When Dekalb Walcott Ш was just 8 years old, his father, a Chicago fire chief, let him tag along on a call. Dekalb says a lot of kids idolized (崇拜) basketball player Michael Jordan when he was growing up in Chicago in the1990s. Not him.

“I wanted to be like Dekalb Walcott Jr, ”he says of his father. So when his dad asked if he wanted to go on that call with him when he was 8, Dekalb was excited. “I'm jumping up and down, saying, ‘Mom, can I go? Can I go?’”

The experience changed Dekalb's life, and he told his dad on a visit to StoryCorps. “My eyes got big the moment the alarm went off, ” the younger Dekalb says. “This is the life that I want to live someday. ”

Now 27, the younger Dekalb is living that life. He became a firefighter at 21 and went to work alongside his dad at the Chicago Fire Department. Before his father retired, the pair even went out on a call together-father supervising (监督)son.

“You know, it's everything for me to watch young row, ”his father says. But he also recalls worrying about one particular fire that his son faced.

“I received a phone call that night. And they said, ‘Well, your son was at this fire. ' I said, ‘OK, which way is this conversation going to go?'”Dekalb Walcott Jr. recalls.

“And they said, ‘But he's OK. And he put it out all by himself. Everybody here was proud of him. ’”

“And the word went around, ‘Who was out there managing that fire? Oh, that’s Walcott!That's Walcott up there!’So, you know, moments like that, it's heaven on earth for a dad. ”

Dekalb Walcott Jr. has retired. The younger Dekalb says he's proud of being a second-generation firefighter. “You know, it makes me look forward to fatherhood as well, because I'm definitely looking forward to passing that torch (火把) down  to my son. ”

   This is the time of the year when I feel the memories of the small town and country days come alive！In October each year，we planned to spend a weekend with our grandparents in Michigan. Riding by fields already harvested for the winter，we could still see remains of summer corn stalks. Smoke would fill the air as we drove through the country. Chimney smoke reminded us the area we were visiting was colder than the city and fireplaces in homes were heated as the months would soon turn to cooler winter days.

While riding along the country road，we saw the trees stand tall and many fallen leaves lie on the ground. And we could see the birds of the season，the pheasants，and watch as they flew in the sky flapping（扑动）their beautiful wings to a hidden area away from the eyes of a hunter. On arriving，our grandparents always had a decorative pumpkin with a smile. It might be weeks before Halloween，but Grandpa grew a supply of pie pumpkins and cooked the seeds with salt for us to eat.

Often the small town would have a homecoming parade（返校节游行）on Saturday morning. We'd walk two blocks to the main street where the school band would start off the festivities. Store owners would all come out to watch the parade. Church women's groups would have tables along the sidewalk to raise money. Children played together and adults talked. What fun it was！

And early in the morning，Dad would meet some men. In an area，they waited for pheasants to fly.

Although pheasants tasted good，I secretly hoped they would let the beautiful birds fly away. They belonged to the blue sky.

As time goes by，all becomes more precious to me. When I married and raised my family，fall trips became a yearly event. Whenever I drive along a country road, I often picture scenes from the small town where my grandparents live in Michigan.

Grandpa’s Investment Pays Off

When I was a student, my family went through a few rough financial years. We _______, but with much effort and many worries.

I had a pick-up truck that was _______ breaking down and the thought of the 600 km drive to school in it was a（n）_______ one. As I drove away from home one day, my uncle walked up. I stopped and he _______something onto my dashboard（仪表板）.

He leaned against the window, speaking softly. “Years ago,” he said, “when I was a _______ student myself your grandfather once did this to me. I _______ one day I would return the _______. And now I have.”

Then he _______ without looking back, and I _______ he did so in order to hide his emotions.

A few miles later I opened the __________. It contained a few bank notes. It was a gift __________ more than two decades later to a second generation; it is almost like a full circle, __________ I’m the only one who bears my grandfather’s name. The amount（金额）was not large. Twenty years ago it had been __________ to buy a full trolley of groceries，or a few tanks of fuel. At this moment it was just a（n）__________, something to express his good intentions. But my uncle was jobless at the time and I almost had no money. Therefore for both of us, it was a（n）__________ amount.

I paid it forward some years later to another poor boy with an old car, __________ the amount for inflation（通货膨胀）. As far as I can __________ that boy has been the only one I’ve told this __________ to-until now. I can only __________ that one day he will pay it forward too.

I couldn’t help but feel that Grandpa made a good __________ all those years ago.

At the age of 31, Dad married my mother who was a schoolteacher. In the following spring I came________ into the world. Life became hard, so my mother felt________. She told Dad that they must make a ________.

My mother had ________of how some famous persons, especially Thomas Edison who was born in a poor family, fought against fate and achieved greatness and ________. And she ________ that I would some day become a great leader ________ men or cities and Dad should be a successful businessman. So she ________Dad to give up his job as a farmhand, sell his horse and ________a small business of his own. And I went to high school and college. She even sent me abroad for ________ education when I graduated from college. Under the drive of my mother's hope, Dad and I________what we have today. Dad runs a big international ________and I am a successful lawyer ________great fame in my country, ________not a leader as my mother expected.

Dad said, without my mother, we wouldn't be what we are today; at least, he would remain a farmhand. ________ he got a lesson of life —sometimes we really need drive from outside.