two girls were placed in foster care (寄养所) with a woman whom Webster still lives with. She calls her “Mema”.

“Mema”, who the teen sees as her mom, encouraged Webster as she returned school again. Even after missing three years of school, Webster was able to be excellent. Now Webster has planned to attend University of California at Los Angeles and study physics.

“I got to a place where I was able to keep going and push for higher than a 4.1 and push to get into a really great college or university. I see success. I see happiness and I see peace,” she told KPIX 5.

【推荐2】A minister was on a long flight from China to London. The first warning of the approaching problems came when the sign on the airplane flashed on: Fasten your seat belts. Then, after a while, a calm voice said, "We shall not be serving the drinks at this time as there is going to be something unexpected. Please be sure seat belt is fastened."

Soon the storm broke out. One moment the airplane was lifted on terrific currents of air. The plane dropped as if it were about to crash.

The minister believed that he shared the discomfort and fear of those around him. As he looked around the plane, he could see that nearly all the passengers were upset and alarmed. The future seemed ominous and many were wondering if they would make it through the storm. Then he suddenly saw a little girl. Apparently the storm meant nothing to her. She was reading a book and everything within her small world was calm orderly. Sometimes she closed her eyes and then she would read again. Then she would straighten her legs, worry and fear were not in her world. The minister could hardly believe his eyes.

It was not surprising therefore that when the plane finally reached its destination and all the passengers hurried to leave, the minister walked up to the girl he had watched for such a long time. Having commented about the storm and the behavior of the plane, he asked why she had not been afraid. The girl replied, "Because my dad is the pilot, and he's taking me home."

【推荐1】He must have been completely lost in something he was reading because I had to tap on the car window to get his attention. “Is your car available?” I asked when he finally looked up at me. He nodded, then said apologetically as I settled into the back seat, “I’m sorry, but I was reading a letter.” He sounded as if he had a cold. “I am not in a hurry,” I told him. “Go ahead and finish your letter.” He shook his head. “I’ve read it several times already. I guess I almost know it by heart.” “Letters from home always mean a lot,” I said.

“This isn’t family,” he replied. “Although it might just as well have been family, Old Ed was my oldest friend. In fact, we used to call each other ‘Old Friend’— when we’d meet. I’m not much good at writing.”

“I don’t think any of us keep up our correspondence (通信) very well,” I said. “I know I don’t, but I take it he’s someone you’ve known quite a while?”

“All my life. We were kids together, went to school together and all the way through high school.” “There are not too many people who’ve had such a long friendship,” I said. “Actually,” the driver went on, “I hadn’t seen him more than once or twice a year over the past 25 or 30 years because I moved away from the old neighborhood and you kind of lose touch even though you never forget.”

“You said ‘was’. Does that mean ?” he nodded. “A couple of weeks ago.” “I’m sorry.”

He didn’t say anything more, and we rode on in silence for a few minutes. But I realized that Old Ed was still on his mind when he spoke again, almost more to himself than to me. “I should have kept in contact with him.” “Well,” I agreed, “we should all keep in touch with old friends more than we do. But things come up and we just don’t seem to find the time.”

When I got to my hotel room I didn’t unpack right away. First I had to write a letter — and mail it.

【推荐2】When the sun comes up over the castle of Rocca Calascio, a small mountain village high up in the Italian Apennines, it’s like a silent, magic wonderland. One such sunrise struck Franco Cagnoli with a spiritual calling that led him to go on a mission that affected both the village and him deeply.

Rocca Calascio has seen no resident since 1957. Depopulation of rural or mountain villages in Italy began with the resettlement of villagers in the early 20th century, happening faster after World War II when people were attracted to urban jobs.

However, like many places, the area is enjoying a revival (复苏) and now home to some families. “To put it in romantic terms, there is a love story between me and the ancient building,” Cagnoli said as he showed visitors round the castle of Rocca Calascio. The castle, with foundations dating back about 1, 000 years, is one of the highest in Europe. It began as a tower in a line of connected structures to control and protect the land that stretched inland from the Adriatic Sea.

Cagnoli, now 39, first saw Rocca Calascio when he was 16. He was on a road trip to find himself. “I arrived here as the morning sun lit up the castle. I was blinded by the light and since that day something inside me has changed,” he said. “I thought it was the most beautiful place. I felt special energies, deciding to help its rebirth.” He’s now the castle’s caretaker and head of a cooperative whose members guide visitors.

“Besides temporary visitors, the complete revival has much to do with permanent residents. People of the previous generation didn’t appreciate the land they lived on,” Valeria Befani, a resident in the village, said. “Today’s teenagers, like my children, are proud of their land and are happy if they can stay here. ”

【推荐3】Alex Elman runs a big business — something hard to imagine after she lost her sight in her twenties. But Elman says that losing her sight helped her focus on finding success.

Elman's father planted a hillside vineyard in western Massachusetts in 1981. It's where Elman fled during the darkest period of her life. When she was 27 years old, she went blind due to complications from Juvenile diabetes (青少年糖尿病)17 years ago. She recalled, "I hid in my home. I hid in the place, to me, that was the safest place in the world."

Elman is now the founder of Alex Elman Wines, a growing collection of organic wines from all around the world: Chianti from Italy, Torrontes from Argentina. Elman doesn't work alone. Her assistant, a guide dog named Hanley, is something of a wine taster, and quite a beggar. Hanley travels to all of the wineries that Elman does, from South America to Europe.

At first, Elman resisted the idea of a seeing-eye dog. Now it's hard to imagine her life, or her business, without him. She said, "When someone tells me something is organic and I don't really believe it because I taste something funny on it, I'll put it in front of his face and if he likes the wine, he'll actually go in and sniff it. If it's not right, he'll turn his head away ... He gets in the dirt with me. He scratches around. He makes sure that we see earthworms and butterflies. That's how we know that the soil is actually organic, that there are no chemicals."

Elman told CBS News she believes the loss of her vision was a gift. She said, "It allowed me to pay attention to what I thought was important and also to be able to teach people that the broken hang nail is not a big deal, you know what I mean? Don't sweat the small stuff. Don't sweat the big stuff either."

【推荐1】One of my wonderful memories is about a Christmas gift. Unlike other gifts, it came without wrap.

On September 11th, 1958, Mum gave birth to Richard. After she brought him home from the hospital, she put him in my lap, saying, “I promised you a gift, and here it is.” What an honor! I turned four a month earlier and none of my friends had such a baby doll of their own. I played with it day and night. I sang to it. I told it stories. I told it over and over how much I loved it!

One morning, however, I found its bed empty. My doll was gone! I cried for it. Mum wept and told me that the poor little thing had been sent to the hospital. It had a fever. For several days, I heard Mum and Dad whispering such words as “hopeless”, “pitiful”, and “dying”, which sounded ominous.

Christmas was coming. “Don’t expect any presents this year.” Dad said, pointing at the socks I hung in the living room. “If your baby brother lives, that’ll be Christmas enough.” As he spoke, his eyes filled with tears. I’d never seen him cry before.

The phone rang early on Christmas morning. Dad jumped out of bed to answer it. From my bedroom I heard him say, “What? He’s all right?” He hung up and shouted upstairs. “The hospital said we can bring Richard home!” And I heard Mum cry.

From the upstairs window, I watched my parents rush out to the car. I had never seen them so happy. And I was also full of joy. What a wonderful day! My baby doll would be home. I ran downstairs. My socks still hung there flat. But I knew they were not empty; they were filled with love!

【推荐2】Hugh Lyon and David Lawrence have been riding together for years. They have both lived in Falkirk, Scotland their whole lives, but didn’t meet until they got involved in Cycling Without Age. “Despite the fact that we’re 20 years apart in age, roughly, we both went to the same secondary school,” said Lyon, 74.

The 56-year-old Lawrence serves as a “pilot”, driving the trishaw — a bike with a passenger seat in the front that Cycling Without Age uses for their rides. They go for rides about once a week, often discussing the history of their town.

“It gives me a connection with people from an older generation,” said Lawrence. “Unfortunately, I’ve lost both my parents; they’re no longer with us. And for me, it gives that connection with older people and I enjoy spending time with them and hearing their stories.”

Ole Kassow, who founded Cycling Without Age, said that’s the power of the program. “The truly powerful thing about these bike rides is that they tie people and stories together to create new relationships,” Kassow said. “In my experience, friendships and the ability to form new relationships at any age are what define a good life, and often also a long and happy life.”

Kassow started Cycling Without Age in Copenhagen in 2012, but there are now 2, 700 chapters in 52 countries.

John Seigel Boettner started the Santa Barbara chapter. He has one rule for passengers. “They ask, ‘If I’m going to go for a ride, what’s it going to cost?’ I say, ‘Here’s what it costs: It costs, you have to wave. If you don’t wave, I’m going to kick you out,’” he joked.

Boettner said, “When you take a 101-year-old woman for a bike ride and she holds your hand tightly and says thank you and gives you a kiss on the cheek, it doesn’t get any better than that.”