It was 1504, and Columbus was making another trip to the New World. Columbus and his men needed fresh water and food after three months at sea. They saw an island and went on shore. On the island there were unfriendly Indians who refused to give food to them.

Columbus' men were afraid of the Indians, but he had a clever plan.He used body language to tell the Indians about his mysterious (神秘的) power to turn off the light in the sky. He knew about a lunar eclipse (月食) the next night because the information was in his almanac (天文历书).

Columbus told the Indians, “Tomorrow night I'll turn off the light in the sky.”But they didn't believe him. When the eclipse began the next night, the Indians became very frightened. They begged Columbus to turn on the light again, and they quickly gave him all the food and water he wanted. Immediately Columbus and his men hurried back to the ship and sailed away in the moonless night.

The setting was a packed gymnasium just before the start of a game against another school. There were five girls who were members of the Danville High School basketball team — all of them starters. They were not in uniform to play that night and would not be on the team for the rest of this season. They were there to admit their breaking learn rules. They were there to support their coach's decision to take them off the team. They were there to let the town know there was a problem in their little community that needed to be addressed. And they did it with sincere regret rather than defensiveness.

While the school had been out for the New Year's holiday, the five girls had gone to the party with several of their friends. There was alcohol there. And they all drank some.

Coach Rainville has a zero tolerance rule on drugs and alcohol for her members though it was a hard decision to make. When classes resumed (恢复) and accounts of holiday parties were shared, rumors about the five girls began closing in on them. The coach said she couldn't back down on her rules. And the players — Iwo junior students and three senior students — agreed. That night in the gym was part of their public support of the coach's decision.

“We hope you will understand that we are not bad kids. What we did was definitely not worth it. We hope this event will make everyone realize that there is a big drug and alcohol problem in our community, one of the senior students said, “And if you work with us to try to solve this problem, you will help us feel that we have not been thrown off our basketball team for nothing." The five left the floor to deafening applause.

The team may not win another game this year. But they've learned something about personal responsibility, the effect of one's action on others, and honesty that will serve them well throughout life.

I will always remember my mother's last few days in this world.

On February 14th, 2000 my class went on a field trip to the beach. I had so much fun. When we returned to school, my teacher told me to go to the headmaster's office. When I got into the office, I saw a police office. Suddenly I realized something was wrong. The police office told me what had happened and we went to pick my sister up. After that, we went to the hospital and waited. Time went slowly. Finally, we got to see our mother. It was terrible.

On the next day, the headmaster came and told my two teachers what had happened. I was taking a rest that day. I knew it had something to do with my mother. I kept thinking that she either died or had gotten better. How I wished that she had gotten better. When my teacher took me outside, my sister ran up to me. She started crying, “She's gone. Teresa, mommy's gone. She's dead.” I couldn't believe it. We jumped into the car and drove straight to the hospital. Most of my family were there. The silence was terrible. I knew I had to say goodbye.

Today when I look back, I still miss my mother very much, but I know that I will live. My mother was a strong mother, who had the biggest heart. My mother was an angel walking on the earth. I will always remember her as living. When someone is asked who their hero (英雄) is, they usually say someone famous, like Michael Jordan or Britney Spears, When someone asks me who my hero is,   I tell them, my mother. My mother lives every day. That is what makes her a true hero.