For more than three decades, Deirdre Taylor only knew the firefighter who saved her life through the black-and-white photos on the front page of the New York Daily News, on Dec. 30, 1983.

She was only 4 then, a blond, wide-eyed toddler pictured in the paper in the arms of the firefighter, Eugene Pugliese, who had just carried her out of her burning apartment building. Taylor, now a registered nurse in Alexandria, Virginia, kept the Daily News article for years. She wished as she got older that she could find Pugliese and thank him-a desire that intensified after she became an emergency room nurse, as she learned how rare it was to hear back from patients she encountered on the worst days of their lives.

But she hadn’t lived in New York since the fire, and didn’t know where to start. She periodically searched his name on Google, finding nothing. Finally, in March, Taylor thought she may have one last chance to find him. With her family’s support, she decided to move from Virginia to New York for eight weeks to work in an overwhelmed Manhattan emergency room- trying to help save the lives of coronavirus patients, while searching for the man who saved hers.

“When I was packing my bags, I packed the Daily News article with me, ____①____ “ Taylor, 40, said, “and I told myself that one of the things I’m going to accomplish while I’m here is track him down, or track a family member down, and just say thank you. “

Pugliese, 75, had never had someone track him down to say thank you before, he said. For decades, the Daily News front-page article hung in his office. How could he forget Deirdre? “I've had her picture on my wall for 24 years,” he said.

He remembers the day clearly. It began when a man came running up yelling that there was a fire. Pugliese rushed to the burning building, where thick smoke was pouring out of a sixth-floor apartment. He went into and found it engulfed in flames. Taylor’s mother was crying, “My baby! My baby!” Pugliese remembered. He quickly helped her out of the room before returning on his hands and knees, crawling through the burning studio and blinding smoke for about six feet, when he felt the child. She was unconscious. He carried her to the living room, where he gave her mouth-to-mouth breath to bring her back. He rushed down the six flights of stairs to get her to an ambulance, when to Pugliese’s relief, she woke up and started to cry. “ _____②____ I was just in the right place at the right time,” Pugliese said. Pugliese later received a medal for Taylor’s rescue, in a ceremony that is among his most prized memories.

Taylor’s first two weeks in New York were overwhelming, as she and her colleagues dealt with patient after patient struggling to breathe. During her time off, she tried on one occasion to go to the firehouse where Pugliese worked, only to find a sign on the door discouraging visitors due to covid-19. But finally, last week, Taylor caught a break. A group of firefighters came to the ER to deliver the medical staff pizzas for dinner, to show their appreciation. Taylor explained to them that she was trying to find a likely retired fireman from Ladder No. 20, and did they have any suggestions on how to start?

One of the firemen gave her a phone number to connect her with the fire chief.

“Oh, Gene?” the chief told her. “He stops by the firehouse all the time.”

“ _____③____ “ Taylor said, “I couldn’t believe it. I really didn’t think he was still going to be around. I really thought I was going to hit a dead end.” He said, “Yeah, I have his phone number in my cellphone.”

The chief phoned Pugliese right away. Less than an hour later, Taylor’s phone rang. “It’s Gene Pugliese,” he said. “I’m the firefighter who rescued you that day.” Finally, Taylor told him what she had been meaning to say. Taylor said she could only describe the moment as surreal. Pugliese asked if her hair was still blond. It was. He told her the story of the fire, and she told him the story of her life afterward. They learned they had plenty in common. Both were die-hard Yankees fans. Both spent time in the military.

After the call, Pugliese said, “ ____④____ I cried for the rest of the day.”

They say to find out what you really want, go back to when you were a child.

When I was a kid, I really wanted to be a painter, but I was never great at it. I was discouraged, because in art classes my paintings were never the most beautiful. In the third grade, we were given a project to create a portrait. I used the skills and tips we were all taught in class. After we were done, we presented our portraits. We stood in front of the class and explained our technique. I remember looking at other portraits thinking, “We were given the same skills, why do theirs look so professional and mine looks so amateur?”

But I still really enjoyed painting because it’s a forgiving art. If I don’t like what I’ve put on paper, I can paint over it. I can mix colors and make new ones. Also, I can release some creative juices, use what has inspired me and allow that to pour out of me in a way I may not have imagined.

But because I have always wanted to paint beautiful pictures, I just decided to change what beauty looked like. I changed what beauty meant to me.

Throughout school, they taught us about Picasso, Van Gogh and Leonardo da Vinci who were always painting whatever was in front of them and around them. But that’s not what I saw around me.

Then I learned about Basquiat, who inspired me to paint abstract pictures. I paint when I’m moved, and I am often moved by what’s natural: emotions, nature, and other forms of art. I am also very moved by pain. When there is pain in the world or in my heart, it can be unbearable. I had a conversation with an activist in St. Louis named Spook, and I explained to her this feeling and she told me, “Pain is energy. You have to learn how to channel that energy into something productive.” So sometimes I channel that pain into art, into a painting.

Even if the picture doesn’t turn out aesthetically (美学地) pleasing by society’s standards, it’s still beautiful that I was able to create something. My paintings may not be a Basquiat, but they’re mine, so I love them anyway.

“The Man with the Golden Arm” may sound like the name of some superhero in a comic book. But this name belongs to 78-year-old James Harrison — an Australian man who has donated blood almost every week, saving more than 2 million babies in the process.

Harrison told CNN, an American channel, about why he chooses to donate, even though it's not the most pleasurable experience: “Never once have I watched the needle go in my arm. I can't stand the sight of blood, and I can't stand pain.”

An amazingly unique antibody （抗体）in Harrison's blood makes it a true lifesaver for babies who could be affected by rhesus disease.

The condition occurs during some pregnancies, when a woman who has rhesus-negative blood produces antibodies that destroy her babies’ cells. This can happen when the baby has the same rhesus-positive blood as the father. Rhesus disease can cause health issues in babies. It can even result in death.

Harrison, blood helped physicians develop an injection called Anti-D in the 1960s, which prevents women who have rhesus-negative blood from developing the harmful antibodies while pregnant. After Harrison completes one of his routine donations, his blood can be used to create more vaccines （疫苗）.

“I started donating in 1955, two days after I turned 18," Harrison said when he completed his 1,075th donation.

As CNN reported, every Anti-D vaccine created in Australia has something to do with a donation from Harrison, who holds the record for most blood donations in Australia.

“A number of mothers have come up to me and said, "Thank you very much for what you've done, because I now have one, two, three healthy children', " Harrison said.

Harrison's own daughter, Tracey Mellowship, had been one of the 17 percent of women who need Anti-D during their pregnancy. The injection helped guarantee her second son would be born healthy.

“Dad had always donated — we knew that,” Mellowship said. “But it didn't hit me until I was pregnant and knew the consequences.”