During the corona-virus lockdown, a fifth-grade teacher contacted me asking for help. She was _______with students not attending online class but her students all loved the story in my book. So she asked if I had any _______.

My immediate _______ was for me to do a _______ book club where I would read to the students. The idea was _______ by Mrs. Sandberg, my first teacher in America.

When I moved to America from Iran in 1972, I spoke several words of English. Despite the language _______, I immediately loved school. My favorite part of the day was _______ lunch, when Mrs. Sandberg read to us. Her kind voice transported me to _______ places where animals could talk and where kids had grand adventures.

With this joyful memory, I started the club. At the first session, five kids _______. I read to them and tried to ________ a conversation. Whenever I asked a question, I was met with complete ________. The following week, a few more kids came; they ________ started responding, but with one-word answers. The next session, they gave ________ answers and more students participated in the conversations.

This club has quickly become the ________ of my week. I have gotten to know the students and grown fond of every single one of them. Reading out loud forces me to forget everything else for an hour. I recently wondered if our post-lunch reading hour had given Mrs. Sandberg a chance to forget her ________, too.

Seven years ago, my wife bought me a terrific birthday present. For $70, she   _________ me two garden plots of land 20 feet by 20 feet from the Skokie Park District, which come with free _________ to fresh water from faucets, no _________. The football field of garden is a true place of beauty, costing the Park District very little to _________, with the water pipes being the only _________ capital investment.

My _________ is that gardening is good exercise accessible to people far into late middle age and beyond, deeply beneficial and _________ by couples and groups of friends. My garden neighbors and I, once _________, share ideas and encouragement. My daughter loves to help me _________ the wild weed, and the whole family loves the good fresh food, some of which I give to friends and neighbors.

I __________ about $300 to $400 a year but harvest literally 10 times the __________ of fresh produce—and I’m far from the best gardener!

We need to __________ one another while respecting each other as individuals, as carriers of subcultures, as positive people. Human difference is easier to accept with __________ when we know each other and are building something together.

And who doesn’t need to have __________ and get some exercise and eat great food? Community gardening is a wholly __________ activity.

I have had the privilege to meet many amazing people, people who have been my role models and my inspirations. But the greatest______was when had the chance to meet a fourteen-year-old girl named Nicole.

I had been______by the Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada,an organization that tries to make the dreams of young people suffering from terminal illnesses come true. Nicole had been______with cancer for over two years, and her______to the Foundation had been a simple one:She asked if she could meet me. The foundation agreed by flying her here to Los Angeles, and______our meeting at Universal Studios.

It was______not to like Nicole from the very first moment I met her. Her outgoing personality and great______swept me up and immediately______my spirits.Her positive attitude about dealing with her disease______me. When I mentioned during our initial meeting that I was very sorry that she should have to______something so difficult, she thanked me, but replied that she did not want me to feel bad-she wasn’t looking for anyone to feel sorry for her. A(n)______I had never known before shone in her eyes.

As time went on, I realized how true it was. She didn’t want______she just wanted to hang out and do things that______do together. We ate junk food and shared funny stories. The more we laughed over______things, the more our friendship grew. I began to realize that I was just as lucky as she was to have this opportunity to have her______.I know that wherever she is,or wherever I go, she will always remain in my heart.