A young Los Angeles actor in need of a second job to pay his bills has come up with a brilliant way to supplement his income — people walking.

Chuck McCarthy originally considered becoming a dog walker to earn some extra cash, but soon realized that the job requires more than walking dogs on a leash. However, walking people doesn’t require much when they are out on walks. Chuck realized there would be money to be made if he walks people around Los Angeles instead.

It might sound like a joke, but The People Walker, as he calls himself, is very serious about his new job. For $7 per mile, he offers to walk with clients around L. A., listening to their problems or simply making conversations and offering them a sense of security. At 6 feet, 2 inches, and with a bulky figure and bushy beard, Chuck doesn’t look like the kind of guy you’d want to mess with.

Chuck’s services are aimed at people who need a motivational boost to go walking, those who don’t feel safe walking alone in some areas, and those who are afraid that people might see them walking by themselves and think that they have no friends. “I wear my The People Walker shirt upon request and on the first walk with a new client, so he can be 100% sure it’s me,” McCarthy says. However, he admits some people are a bit uncomfortable with this policy, as they don’t necessarily want everyone to know that they’re being walked.

So far, Chuck McCarthy has already had another five people walkers employed, covering various areas, like downtown L. A., Hollywood, Eagle Rock, or Fairfax County. Once he posted signs around the city, his phone started ringing and clients began rolling in. And with all the free publicity he has been getting in the press lately, more requests are coming.

While he hopes that his acting career will take off soon, Chuck is very happy with his people walking business. After all, it’s literally a walk in the park and it pays the bills.

   I was the fool at school, regarded as a special needs student. I was termed as such, obviously, because I was not interested in school and did not care for my _______.

Over time, I started to believe in my stupidity. I _______ the fact that I was in special needs classes and poured it out as anger and depression. But one activity _______ this view of myself chess.

I started to play chess with my father after school simply because I wanted to _______ him at something. My father was a _________ man, fond of physics, writing, religion…, almost every _______. He was called a walking dictionary. So, winning in chess against my father would be a _______ that I had intellectual power. On the small chessboard, I had a chance to _______ my so-called inability.

Game after game, I wanted to beat my father even more. I started to study chess books and play against a chess computer to _______ my skills. One weekend, I finally checkmated(将杀) my father on a ferry ride, which made me feel ________.

Two years later, I became the second board on my school chess team, with our top board being the best high school player in the state. But before the tournament season, our top player ________ to come. There came my chance to play as top board against the best players in other states.

I was determined to show who I had become: a(n) ________ person able to win with calculation, logic and will. My most ________ game came in the final round. Our team was facing a high school which only excellent students attended. It was ________ a match between a special needs student and a smart soul. My opponent(对手) was playing well and kept ________ while I kept defending to keep my king safe. He spent long trying to break down my defenses, but could not find the final push. I ________ with more defensive moves, trying to make it as difficult for him as possible. With little ________ left, he started to make rapid moves. ________ he could make the final decision, he ran out of time. Honestly, as his clock flag fell, I jumped up out of my seat and kissed the floor out of excitement. Of course it was not the most sportsmen—like ________, but I could not control my emotions.

While holding my winner’s cup, I knew I was not ________. The inferiority complex (自卑感) had melted away, and I realized that underneath our thoughts, each person is a genius.

   One year after Tom was born, his parents had a car accident. They never _____. Tom's 85-year-old grandmother was too _____ to take care of him. As a result he was put up for adoption（领养）. He was adopted by a middle-aged couple who had no _____ of their own. They were not rich and received little education, but they were _____ people.

As Tom grew up, he _____ a lot of problems at school. He didn't learn _____ and had trouble in reading. His _____ sometimes laughed at him. What they said made Tom _____.

As he couldn't _____ the other students at school, he dropped out of school and came back home. But he didn't stop learning. He had big dreams. Though he didn't learn fast he kept ______ himself at home.

After many years of learning at home, he ______ overcame his difficulties. Today he is a very ______ speaker and author. While he was at school, his self-esteem（自尊）and ______ were low because of others' making fun of him. It took him many ______ to realize his dreams.

When listening to his videos and tapes, we can feel his confidence. He tells his ______ and how he overcame the challenges in his life. He has a very ______ sentence, "You cannot expect to achieve new goals or move beyond your present situation ______ you change. "

For those who have low self-confidence, I suggest you ______ reading about Tom's world. Many people have so much potential（潜能）to be discovered. If you have a dream, then start today to ______ yourself towards it. If someone like Tom who has ______ in learning can make such achievements, why can't you succeed？

   Today, nobody talks to anybody anymore. Everybody is _______ at their phone. But sometimes, there are unexpected moments of _______. I happened upon one just the other night. I was going home, taking the _______ as usual and was glad to get a seat. I _______ my phone and started reading. Then I noticed that nobody was sitting in the three seats across from me.

I _______ figured out why. Next to the _______ seats was an old woman. She smelled as though she hadn’t _______ for a few days. The next thing I knew was that a man stood up from his seat and sent some _______ into her hand, then sat back down. She nodded and gave a _______ smile. Another man standing near the door started ________ to her. “Grandmother,” he called her, “Are you okay?” We all looked at her for her response. More ________.

“It could be you. It could be me. It could be one of our relatives,” he said to the rest of us. “So true,” said the ________ with him. He also dug into his ________ and took out some cash to give to her. Others were ________ to do so, too.

Just before they got off, the couple made an unexpected ________ . “We just got married in City Hall.” There was a short round of ________ from this group of strangers. “Congratulations!” someone ________ out. It occurred to me that the first thing they were doing was giving, a perfect start to a ________.

I put something in the old woman’s hand before I ________ the subway. It was cold outside. But I felt ________. I hoped that she would find a home — somehow — for a warm night’s sleep.

   A couple of weeks back，my friend had a yard sale（庭院拍卖会）.She ___________ to sell some of our stuff for us. I thought it would be a good chance to ___________ my 7-year-old son's room and sell some toys that he no longer _______.We agreed that whatever we sold in toys would be his ______.

The night before the sale，we loaded up the ___________ with toys and a little bike that he was now ___________tall for. He had taken the bike for a final spin（高速旋转）___________we left home but ___________ put it on the truck for the sale. This little bike had at least two ___________owners that we knew of. It was not in the best ____________ and it certainly was not shiny new but it was still a bike，and the tires were still good.

We put a price of $ 10 on it but it didn't ____________.So，after the sale was ____________，my friend put it on the sidewalk with a sign that ____________"FREE BIKE". Within five minutes her doorbell rang. A little boy was standing there. His English was not very good but he asked if the bike was really ____________.She said yes and told him that he could have it for nothing. He smiled，jumped on the bike and ____________ away.

Later that evening when I told my son how much money he had ____________ at the yard sale, he was very excited. The next day we were going to take the money to the bank. He asked about a few of his things, ____________ if they had been sold. When he asked about the bike, I told him about the little boy and that he made a big ____________because he got the bike for free. The smiles on my son's face were truly ____________, much more than when I told him how much he had made. He was so excited to hear that someone else would get good ____________out of that little bike.