I served as a Newport Beach ocean lifeguard in Orange County, California. Late in a shift, another guard, Mike, phoned me, “Hey, I got a couple of kids playing close to the dangerous water section. I’m going to give them a _______. Keep an eye out for anything unusual.”

Sure enough, as soon as he _______, a huge wave sucked the two kids into the water. Mike saw it and rushed toward the ocean.

Their mother realized what was happening. She was shocked, _______. Before I was even halfway there, Mike had _______ into the deep water to pull them up. They were so _______ that they couldn’t walk, so Mike was carrying them, one under each _______.

The mother let out a sigh of relief. Suddenly, a new kind of panic washed over her as though there was a new, equally dangerous _______ to her kid’s lives. She rushed up, seized her kids and left without so much as a thank-you.

Mike had a _______ growing experience. His frightening tattoos(纹身) and shaved head with scars showed he wasn’t the _______ guard on the beach. I admitted I didn’t really get along with Mike. But his saving ability made up for everything he __________ in PR(公关) skills. If any other guard had been __________ that night, there would have been a very real __________ that the mother wasn’t going home with both her kids.

Maybe he wasn’t her idea of a knight in shining armor. But that wouldn’t change the fact that he had just __________ her kids.

That was over ten years ago. If you ask Mike about it today, I __________ if he’ll still remember it, but I won’t forget. As I jogged back to work that day, I promised myself I’d never let my own fear and __________ prevent me from recognizing a hero when I see one.

Last summer, my 14-year-old daughter, Hannah, joined a volleyball league. Due to her excellent performance, her coach _________ that we should transfer her to a more advanced team.

My wife and I _________ a little. We weren’t sure whether Hannah would adapt well to the new team._________, Hannah seemed quite determined. She thought that it would _________ her if she was on a stronger team. So a month ago, she joined the team she desired for.

Yesterday, Hannah invited me to watch a volleyball tournament. Hannah’s team played against four other teams. But Hannah just stood on the sidelines,_________ for her team. She didn’t even _________ to play on court.

I was really _________. But Hannah smiled throughout and came to give high fives to her teammates once they _________. She was incredibly excited _________ she got a victory pin (徽章) and took a group picture at last.

On the way back home, I asked her __________ if she wanted me to talk to the coach about going back to the original __________.

“Dad, absolutely not,” she replied. “Being part of the team is participating in the __________. I learned so much while I was __________ the games from the sidelines. I could see the __________ of the other girls so I could avoid doing them in the future. I would know where I needed to __________. I am also the winner. And if I hadn’t __________, then who would have given them emotional support? I’m part of the team. ”

I was speechless. I had thought the __________ I saw on Hannah’s face during the tournament was pasted (粘贴) on top of a giant pile of pain. I couldn’t have been more __________.

My 14-year-old daughter showed me what it __________ to be part of a team. She felt like she was part of something __________ than herself. I know she’s prepared for her life ahead.

I learned this lesson a couple of years ago. That day, I took a _______ to Grand Central Station. We were driving in the _______ lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right _______ us. My taxi driver slammed (猛踩) on his brakes and almost _______ the car’s back end by just ten _______!

The driver of the other car, who almost caused a big accident, _______ his car and started yelling bad _______ at us. The taxi driver just smiled and _______ at the guy. And I mean he was _______. So, I said, “Why did you just do that? This guy almost ________ your car and sent us to ________!” And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call “the law of the garbage truck.”

Many people are like garbage trucks. They ________ around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of ________, and full of disappointment. As their garbage ________ up, they need a place to dump it, and if you agree, they’ll dump it on you. When someone wants to dump their ________ on you, don’t take it ________. You just smile, wave, wish them well, and ________. You’ll be happy at what you do.

I started thinking, how often do I let garbage trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and ________ it to other people? That day I said, “I’m not going to do that anymore.”

What about you? What will happen in your life if you let more garbage ________ pass you by? Life’s too short to wake up in the morning with ________.