During this past year, I’ve had three instances of car trouble. Each time these things happened, I was sick of the way most people hadn’t bothered to help. One of those times, I was on the side of the road for close to three hours with my big Jeep. I put signs in the windows, big signs that said NEED A JACK (千斤顶), and offered money. Nothing. Right as I was about to give up, a Mexican family in a small truck pulled over, and the father bounded out.

He sized up the situation and called for his daughter, who spoke English. He conveyed through her that he had a jack but that it was too small for the Jeep, so we would need something to support it. Then he got a saw (锯子) from the truck and cut a section out of a big log on the side of the road. We rolled it over and put his jack on top, and we were in business.

I started taking the wheel off, and then, if you can believe it, I broke his tire iron. No worries: He handed it to his wife, and she was gone in a flash down the road to buy a new tire iron. She was back in 15 minutes. We finished the job, and I was a very happy man.

The two of us were dirty and sweaty. His wife prepared a pot of water for us to wash our hands. I tried to put a $20 bill in the man’s hand, but he wouldn’t take it, so instead I went up to the truck and gave it to his wife as quietly as I could. I asked the little girl where they lived. Mexico, she said. They were in Oregon so Mommy and Daddy could work on a fruit farm for the next few weeks. Then they would go home.

When I was about to say goodbye, the girl asked if I’d had lunch.

After they left, I got into my Jeep and opened the paper bag.

I was a single mother in my 30s who lived down and out with my daughter Peggy in a small apartment, struggling hard to make our needs meet.

One day, I headed to the downtown for an interview. I sat down in the streetcar, and there against the seat was a beautiful silk umbrella with a silver handle decorated with gold scrolls, among which there was a name carved.

On impulse(冲动) I determined to find the owner myself. I got off the streetcar in the heavy rain and thankfully opened the umbrella to protect myself. Then I searched a telephone book for the name, I found it immediately and called it, waiting patiently, and then a lady answered.

"Yes, “she said in surprise, with extreme excitement." It was my umbrella which had been stolen a year ago.”

So appealing was her pleasure that I forgot I was looking for a job and went directly to her small house. She took the umbrella, with teary eyes, explaining with choking voice that the umbrella was given by her parents, now dead, Her happiness at retrieving(找回)this special possession was such that to have accepted her reward would have spoiled something, so I refused her offer and left.

The following months were hard. I can only obtain temporary employment, for a small salary. What was worse, I had just lost my last job before Christmas, with only fifteen dollars left. Unless a miracle happened, I would be homeless in January, foodless and jobless. I had prayed steadily for weeks, and there had been no answer but this coldness and darkness.

The air was full of Christmas merriment, with the bells ringing and children shouting in the bitter dusk of the evening. But there should be no Christmas for me, I knew, no gifts, no remembrance whatsoever.

Thinking of this, I couldn’t control my tears on my way home, but I managed a smile so could greet my little daughter. She opened the door for me and threw herself in my arms, screaming joyously and demanding desirably for her Christmas gift. There I stood, frozen, overwhelmed by misery.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang and Peggy rushed to answer it, calling that it must be Santa Claus.

Suddenly, a note attached to one package caught my eyes.

We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.

Growing up, I wanted to be just like my mom. Kind and caring, she always seemed to make people comfortable in her presence. For years she was a volunteer in our community. I loved going to the local nursing home to help with her until I hit my preteen years. Suddenly, I was too caught up in my adolescent world to worry about helping others.

One particular summer day when I was twelve, Mom came into my room and told me to get up and meet her at the car. I had planned to spend the day at the lake with friends. Why did she have to ruin everything? Eventually, I made my way outside. I imagined the lake water cooling my skin. Annoyed, I climbed into the car and slammed the door shut. I sat in silence, too upset to make a conversation.

“Tasha, would you like to know where we are going?” Mom asked calmly.

“I guess…,” I murmured under my breath.

“Sweetheart, we are going to a children’s shelter, I have been there before and I think it would benefit you,” she explained.

I felt a knot slowly form in my stomach. How was I supposed to help there?

When we reached the shelter, I was rather surprised. It was a large white Victorian home. As we approached the large front porch, wind bells played a calming tune while trees and blossoms welcomed us. Maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad.

Mom rang the doorbell. The door flew open and we were led to the front room, where all of the children were playing. Toys were spread out across the floor. I noticed a baby whose body was scarred with wounds. The majority of the children had noticeable physical scars（伤疤） such as cuts, scratches and burns. What a terrible life they had before they moved here! My heart sank.

As I was looking around, I felt a gentle pull on my shirt.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I returned to the shelter with Mom several times._______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

An anxious call came into Jimmy Gilleece’s bar. A newly married woman, who had spent the afternoon at the bar, couldn’t find her wallet. She didn’t care about her ID, credit cards, or $150 in cash—but her wedding ring was inside.

Gilleece didn’t like the idea that a theft could have occurred at his place. So he set out to find the wallet. He spent hours looking through security-camera videos, watching the woman’s every step in the bar until she went to sit on a chair outside and left when her ride arrived. Within minutes, a young man approached the bench, slipped something into his pocket, and walked off. Gilleece posted a clip (剪辑) on the bar’s Facebook page. “I didn’t want to punish him,” he said. “I just asked if anybody knew who the guy was.”

Within hours, Gilleece got a text from 17-year-old Prather, who admitted having taken the wallet and told Gilleece he’d done it because he hadn’t eaten in two days. He said he saw the ring but thought it was fake(假的), so he took the money and threw the wallet off the dock (码头) into the ocean. Then he bought a sandwich.

Gilleece, unsure whether he believed Prather, told the teen to meet him at the dock, where they got talking and Prather revealed that he wasn’t getting along with his family and had been living in the woods for a week. Judging from Prather’s small body and red cheeks, Gilleece saw him for what he was: more of a kid than a criminal.

But the police were already on the case, and because of the missing ring, Prather could be facing charges. “He would be going to big boy prison. I have to help him somehow,” Gilleece thought.

Para. 1：Gilleece paid two divers to search the waters where Prather had thrown the wallet.

Para. 2: Then suddenly a diver came up to the surface of the water.

A Chinese boy is reported to have spent about 2 million yuan in studying in New Zealand but failed to get any diploma. He even could not take care of himself and his grandmother had to feed him.

The man in the case is a so-called adult baby, because his deeds make him almost the same as a baby. He cannot take care of himself. He is unable to go to school, let alone finish studies. He even relies on his grandmother to feed him.

However, he burns money faster than any normal student. He spent about 2 million yuan in two years overseas, but could not finish even the preparatory courses. We do not mean to judge his choice, but someone who lacks the basic ability to survive has little chance of success in any modern society.

In a later interview, the mother of the boy was in tears and said she regretted not having taught her son well.She also told the story about how she “educated” her son: meeting all his demands, even the unreasonable ones. When he did not perform well in school, she simply spent money in sending him overseas; she would buy whatever he wanted. That was bad for her and bad for him.