It was in the chilly midwinter, and the wandering couple walked through the freezing night with heavy steps, seeking shelter. The father-to-be scanned the roadside for some home, some inn where his tired companion might rest safely for the night. He looked over at her frequently. She labored along, her way made heavier by the new life growing inside her. They needed a warm, dry place safe from the bitter wind. When her time came, it must not be out here along the roadway.

Their names were not Mary and Joseph, but Pepper and Cooper. Nor were they man and wife, but rather a pair of dogs, and the place was on a rural highway outside of town.

Night fell. Gus Kiebel, a county wildlife officer, was driving home from work when he spotted the pair in the flash of his headlights. It was snowing so hard that it was difficult to see, but he could tell the dogs were wearing collars and tags. What were they doing out here on this road?

He parked his truck and approached the animals. Gus bent down and stretched out his hands to the dogs, which made no effort to escape. Gus read their tags by his truck’s headlights. He pulled out his phone to call the number listed, but it was snowing so hard that his screen blurred (模糊不清的). He placed the dogs in his truck, on the floor of the passenger side. By the time he came around the driver’s side, he found that they had climbed onto the passenger seat and were snuggled (依偎) together there. Gus dried his phone, snapped a picture of the pair and sent it to his wife, Katie Kiebel.

Then he dialed the number from the dog’s tags. A man answered and immediately sounds defensive when Gus told him why he was calling.

“I gave those dogs away,” the man said. “They’re not mine anymore.”

“Well, do you want them back?”

“No. I can’t take care of them.”

The man hung up.

With no air conditioners and no trees providing shade, the classrooms that faced south at my children’s middle school got too hot during the warmer months of the school year. I knew from my days volunteering in the school that students and staff got overheated and that it was difficult for them to concentrate.

As a long-time master gardener, I knew trees could shade those classroom windows and reduce the temperatures inside to relatively comfortable levels. If benches and trees were added, the front yard would be transformed into a beautiful outdoor classroom, one that would encourage teachers to bring their students outside to learn. And I imagined how wonderful it would be for our district’s kids, many of whom live in apartment buildings without yards or green space, to experience the happiness of sitting on a bench under a leafy green tree during their school day.

Then, I met with the school’s Parent-Teacher Association and told my idea of changing the school’s front yard. And I expressed my willingness to organize the project. The group liked the idea but thought it was too difficult. However, several days later, the principal told me, “I had further discussions with my staff. We all think you are very kind. We want to work with you to transform our school’s front yard.”

Later, I found a professional landscape designer who promised to design our front yard free of charge. After that, I found a local company that promised to deliver topsoil (表土) at a deeply discounted price when we were ready to transform our front yard. Then I contacted a charity which promised to provide us with various shade trees for free that would grow well in our area. And it would send a professional crew to help us plant the trees.

Then, we named our future front yard “The Habitat for Living & Learning”. At this point, we spoke with everyone we knew about the Habitat for Living & Learning. The hard work of spreading topsoil, digging and planting was scheduled to begin within weeks.

Para. 1: So we posted the tasks in the school’s front hall where everyone could see them.

Para. 2: Soon, everyone — students, staff and volunteers — began working to spread the topsoil.

When I was in high school in the 1980s, Jane Fonda’s workout tapes were so popular. But in those days, I was far from a workout participant.

My lack of athleticism finally caught up with me after I quit smoking and put on a lot of weight. By the time I was forty-five, I was 252 pounds. Even at six feet tall, that was way too much weight for my body. I also felt like life was passing me by, but I didn’t know what was next for me. So when I had the opportunity to enter a contest to meet Jane Fonda through a SiriusXM Town Hall event, I crossed my fingers and entered the lucky draw.

To my great surprise, I was one of the winners. I thought this was a sign that my luck was changing. I had always enjoyed Fonda’s movies and was thrilled to have the chance to meet her. So I made up as much as I could, put on my best dress, and brought my best friend Jon along to meet Jane Fonda.

Fonda was seventy-five then and looked great in person, wearing all black and looking decades younger. Not only that, but she was so kind and friendly. She really made me feel special as we discussed a film I had recently seen her in called Peace, Love &Misunderstanding. We posed for a picture together, and I even got the opportunity to ask her a question at the event.

One of the radio network’s organizers promised to send me the photo of us, so I was thrilled when I received an e-mail from her the next day with the Jane Fonda picture. But my excitement turned into embarrassment and disgust when I got a good look at the photo.

That picture gnawed at me.

I made up my mind to lose weight and get in shape.