Brady has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. It has been _________ for his family and his students. He was _________ not only because he was a rising star, but also because he had recently _________ the highest honors for young researchers at the White House.

We truly _________ him — as someone put it, “He always has a smile and a kind word for everyone.” It is very _________ to find someone who is extremely intelligent should be so nice.

Last week, I bought a simple card, reading, “Healing thoughts and wishes are coming your way. We are all _________ for your recovery”. I met and made all his students, who have worked pretty closely with him, sign and add a _________ on it.

He is still undergoing intense treatment, trying his best to stay _________ and hopeful. He didn’t show any trace of self-pity or sadness when I met him. _________, he paid attention to every word of my presentation and asked me several questions __________ to my work, though being in great __________. I saw an expression of joy and hope on his face as he opened the card. He said he was __________ to see the messages from the students. Then he __________, “I am trying to focus on staying positive, hoping to be back this summer.”

Despite being too sick to teach classes, my professor has managed to continue being a great teacher, introducing his last __________ messages to us. It is so important to tell people how much they __________ to us before it is too late.

Washington is home to lots of trees. It is the Evergreen State, and lots of fireplaces and wood-burning stoves there too. But what if you lived there and couldn't cut wood or couldn't afford to pay someone to do it? _______Shane McDaniel and his twin sons are _____ to lend a hand. The three men ______ truckloads of wood, and then donate it to those _____ . They want to help people who are burning cardboard because they've got nothing or someone 75 with no money who has a _______ shoulder and can't cut wood .

The idea started as a father-son bonding _______. "I had to cut wood with my dad. He just ________     doing it, " says one of the son. They spent the summer of 2018 cutting wood day after day. The ______ was a great wall of wood __ around their house. Technically, to ______ that much would cost about $10, 000.

It was too __ for the McDaniels to use themselves, and when the weather turned_______that

November, Shane started thinking of others. He posted on Facebook: "If you want some firewood and can't __ it, please PM (personal message) ME! If   you know someone who bums wood, and they're living in a cold house this holiday season, please help us _______them. Please help me and my _________make sure no one goes cold in our neighborhood."

The ______ was immediate・ One man ______ to donate a wood-burning stove. Others raced over to Norm's, the shop Shane owns, with more _____ for the pile. Single mom Katelyn Ticer and her daughter rely on a wood-burning stove as their only source of _____ . so it was a _____ to receive a truckload of firewood from the McDaniels before the holidays.   "To get that much wood brought me to tears, " she told msn. com, "So much stress and anxiety is off my shoulders. I couldn't be more thankful. ”

The insistent knock on the door brought me quickly from my kitchen. With my children down for a nap, I _________ to answer before they were all awakened. We had just moved here and I couldn’t _________ who it would be. I opened the door and a crack revealed an old man dressed in dirty clothing.

“Can I help you?” I asked, hoping he had the wrong _________.

“Would you like to buy some fresh garden vegetables?” His voice was trembling but his eyes were _________. I wondered if he badly needed the bit of money he was asking for his _________. “I’m Mr. Locket living around the corner. My wife _________ and my children live far away,” he _________. Later we knew that the need for companionship had sent him door to door _________ selling fruits and vegetables and ours was the only door opened to him.

As days went on, Mr. Locket became a _________ visitor. Every day he read books in our big chair with my children curled up on his lap. When they took an afternoon nap, he would __________ his head on the back of the chair. In his quiet and gentle way, he endeared himself to each child. __________ the name “Grandpa Locket” slipped into our conversations.

Three years later, we had to move to Ontario. He arrived as usual that morning. “Mr. Locket,” I tried to __________ the news in a gentle way, “You’ve become a (n) __________ part of this family, but ...” Tears glistened in the corners of his eyes.

“I __________ to keep in touch with you and ...” My throat tightened. He nodded __________ softly said, “Thank you for all your kindness to an old man. When I needed a family, you __________ me.” With tears, we all hugged him __________.

About a year later, a small __________ from Mr. Locket’s daughter was delivered to our home. She informed us that our dear old friend had died. “I’m so grateful for your loving care for my father,” she wrote, “I can see how much you __________ to him, too.” Actually, we’re also grateful for the __________ love that swept into our lives the moment we opened that door.