Last Christmas I had a very difficult time. My family were all back home in Florida, leaving me alone in rather cold California. I was working at the Southwest Airlines ticket counter. It was about 9:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve, and there were a few of us
1
and very few customers waiting to be
2
. When a person came to the counter, I
3
to see a very old man, whose leg was wrapped in a bandage, standing with a stick. He walked very
4
over and in a low voice told me that he had to go to New Orleans. I tried to explain to him there were no more
5
that night and that he would have to wait till the
6
.
Later, I learned that this old man was Mr Smith and that his relative
7
him off at the side walk on Christmas Eve and told him to go to New Orleans, where he had his family. He was given some
8
and told just to go inside and buy a ticket. When he
9
he could come back the next day, he said that he had no place to stay here and he would wait at the airport until the next day. I felt a little ashamed. The poor old man now
10
me of what being alone really meant.
I never really had a
11
like this, and I was feeling really miserable inside. I went back and told my superior (主管) about it, who
12
to arrange everything. My heart got great relief. The next morning we
13
to get him a ticket and took him to wait for the plane. As he left, he said, "Thanks a lot!" Then he
14
his head and started to cry. Seeing this, my homesickness began to disappear.
From the experience I learned a
15
: He who helps others gets help himself.