About 15 years ago, Andrew McLindon, a businessman and keen cyclist, was riding his bike in Austin, Texas, when he thought about a friend’s 12-year-old son. The boy had never known the joy of biking because he suffered from hydrocephalus, a buildup of fluid in the brain that often causes balance disturbances.

When he got home, McLindon, now 60, went online and found a three wheel recumbent bike with a seat belt, perfect for a child with balance issues. Soon the boy was pedaling around the street with his peers, having fun and getting exercise. But there was more, as McLindon gleaned from his friend’s reaction. “To see his son interacting with other kids,” McLindon says. “I’ll never forget the smile on his face.”

That smile launched the McLindon Family Foundation. Funded by donations, the group works with pediatric rehab (小儿科康复) clinics to find children who can benefit from owning an adaptive bike—and to help craft each bike to the particular needs of the child. A bike may include a headrest, a shoulder harness, a seat belt, and a caregiver’s steering and braking mechanism in the back. The bikes are expensive—$3,000 to S4,000, and that’s with the foundation’s steep manufacturer’s discount. For kids lucky enough to get one, they’re a life changer.

“We worked with a 14-year-old who has spina bifida (脊柱裂),” says McLindon. “She spent most days on the couch watching TV. Soon after she got her bike, she was training for special-needs triathlons (铁人三项). In a magazine interview, she said, I always knew there was an athlete in me.”

So far, the foundation has given away 450 bikes, and that’s just a start. “I do a lot of things. I run a lot of companies,” McLindon says. “But getting these kids their bikes is the most important thing that I do.”

The Wolf at the Door

Russ Fee was asleep inside his tent last summer when a series of screams shocked him awake. Throwing on his shoes, he ran out to investigate. Fee and his wife were travelling through Canada’s Banff National Park to enjoy its breathtaking beauty and awesome wildlife. It was the latter he now experienced. Although it was dark, Fee could see a neighboring tent was in a mess. Backing out was a wolf, dragging something in his teeth. That thing was a man.

Moments earlier, Elisa and Matt Rispoli, from New Jersey, were asleep with their two young children when the wolf broke into their tent. “It was like something out of a horror movie,” Elisa posted on Facebook. “For three minutes, Matt threw his body in front of me and the boys and fought against the wolf. At one point, Matt got the upper hand, pinning (压住) the wolf to the ground. But the wolf held its jaw onto Matt’s arm tightly, set its powerful legs, and began dragging Matt outside while I was pulling on his legs trying to get him back,” Elisa wrote.

It was then that Fee entered the picture. He ran at the wolf, kicking it “like I was kicking in a door,” he told ABC New York. The wolf dropped Matt and emerged from the tent. “Wolves are large,” Fee told the radio show Calgary Eyeopener. “I felt like I had hit someone that was way out of my weight class.”

Before the wolf could turn its anger on Fee, Matt, his arms bloodied, flew out of the tent to continue the battle. The men threw rocks at the wolf, forcing it back, then the Fees and the Rispolis escaped to the shelter of the Fees, minivan and called an ambulance. Matt was taken to a local hospital suffering from open wounds. Luckily, he has fully recovered. The wolf was tracked down by park officials and killed in a painless way.

As for Fee, whom Elisa called their lifesaver, he does admit to a fleeting, if less-than-heroic, thought during the heat of battle. The moment the wolf locked eyes with him, Fee says, “I immediately regretted kicking it.”

When I was 10, I was always joked by my fellow Co-Curricular Activities (CCA) mates, including my best friend John. Words were like, “Dick is “the best player” in the CCA! He only knows how to play the song’ Mary had a Little Lamb’ on the trumpet(小号)!”

Once, the moment I left the school, I took out my earpiece, listening to recordings. I got so engrossed that I didn’t see the wall in front and fell on the ground. Luckily for me, a passer-by saw what had happened and immediately called the ambulance. When I woke up in the hospital, however, the nurse told me that I suffered severe leg injuries. I could have stopped practicing but that was not what I wanted. I wanted to practice even in the hospital. “One leg injury would not stop me;it would only make me feel more motivated,” I replied to the nurse.

That was a hard period of my life. If I had not been careless, I would not have this problem. Yet if I haven’t gotten myself into this problem, I would not be as motivated and would not have that experience teaching me a life lesson. My parents and my best friend had come to give me emotional support, telling me what had happened during CCA today and advising me on how to become a better player. After day-and-night hard practice, I finally perfected and went back to my CCA.

On the selection day itself, the conductor praised me and asked how I had improved so much. I explained that it was because of my determination, my family and my friends. The conductor then said that I was a role model and that the whole band should follow my motivation and practice instead of being like John. This experience made me what I am today. Currently, I am the best player and the head of the secondary school military band.