Last year, around Labor Day, I read a “Happy Ad” in our local newspaper. There was a lady in a local nursing home for the aged, who was celebrating her 90th birthday and her family wanted everyone to know about it. It said that if you wanted to drop her a line, here was her address. So I did. I found a birthday card and dropped her a short note, wishing her a happy birthday.

A week or so later, someone knocked at my front door. I opened the door and found a middle-aged man standing on my doorstep. He introduced himself as the son of this woman to whom I had sent the card. He explained that he just wanted to drop by in person and thank me for sending such a nice card to his mom. Apparently, like many older folks, she did not receive much mail and was quite excited to receive mine. I just didn’t know what to say. I told him it was my pleasure and that I hoped his mom had enjoyed her birthday.

That year, I did not send out any Christmas cards, except to this lovely old lady in the nursing home. I just told her that I was thinking about her and hoped that she had a nice holiday. I sent her a holiday card and also a couple of notes in between. I just thought she might like to have someone write to her, to get some mails.

She passed away a couple of months ago. I never met this lady, but I did keep her and her family in my thoughts. I dropped them a line of sympathy. I hope that my few little notes were enough to brighten a couple of her days here on earth.

William Berloni, 59, is Broadway's dog expert, training and managing dogs for musicals and plays that need a well-behaved dog. He also works on movies and TV shows with all kinds of animals, including cats, pigs, sheep, snakes and rats. His retired (退役的) actors, including 30 dogs that have acted in shows such as “Annie” and “Oliver!” live with him and his wife on a farm in Connecticut.

Berloni's main playmates as a kid were his dog, cat and rabbit, but he says he never thought he would become a professional (职业的) animal trainer. He wanted to be an actor. But while working as an assistant for the pre-Broadway production of “Annie” in 1976, he was given the job of finding a dog to play Sandy.

Berloni visited an animal shelter (收容所), where lost dogs and other pets are kept until they are adopted (收养). Shelters take in a lot of animals — so many that some shelters kill pets that aren't quickly adopted. “I didn't know that animals were killed,” says Berloni, who ended up adopting a dog on the day it was supposed to be put down.

The dog, which Berloni named Sandy, turned out to be a perfect fit for the show after a little training. The pair learned from each other, with Berloni becoming better and better as a trainer. Sandy starred in almost all of the show's 2,377 Broadway performances and enjoyed retirement on Berloni's farm when the production's first Broadway run ended in 1983.

Since then, Berloni has made a point of finding all his dogs at shelters. Nessa is one of his

Jon Hoffman was sitting at a red light when he saw a man run out of a store carrying a plastic donation jar full of cash.Dressed in plain clothes，Jon Hoffman caught the man and pressed him against the hood(引擎盖) of his car. But Hoffman had trouble controlling the thief，and they got into a struggle.

“The detective has a military background，and he said he thought the suspect must have a military background，too，because he was able to break away so easily，” a local police spokesperson said.

The detective called out for help as a crowd gathered. Among those watching were Harvey and Kirby，two day laborers.

Harvey did what has become common these days—he took out his phone to shoot the video. “I hate to say it，but I thought that this policeman was doing something stupid，”Harvey said. “But when he asked for help，I thought，well，there wouldn’t be shooting if I got over there in time.” Harvey jumped into action，while he was still recording the video. So did Kirby.

“Harvey caught hold of the suspect’s arms，while Kirby seized his legs，and they were able to get the suspect to the ground to help Detective Hoffman put the handcuffs(手铐) on，”said the police spokesperson. The 27­year­old suspect was charged with resisting arrest and other offenses. The charity jar he stole held less than$50.

“I’ve been on the wrong side of the law several times in my life，”Harvey said. “It feels good to be on the right side and do something positive.”

After the arrest，the three men got to know each other at a local steak house—Hoffman’s treat，as a thank you.