5 . 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 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 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.”

7 . We do not stop playing because we are old: we grow old because we stop playing. That’s what I learnt from my new and special friend. On the first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn’t know.

I looked around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady with a smile. She said, “Hi, handsome. My name is Rose. I’m eight-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?” I laughed and enthusiastically responded, “Of course you may!” She gave me a giant squeeze. “Why are you in college at such a young innocent age?” I asked jokingly. “I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one!” she replied. After class we walked to the Students Union building and shared a chocolate milkshake there. We became instant friends.

Every day of the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always listening to this “time machine” as she shared her wisdom and experience with me. Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends whenever she went. At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football dinner. I’ll never forget what she taught us.

“There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. Any body can grow old. That doesn’t take any talent of ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunities in change. Have no regrets. The elderly usually don’t have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets.”

She concluded her speech by courageously singing The Song of Rose. She challenged each of us to study the lyrics(歌词)and live them out in our daily life. At the year’s end, Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.

8 . Peanuts to This

Proudly reading my words, I glanced around the room, only to find my classmates bearing big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes. Confused, I glanced toward my stone-faced teacher. Having no choice, I slowly raised the report I had slaved over, hoping to hide myself. “What could be causing everyone to act this way?”

Quickly, I flashed back to the day Miss Lancelot gave me the task. This was the first real talk I received in my new school. It seemed simple: go on the Internet and find information about a man named George Washington. Since my idea of history came from an ancient teacher in my home country, I had never heard of that name before. As I searched the name of this fellow, it became obvious that there were two people having the same name who looked completely different! One invented hundreds of uses for peanuts, while the other led some sort of army across America. I stared at the screen, wondering which one my teacher meant. I called my grandfather for a golden piece of advice: flip (掷) a coin. Heads—the commander, and tails—the peanuts guy. Ah! Tails, my report would be about the great man who invented peanut butter, George Washington Carver.

But now, I was totally lost. Oh well, I lowered the paper and sat down at my desk, burning to find out what I had done wrong. As a classmate began his report, it all became clear, “My report is on George Washington, the man who started the American Revolution.” The whole world became quite! How could I know that she meant that George Washington?

Obviously, my grade was awful. Heartbroken but fearless, I decided to turn this around. I talked to Miss Lancelot, but she insisted: No re-dos; no new grade. I felt that the punishment was not justified, and I believed I should have a second chance. Consequently, I threw myself heartily into my work for the rest of the school year. Ten months later, that chance unfolded as I found myself sitting in the headmaster’s office with my grandfather, now having an entirely different conversation. I smiled and flashed back to the embarrassing moment at the beginning of the year as the headmaster informed me of my decision to skip the sixth grade. Justice is sweet!

9 . It’s Never Too Late to Pursue a Dream

Six weeks before his 97^th birthday, Giuseppe Paterno fulfilled the dream of a lifetime: He got a university degree. “Don’t get lost because you find obstacles — because there will always be obstacles,” Mr. Patero told reporters after he graduated with honors last week from the University of Palermo, where he received a degree in history and philosophy. “You have to be strong.”

    1     It is partly because of his age. But he has also drawn attention because his life story speaks of commitment, a theme that has resonated (引起共鸣) as millions of schoolchildren in Italy and elsewhere face extraordinary uncertainty amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Born in Palenmo in 1923, the first of seven children in a “very poor family”,     2     It was only after he retired, in the mid-1980s, that he returned to his books.

“    3     You can remain young — if not in age at least in spirit — if you cultivate interests,” said Rossella Cancila, his thesis adviser and a professor of history at the University of Palermo.

Italy’s university system is based on a three-year degree, followed by a two-year master’s course.     4    

He isn’t so sure. “I have to confess that in this moment, I don’t know whether I would cope with it with the same spirit,” he said, noting that all the attention had been a bit tiring. Still, Mr. Paterno said, he would probably enroll anyway. “I want to keep my option open.”

10 . Nancy Meherne lives a simple life by the sea, gardening and surfing at Scarborough Beach just a walking distance from her house. The 92-year-old’s board was made in New Zealand in the 1970s. Unlike its owner, it’s a little seriously worn out (its blue and red pattern is long gone) — but it’s easy to carry and suits her just fine. Often wearing just a swimsuit, despite summer water temperatures ranging from 14℃ to 18℃, the grandmother of seven walks to waist-deep water, waits for the perfect wave and jumps on.

Born in Wellington in 1929 at the beginning of the Great Depression, Meherne says her life has been full of interesting or exciting moments. In her early 20s, after training and working as a schoolteacher, she left New Zealand by ship to study and work in England and other countries in Europe, spending her weekends and holidays exploring the region, taking free rides, sleeping on train platforms and staying in youth hotels.

Her travels also took her to India, Afghanistan, Syria, Lebanon and Pakistan where she taught at a school for three months. After returning to New Zealand, Meherne raised three children with her husband, Doug, while teaching in primary schools. Her teaching philosophy was similar to her life philosophy, “You’ve got to have fun.”

She remembers seeing the ocean for the first time and being shocked at its grandness. A keen swimmer and surf life saver in her youth, Meherne says she didn’t take up surfing until her late 30s or early 40s when she was living in Sumner and started borrowing her son’s board. “I never did try and stand up, but I loved it. I’d go whenever I could.”

Meherne will be 93 in August, 2022 and says she will keep surfing for as long as she is able to “do a little jump” to get on the waves. Her husband Doug says, “She has certainly kept the bar pretty high there. She has aged but she hasn’t got old — you know what I’m saying?”