I believe honesty is one of the greatest gifts there is. I know people call it a lot of fancy names these days, like integrity and forthrightness. But it doesn’t make any difference what they call it; it’s still what makes a man a good citizen. This is my code, and I try to live by it.

I’ve been in the business for thirty-five years, and know there is a lot about it that is not so good. Taxi drivers have to be tough fellows to be able to take the job in New York. You’ve got to be tough to fight the New York traffic eight hours a day these days. Because taxi drivers are tough, people get the wrong impression that they are bad. Taxi drivers are just like other ordinary people. Most of them will shake down as honest fellows. You read in the papers almost every week where some taxi drivers turn in money or jewels, or stuff like that, left in their taxis. If they weren’t honest, you wouldn’t be reading those stories in the papers.

One time in Brooklyn, I found a gold ring in my taxi. I remembered helping a lady with a lot of purchases that day; so I went back to where I had dropped her. It took me almost two days to trace her down in order to return the ring to her. I didn’t get more than a “thank you”. Still, I felt good because I had done what was right. I think I felt better than she did.

In all my years of driving a taxi, I have never had any trouble with the public, not even with the drunk. Even if they get a little stubborn once in a while, I just agree with them and then they behave themselves. People ask me about tips. As far as I know, practically everyone will give you something. Come to think of it, most Americans are pretty generous. I always try to be nice to everyone, whether they tip or not. I believe in goodness of others and try to be a good member of my community. I try to act toward others as how I want to be treated. I have been trying this for a long time, and the longer I try, the easier it gets.

Mike Hayes of Rochelle, Illinois, proved he was smart in his first year at college. In 1987, while he was a student in the first year of the University of Illinois, he had gotten $2,500 from a job working at a store, but that money would not go far to pay the four years of tuition (学费) and college expenses that added up to around $28,000. His middle-class family had already put his older brothers through college. While Mike’s parents would have helped him to pay, Mike decided he did not want his parents to go into debt for him. He came up with an idea to solve this problem.

Mike wrote to Chicago Tribune writer Bob Greene. He wanted each of the newspaper’s readers to send him a penny (分). Greene thought the idea sounded fun and agreed to do it. He shared Mike’s letter with his readers on September 6,1987.

“Just one penny,” Mike said. “A penny doesn’t mean anything to anyone. If everyone who is reading your reports looks around the room right now, there will be a penny on the corner of the desk, or on the floor. That’s all I’m asking. A penny from each of your readers.”

In less than a month, the Many Pennies for Mike fund (基金) had around $23,000.Donations were received from every state in the United States, and even Mexico, Canada, and the Bahamas. So, Mike achieved his $28,000 goal and went on to learn food science from the University of Illinois.

In the end, Mike had this to say about the whole thing, “I just want to express my thanks to everyone ...right now I’m feeling that the world is a pretty great place.”

An unusual trip to Hawaii brought two strangers closer and closer and their story deserves a wide spread.

As her plane sliced through the sky above the ocean, there came a sudden thunderstorm. Five minutes later, Uemoto and her copilot McMahon heard a strange sound. Then, without warning, they lost power to both of the engines. It took them a moment to process the fact that they might crash. The pilots powered through the items on the emergency checklist. Nothing worked. As the plane was falling, they jumped into the ocean.

By ten that night, their bodies began trembling uncontrollably in the cool night air. Something must be done to pull them through. Swimming on her stomach, Uemoto had McMahon wrap his arms around her knees so he could rest his head on the back of her legs. To be with someone else and to feel another person's comforting presence in the darkness somehow made the suffering bearable.

When the sun rose the next morning, they caught sight of the island of Hawaii, the destination they had dared dream! Suddenly, Uemoto saw a shark, which made her breath catch in her throat. "What do we do? What do we do?" Uemoto asked, panicked. "Just keep looking forward! If it comes close, I'll kick it in the eye!" said McMahon evenly. Unexpectedly, the shark circled them for about 30 minutes. Then, as quietly as it had appeared, it swam off. Uemoto and McMahon breathed a sigh of relief.

After struggling in the water for over 20 hours, there came a US Navy helicopter. It flew overhead and next banked towards them. Uemoto and McMahon burst into tears. Alone, either of them would have died. But together, they made it.