My aunt got sick after her only son died. She was beginning to forget things. Simple tasks became a challenge for her.

【小题1】 Then she went through chemotherapy (化疗) and radiation. Although she could still walk and talk, she forgot a lot of things that happened in the past and even conversations that had taken place a few days before.

My grandmother became my aunt’s caretaker. After school, I would go to my grandmother’s home until my mom got off work. 【小题2】 I started preparing meals and talking to my aunt to keep her company.

As my aunt’s symptoms developed, she could not stand for a long period, so we began assisting her as she walked. 【小题3】 This was the hardest part for me. But I did it to help my grandmother. After a while I began administering medicine and massaging (按摩) my aunt’s legs to help with the circulation.

【小题4】 I didn’t think I had the courage to help someone who was sick or who could not look after himself. But after assisting my aunt I began to care more about the needs of others. Seeing someone so strong and passionate (热爱的) for life fall sick to the point where she needed assistance with things most people take for granted was a new understanding. 【小题5】 This experience not only changed my view on life, but also inspired me to consider becoming a physician’s assistant, or another career where I can help others.

In my childhood, my mother spent her evening hours doing something for someone else. Sometimes she knitted (编织) hats for babies, and at other times, she cooked chicken soup for sick neighbors. Therefore, I wasn’t surprised when one evening my mother announced she had undertaken a new project.

“I am going to telephone seniors,” said my mother. “Every night? But you don’t even know these people.” “It doesn’t matter,” she said. “What’s important is that I listen.” I was sixteen years old and couldn’t understand why my mother was willing to spend her evenings talking to strangers. She had friends and my two older sisters to call if she felt lonely. “They will talk your ear off. Some people didn’t even stop to catch breath.” I said.

My attitude didn’t stop my mother’s enthusiasm for the project. That evening, she settled on the sofa and dialed. For a while, I listened as she asked the woman on the other line about her day and what she had eaten for dinner. When she finished the call, I said, “Why do you care whether she had cookies or rice pudding for dessert?” My mother grasped one of my hands and gave it a slight squeeze. “I’m the only person she talked to today.”

It took me more than thirty years to fully understand the meaning of that statement. Now, as my mother is nearing eighty, I find myself thinking about those nightly calls she used to make. I am often the only person who telephones my mother, and sometimes I’m the only person she speaks to all day. I ask her what she cooked for dinner, but mostly I just listen as she describes a walk she took, or how her dog Lucky stole foods from the refrigerator. I realize that my mother’s calls were life lines that ensured housebound seniors remained connected to the world. Without her, their world would have been empty.

Bert Katz, my father-in-law, celebrated his 90th birthday in November 2020. Bert loved sports and was an enthusiastic Yankees(an American professional baseball team based in the New York City) fan, so it was no wonder that over the years, he was an avid(热切的) listener to WEAN radio and, in particular, the afternoon show hosted by Mike Francesa.

Bert had health issues in his later years that limited his mobility, and when he lost his eyesight three years ago, his attachment to his radio and Francesa became more pronounced. He just loved listening to Mike talk about sports and his Yankees each afternoon. Those hours brought him so much pleasure.

Of course, Mike will be leaving on Dec. 15, 2021 after 30 years at the station. Mike lives in the same community where I work on Long Island, and I have gotten to know him over the past 20 years. So when my father-in-law was approaching his special birthday last year, I asked Mike for a favor: to call Bert and wish him a happy birthday.

Mike agreed without hesitation. Two days before the special day, Mike stopped at my workplace. I called Bert at his nursing home and put Mike on the phone. It was a complete surprise to Bert. Mike spent more than 10 minutes wishing Bert a happy birthday and, of course, talking about the Yankees.

When my family celebrated Bert's birthday two days later, he couldn't stop talking about the phone call. Over his lifetime. he said it was one of the nicest things anyone had ever done for him. Unfortunately，Bert' s health declined(衰退) and he passed away on July 13, 2021. But even in his final months in the hospital and nursing home, he always had a radio set to WEAN to listen each afternoon to Mike Francesa. And he also had the memory of that special phone call for his 90th birthday.