Mary Verdi-Fletcher was born with spina bifida (脊柱裂), a disease that causes weakness in the legs and spine. Undiscouraged, she was not about to be told what she could or could not do. She believes that someone who is an artist is an artist from the day he or she is born. She dreamed of dancing and made up her mind to make her dream a reality. While still young, Verdi-Fletcher — dancing in her wheelchair — entered a dance competition with a friend. They won first prize. Later she won more competitions, refusing to listen to people who said to her “ You can’t dance if you’re in a wheelchair” or “ Dancing in a chair is not really dancing”.

However, Verdi-Fletcher was not pleased with personal success alone. She wanted to make dance available to others with disabilities. In 1980, she founded a dance company called Dancing Wheels Company. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, Dancing Wheels Company performs all over the world. In productions like “ The Snowman”, sit-down dancers perform with stand-up dancers. Modern lighting designs, attractive sets (布景), wonderful music, and festive costuming draw audience into fairy tales and other stories.

In one show, a young stand-up dancer named Devin played “The Brother Who Cannot See” while a young sit-down dancer named Jenny performed the role of “ The Sister Who Cannot Walk” . It was a lovely way to express a theme Verdi-Fletcher has represented all through her life: We all have disabilities. Some disabilities may be more noticeable, but hard work and devotion to our dreams can make the seemingly impossible become a reality.

   I was attending a party one night given in Sir Ross's honor. During the dinner, the man sitting next to me told a humorous story and spoke of the quotation:“There's a divinity（神）that shapes our ends, /Rough-hew them how we will. ”

The storyteller mentioned that the quotation was from the Bible. He was wrong. I knew that； I knew it positively. There couldn't be the slightest doubt about it. And so, to get a feeling of importance and show my high quality, I chose myself as an unwelcome person to correct him. He stuck to his guns. “What? From Shakespeare? Impossible! Absurd ! That quotation was from the Bible. ”

The storyteller was sitting at my right hand, and Frank Gammond, an old friend of mine, was seated at my left hand. Mr. Gammond had devoted years to the study of Shakespeare, so the storyteller and I agreed to leave the question to Mr. Gammond. Mr. Gammond listened, kicked me under the table, and then said ,“Dale, you are wrong. The gentleman is right. It is from the Bible. ”

On our way home that night, I said to Mr. Gammond,“Frank, you knew that quotation was from Shakespeare. ”

“Yes, of course,”he replied. “Hamlet, Act V, Scene 2. But we were guests on a festive occasion, my dear Dale. Why prove to a man he is wrong? Is that going to make him like you? Why not let him save his face? He didn't ask for your opinion. He didn't want it. Why argue with him?”The man who said that taught me a lesson I would never forget. I not only had made the storyteller uncomfortable, but had put my friend in an embarrassing situation. How much better it would have been if I hadn't become argumentative.

Nine times out of ten, an argument ends with each of the contestants（竞争者）more firmly convinced than ever that he is absolutely right. You can't win an argument. You can't because if you lose it, you lose it； and if you win it, you lose it.

   A couple of years ago I graduated from art school. After graduation I was unsure of what to do with my degree. I had majored in Illustration（插画专业）and loved it，but didn't really feel interested in doing illustrations for any companies. This left me with few options other than freelance（自由职业的）jobs and nannying.

I spent two years working as a nanny doing freelance illustrations on the side. It just wasn't quite enough to pay rent, but I loved it, so I worked well over 50 hours a week, trying to keep up with both.

Just under a year ago I went to a friend's wedding. I couldn't think of a gift for them and really didn't have a lot of money to spare so I used my talents to create a portrait for them. It wasn't much, but I hoped it would be a good gift. When I handed the portrait to them and they unwrapped it, the looks on their faces were something I did not expect. There were joyful tears in their eyes as they cried, "That's us! This is so beautiful!"

It's funny because when I was in art school portraits were always my least favourite assignment. I hated drawing people and was always so much more interested in drawing little furry creatures. Once I saw the looks on my friends' faces after giving them their portrait, it was all over. I suddenly loved portraits and wanted to do more.

I now take portraits to every wedding I go to and have given them as gifts to the families I nannied for. Every time the reaction makes all of the hard work and time I put into them so worth it.

I' ve just started offering couple, family and pet portraits as an item on my Etsy shop.

   I grew up in a small town. There was a man named Joe, who was uneducated and couldn’t talk _______. He was good-natured but not very smart, _______ everyone teased him.

One day when I was sitting on the porch, he came walking by. I was about 12 and thought it would make me _______ grown-up to play jokes on him as some _______ did.

He asked what I was doing. I told him that my father had _______ his job and that we were short of money. I could see my friends nearby _______ so I went on with the _______. From his _______ expression, I was convinced that I had fooled him ________

I knew he lived a ________ life with low income, so it was ________ when he asked whether we needed anything. I told him that we didn’t know if we would have enough to ________, and he replied, “You poon thing.”

That night I heard the door ________ softly. I thought it was the wind whipping against the door, so I ________ it. The next morning I found a small box of food outside my house. I knew it was from Joe. I looked into the box of canned food with ________ in my eyes. I felt ashamed of taking advantage of his ________ for me. Later I ________ the whole story to my father and said I wanted to return the box. My father scolded me and ________ that I keep the box; otherwise it would hurt Joe’s feelings.

Although the food was not ________, I knew Joe gave the best he had. I did not ________ the gift.

   Driving home from work every day on a long winding country road, I passed a house where an elderly man sat on his front porch (走廊). I had been _____ to him only when I first moved into my home. For these past fifteen years, I have _____ my window, waved, and shouted, “Hi, Charlie.“ I felt _____ to greet him in this way because I couldn’t _____ going through a day without hearing someone say my name. I felt he also needed to hear his name _____ by someone else.

I used to _____ his wife, too, when she was out walking their dog. She was a _____ woman in a long wool coat0, whatever the _____. I didn’t know her name, but I’d _____ and say “Hi, Grandma“ and she’d smile and wave back.

But then came the day when she was not ______ walking their dog; instead, Charlie was doing so. I realized he was alone, and the desire to greet him grew ______. My window was rolled down before I came around the corner, and ______ he was not on the porch, I’d shout to him, hoping that in his ______ he’d hear me. As long as there was a ______ on in the house, I felt that he was all right.

But that day came when he had to sell his belongings; Charlie’s pickup truck was ______ on the front lawn. A few days later, a sign was ______, and I knew Charlie was gone. I still wave and ______, “Hi, Charlie” as I pass just as I did in the past. The house is dark now.

It is my ______ that all of us need to be greeted at least once a day and that we need to hear our names spoken aloud by another person, to know someone sees us and ______ the truth of our being. I believe it is our duty to greet each other each day, in this way to prove that ______.