I grew up on a farm as the sixth of seven children. We lived a poor life at that time. My parents often1during meals how everything on the table came from the farm.
My2used to work as a carpenter (木匠). In the fall of 1970, something3happened. The ladder(梯子) broke when Dad was working on a house. His back was so badly hurt that he4stay in hospital for three weeks.
On Thanksgiving, Dad was5in hospital. We always butchered(屠宰) pigs the day after the holiday, and that year one of our neighbors6to help us. Dad returned home several day slater,7he was still unable to work. I was too young to realize our family had no money coming in.
One day after dinner, we heard a car coming. When Mom8the door, we saw Peggy Phelan with an envelope(信封).She told us that she had collected some9for us. Dad didn't want to10the money, but Peggy said, "Archie, whenever someone needed help, you were always there. Now. it's11turn to do something."
That evening, I12what a good neighbor was like. Because my parents were both good neighbors, others were glad to repay all their13. Anyway, my parents were used to being givers14receivers. They never stopped showing us kids the value of being15. Their acts of kindness not only changed others' lives, but also their own lives.
