【推荐1】One morning more than thirty years ago, I entered the Track Kitchen, a restaurant where everyone from the humblest (卑微的) to the most powerful came for breakfast. I noticed an empty chair next to an elderly, unshaven man, who looked somewhat disheveled. He was wearing a worn-out hat and was alone. I asked if I might join him. He agreed quietly and I sat down to have my breakfast.

We cautiously began a conversation and spoke about a wide range of things. We never introduced ourselves. I was concerned that he might have no money and not be able to afford something to eat. So as I rose to go back to the counter and buy a second cup of coffee, I asked,

“May I get you something?”

“A coffee would be nice.”

Then I bought him a cup of coffee. We talked more, and he accepted another cup of coffee, Finally, I rose to leave, wished him well, and headed for the exit. At the door I met one of my friends. He asked,

“How did you get to know Mr. Galbreath?”

“Who?”

“The man you were sitting with. He is chairman of the Board of Churchill Downs.”

I could hardly believe it. I was buying, offering a free breakfast, and feeling pity for one of the world’s richest and most powerful men!

My few minutes with Mr. Galbreath changed my life. Now I try to treat everyone with respect, no matter who I think they are, and to meet another human being with kindness and sincerity.

【推荐1】After the Earthquake had stopped, when the rescuers reached the ruins of a young woman’s house, they saw her dead body through the cracks. But her pose was somehow strange that she knelt on her knees like a person was worshipping(礼拜); her body was learning forward, and her two hands were supported by an object. The collapsed house had crashed her back and her head.

With so many difficulties, the leader of the rescue team put his hand through a narrow gap on the wall to reach the woman’s body. He was hoping that this woman could be still alive. However, the cold and stiff body told him that she had passed away for sure.

He and the rest of the team left this house and were going to search the next collapsed building. For some reasons, the team leader was driven by a compelling force to go back to the ruined house of the dead woman. Again, he knelt down and used his hand through the narrow cracks to search the little space under the dead body. Suddenly, he screamed with excitement, “A child! There is a child!”

The whole team worked together; carefully they removed the piles of ruined objects around the dead woman. There was a 3-month-old little boy wrapped in a flowery blanket under his mother’s dead body. Obviously, the woman had made a sacrifice for saving her son. When her house was falling, she used her body to make a cover to protect her son. The little boy was still sleeping peacefully when the team leader picked him up.

The medical doctor came quickly to examine the little boy. After he opened the blanket, he saw a cell phone. There was a text message on the screen. It said, “If you can survive, you must remember that I love you.” This cell phone was passed around from one hand to another. Everybody that read the message wept. “If you can survive, you must remember that I love you.” Such is the mother’s love for her child!

【推荐2】It’s a parent’s job to love and guide kids and most parents will do this as long as they live. That means you have many years ahead to share with your mom and dad. Here are some ways you can stay close, get along and build a strong relationship with your parents:

Spend time together. It might be easy to be physically in the same place with your mom or dad.     1     Instead of playing a computer game or watching TV, ask your mom or dad to play with you.

Share your feelings and ask for help. Many kids say they’d like their parents to help them when they’re upset. But your mom or dad might not know that you’re having a problem.     2     If you don’t usually do this, it may sound funny at first. Try it and you’ll be glad you did.

Be kind.     3     You can brighten a parent’s day with a hug, a card, or a joke. It’s also lovely when a kid offers to help clean up his or her room without being asked. And if you try not to fight with your brothers or sisters, your parents might be so pleased that they’ll do a silly dance around the kitchen!

Show your care. Some families are always kissing, hugging, and saying “I love you.”     4     But it’s important to show that you care for each other. In addition to kisses and hugs, kids and parents show their love by respecting each other, and being warm, polite, and thoughtful.

    5     You don’t have to be perfect, but when you do your best, you make your parents proud. It makes them happy to see how you’re turning into such a great kid. Why? Because it lets them know they’re doing a good job.

【推荐3】My mother at 85 was quick, with good vision and sharp reaction for her age, but one day she knocked into three parked cars on a supermarket parking lot. We never found out exactly how it happened, but the investigators figured Mom hit the accelerator instead of the brake.

Mom was lucky, even though she spent two weeks in the hospital. But we unwillingly concluded that it was time to take away Mom’s car keys. Tears ran down her cheeks. I think she never felt old until that moment, when I took away the independence provided by the car.

In the days that followed, we suggested she take taxis to shop, but she wouldn’t do it. Fortunately, she lived in the city and quickly slipped into the habit of taking the bus. She began to enjoy her new life. But most old people have no convenient public transportation or shops within walking distance.

We seemed to have made a right decision. But is tragedy like that a reason to take away the car keys of the elderly? I think not. Age doesn’t necessarily prove anything. Slower reactions or not, senior citizens are much better than teenagers. They usually drive more slowly. They get honked at a lot, but their slower speed reduces the risk of death and destruction. The worst risk-takers on the highway are young men between the ages of 18 to 25, but no one suggests taking away their keys or raising the driving age to 26.

The death rate in the past year for motorists between 16 and 20, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, was more than double that for drivers over 70. The older citizen who tries to avoid danger is likely to take personal responsibility more seriously than a younger person who causes danger through partying and risk.

So, let Granny drive. Road age is a lot less dangerous than road rage.

【推荐1】Late last year, I needed to transport some furniture from our house to my son’s flat in central London. I should have paid a man to do it, but foolishly confident in my driving ability, I decided to hire a lorry and drive it myself.

Moving the lorry backward in my yard, I crashed into a small shed, causing permanent damage. Fortunately, I owned the shed. I loaded up with the furniture and set out. By now it was rush hour. My nerves broke down, as I drove the huge lorry through the streets nervously.

At last I arrived at Charlotte Street and found an available parking space. I moved the lorry into it only to notice three people at a pavement cafe waving to me. I got out, trembling violently, like one who had just finished a stormy Atlantic crossing. “You’ve hit the car parked behind you,” they said. I examined the car. There were white scratches on its front face. It bore a disabied sign. So, now I was a bad driver and a bad man. Under the severe look of the three, I left an apologetic note on the damaged car’s windscreen, giving my phone number.

I unloaded the furniture, dripping the sweat, wanting only to escape from the monster. I drove it back to its base at Edgware. On arrival, the boss told me I must fill it up with petrol before returning it. “Just charge me,” I cried, still shaking with fear. He stared at me with understanding. No doubt he’d witnessed others in this state before. “How about I drive you to a petrol station, you fill up and I drive it back?” he asked.

He danced the great lorry through the traffic so carefully that it would have shamed me if I had not been so grateful.

【推荐3】Something strange happened when I was 14 years old. Every previous year on Thanksgiving Day I’d woken up early, filled with excitement. But that Thanksgiving, for some reason I saw no reason to celebrate. None of my family were really thankful, I realized. The whole thing was a lie!

During the dinner time, I left, hiding in the guest room and cried. My mom came to see what was wrong. “No one is really thankful!” I sobbed, “They just pretend for one day because that’s what they’re supposed to do!”

After I finished talking, she nodded. “You’re right,” she told me. “It’s fake until you find the truth for yourself.” She said it was my choice whether to celebrate with them or not. She said Thanksgiving is a time to reflect because we don’t always get to see loved ones and eat a good meal. Then she left.

I didn’t listen to her, thinking that every holiday was a lie and I could never find joy celebrating again. But giving in to my starving stomach, I went back to the dining room in a few minutes. I couldn’t believe what I saw. My entire extended family was waiting for me with wide smiles and concerned looks, and the table was covered with untouched plates.

“Andy,” my aunt said, “We can’t eat without you. We’re waiting for your turn. Now you can start it.” I didn’t know what to say first. Finally, I said I was thankful for having a younger brother to teach, play with, and see grow.

The family shared, and everyone had something beautiful to say. Listening to what they said, I suddenly understood what my mom meant about finding out my own reason for celebrating. For me, this holiday was a chance to pause and reflect on everything I cared about.

And with that, I took a huge and satisfying bite of food.