Small moments sometimes last a very long time. And a few words—though they mean 21 at the time to the people who say them—can have great power. I recently heard a story from Malcolm Dalkoff, who has been a professional 22 for the last twenty-four years, mostly in advertising. As a boy, Dalkoff was terribly shy and 23 . He had few friends and no self-confidence. Then one day, his high-school English teacher, Ruth Brauch, asked the class to write their own chapter that would 24 the last chapter of the novel since they had been reading To Kill a Mockingbird. Dalkoff wrote his chapter and turned it in. Today he cannot recall anything special about the chapter he wrote, or what 25 Mrs. Brauch gave him. 26 , what he does remember is the four words in the paper: “This is good writing.” Four words. They 27 his life. “Until I read those words, I had no idea of who I was or what I was or what I was going to be,” he said, “After reading her 28 ,I went home and wrote a short story, 29 I had always dreamed of doing but never believed I could do.” Over the rest of that year in school, he wrote many short stories and always brought them to Mrs. Brauch for instruction. “She was 30 , helping and honest. She was just what I needed,” Dalkoff said.
|