TheysayacathasninelivesandIthinkthatpossiblesinceIamnowlivingmythirdlifeandI’mnotevenacat．MyfatherdiedwhenIwas15andwehadahardstruggletomakealiving．Andmy

　　TheysayacathasninelivesandIthinkthatpossiblesinceIamnowlivingmythirdlifeandI’mnotevenacat．MyfatherdiedwhenIwas15andwehadahardstruggletomakealiving．Andmymotherwhowasseriouslyillinherlastyearsdiedwhilestillinher60s．MysistermarriedsoonafterandIfollowedherexamplewithintheyear．

　　ThiswaswhenIbegantoenjoymyfirstlife．Iwasveryhappyinexcellenthealth．IhadagoodjobinSanJoseandabeautifulhomeupthepeninsula(半岛)inSanCarlos．Lifewasapleasantdream．Thenthedreamended．Ibecameafflicted(使苦恼)withaslowlyprogressivediseaseofthemotornervesaffectingfirstmyrightarmandlegandthenmyotherside．Thusbeganmysecondlife…．

　　InspiteofmydiseaseIstilldrovetoandfromworkeachdaywiththeaidofspecialequipmentinstalledinmycar．AndImanagedtokeepmyhealthandoptimism(乐观)toadegreebecauseof14steps．Crazy?Notatall．Ourhomewasanaffairwith14stepsleadingupfromthegaragetothekitchendoor．Thosestepswereastandardmeasureoflife．Theyweremyyardstickmychallengetocontinueliving．IfeltthatifthedayarrivedwhenIwasunabletoliftonefootuponestepandthendragtheotherpainfullyafterit---repeatingtheprocess14timesIwouldbethrough---Icouldthenadmitdefeatandliedownanddie．

　　ThenonadarknightinAugust1971Ibeganmythirdlife．ItwasrainingwhenIstartedhomethatnight;strongwindsandslashingrainbeatdownonthecarasIdroveslowlydownoneoftheless-traveledroads．Suddenlythesteeringwheeljerked(猝然一动)．InthesameinstantIheardthebangofablowout．Itwasimpossibleformetochangethattire!Utterlyimpossible!

　　IstartedtheengineandthumpedslowlyalongkeepingwelloverontheshoulderuntilIcametothedirtroadwhereIturnedinandwhereIfoundlightedwindowswelcomedmetoahouseandpulledintothedrivewayandhonkedthehorn．

　　Thedooropenedandalittlegirlstoodthere．Whensheknewwhathappenedtomeshewentintothehouseandamomentlatercameoutfollowedbyamanwhocalledacheerfulgreeting．Isattherecomfortableanddryandfeltabitsorryforthemanandthelittlegirlworkingsohardinthestorm．

　　Aboutanhourlatertheman’svoicewasheard“Thisisabadnightforcartroublebutyou’reallsetnow．”“Thanks”Isaid．“HowmuchdoI