My inspiring grandfather

原文

Ever since I was little I have had the security and love of a whole family. Im sure all of you have lost a loved one， ranging from a dear pet to a beloved family member. I myself have lost many cherished hamsters， but never in my childhood did I think I would lose a family member.

I have many family members; I even have two living greatgrandparents and I also had four grandparents. All that changed in the beginning of 2002. At that time our family was astonished to find out that my grandfather on my Dads side of the family was found to have cancer. He suffered through two years of it. We did everything we could to help him enjoy a comfortable stay at the hospital， like we taped videos of my soccer games and visited him in Chicago on Halloween.

He fought all he could， but on the day of November 5， 2003， he passed away. At that time my parents were visiting him in Chicago， and my other grandparents from Virginia were watching us. Our parents came home early that visit. I still remember that day when they sat all of us down and told us the news. I felt a mix of emotions such as depression， loss， and emptiness. I ran outside into the crisp November air and cried silent tears， kneeling at my hamsters grave under the bare cherry blossom tree.

Almost a year had passed and we were eating dinner at the dinner table when a discussion started about how we could help find a cure for cancer or make the lives of the many people who have it more enjoyable. My older sister Molly and I came up with the idea of selling our honey from our grandparents in Virginias hives. I came up with the name Hives for Lives and we started our business with the bees.

The business started by taking the honey from our bees and some beeswax. We left enough for the bees to survive through the winter. I only got stung once！ After this we would go through the long process of spinning the honey， filtering the honey with three filters， and then putting the honey in a large tin heater and warming it until it was drippy and easily bottled in one of our glass jars. Then we would cap the newly filled jars and label them. We did this all by ourselves！

This year we added beeswax candles and lip balm of many flavors to the product line. We were selling it at the events or stores. Last year， we raised $2，000 for the American Cancer Society and all of it went to a camp for children who have cancer. This year， with a few of our friends， Molly and I spent a lot of our time making beeswax candles and beeswax lip balm. With a lot of help， we raised $9，300！

I learned many things from our grandfather such as to live life to its fullest， proper grammar， the love of literature， and to take risks in life. We are put on this Earth to do well and to help those around us. We are all capable of that if we try.

译文

从很小的时候开始，我就享受着一大家子人给予我的爱与安全感。我敢肯定，你们所有人都曾失去过自己的所爱，从心爱的宠物到深爱的家人。我自己就失去过许多只珍爱的仓鼠，但童年时，我从未想到自己会失去一位家人。

我家的成员很多;两位曾祖父母还在世，還有四位祖父母。但在2002年初，所有这一切都改变了。那时，祖父被查出患了癌症，全家人都震惊了。祖父痛苦地煎熬了两年。我们竭尽所能地帮助他舒适地待在医院里治疗，比如，大家录下了我参加足球赛的视频，在万圣节的那天去芝加哥看望他。

祖父也竭力与病魔斗争，但在2003年11月5号那天，他离开了。当天，我的父母在芝加哥探望他，其他来自弗吉尼亚州的祖父母们则照看我们这些孩子，父母很早就探病回来了。我依然记得那天他们让我们这些孩子都坐下，说出了这个坏消息。我百感交集，心中充满沮丧、失落和空虚感。我跑了出去，在11月寒冷的空气中默默地伤心流泪;在光秃秃的樱花树下，我跪在了我的仓鼠的墓前。

将近一年的时间过去了，那天我们正在餐桌旁吃饭，大家开始了一场讨论，话题有关我们如何帮助癌症患者找到治疗方法，如何让众多患者的生活变得更加愉快。我和姐姐莫莉一起想出一个主意：售卖我们祖父母在弗吉尼亚州的蜂箱所产出的蜂蜜。我提出了“生命蜂箱”这个名字。于是大家便忙活起这个与蜜蜂相关的项目了。

项目起步了，我们从饲养的蜜蜂和一些蜂蜡中提取蜂蜜，也给蜜蜂留下足够多的蜂蜜，以便它们能熬过冬天。我只被叮了一次！之后，我们就开始漫长的酿蜜过程，要用三个滤器来过滤蜂蜜，然后再把它们装入一个巨大的锡炉里，进行加热，直到蜂蜜变成可滴落的液体，这样就能轻而易举地将其装进我们的玻璃罐里。接着，我们给新装满的罐子加上盖子，并贴上标签。所有这一切都是我们自己独立完成的！

今年，我们还在生产线上加入了蜂蜡蜡烛和口味多样的唇膏。我们在活动现场和商店里出售这些产品。去年，我们为“美国癌症协会”募集了2，000美元，这些钱用于为患有癌症的孩子们举办一次露营活动。今年，我、莫莉和几个朋友一起花了很多时间来制作蜂蜡蜡烛和蜂蜡唇膏。我们得到了许多帮助，募集了9，300美元！

我从祖父那里学到很多东西，比如，把生命活到极致的态度、正确使用语法、对文学的喜爱和生活中的冒险精神。我们来到这个世界上要多做好事，帮助那些我们身边的人。如果我们努力去尝试，就能够成功。

（作者：殷华新，泰州市第三高级中学）