提要
美國康乃狄克州上個月十四日發生駭人聽聞的小學校園槍殺事件。其中，受害小天使之一、六歲艾蜜莉的父親派克，隔日敞開心房、站出來公開哀悼他「開朗、有創意、充滿愛心」的女兒，還向凶嫌的家屬表達慰問：「我無法想像你們有多煎熬！」
這位充滿愛心的父親說，艾蜜莉和其他十九名學童離開人世，應該「激發我們變成更好、更富同情心，關心他人的人」。
以下的故事是一場棒球賽的小插曲，沒有生離死別，卻同樣地讓人深深感受爸爸對孩子的關愛。
Steve Montforto has been going to Phillies games since he was 3 years old. But despite having season tickets, in all his years of going to baseball games, he had never caught a foul ball.
One Tuesday night, the foul-ball fairy finally visited the lifelong fan. He had accepted tickets from a friend that were better than his own — on the rail in the upper deck directly behind home plate.
Montforto's long-awaited chance finally came when Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth hit a foul straight back. Montforto leaned over the glass barrier in front of him and, with hands that would be the envy of any major leaguer, deftly caught the ball.
His face glowing with the joy of realizing a lifelong dream, he exchanged fist bumps with two fans behind him.
Then, bursting with fatherly pride, he handed the ball to his 3-year-old daughter, Emily.
Emily took the prize in her tiny right hand and raised it high.
Then she threw it back.
Montforto never stopped smiling, even when he threw both hands up in shock at what his daughter had done with the prize he had waited a lifetime for. "Looking back, I should have realized that if she gets a ball from dad, she's going to throw it," Montforto explained. "But at the time, I was just so excited to give it to her.
"My first thought was, "I've been waiting for so long to catch a foul ball, and there's my first one. Over the edge it goes." I didn't think I was ever going to get it back."
But that feeling of dismay was quickly overwhelmed by his concern that Emily might think she'd done a bad thing. So he wrapped her in a bear hug, his face still lit by a big smile.
"I just wanted to let her know that it was OK," Montforto said.
解說
曼福特很喜歡看棒球，他從三歲開始，就經常去看費城人隊的比賽，儘管每個球季都觀戰，這麼多年卻從來無緣感受「接界外球」的樂趣。
某個周二晚上，幸運降臨。他接收了有事不能來看球的朋友的票，帶著太太、二個女兒坐在本壘板正後方的上層看台。
期待已久的機會終於來了，費城人隊外野手傑森韋斯打了一個向後飛的界外球。曼福特俯身向前，以不輸任何大聯盟球員的身手，靈巧地接住了球。
他終於實現了畢生的夢想，曼福特的臉上洋溢著喜悅，他與身後的另外兩個球迷擊掌。然後，充滿了驕傲的父親把球交給他三歲的女兒艾蜜莉。
艾蜜莉用右手拿著爸爸得意的「獎品」，高高地舉著。
然後，她朝場中央扔了回去。
女兒把他等了一輩子的球扔了，而且絕對不會再拿回來了，然而震驚的曼福特卻一直沒有停止微笑，「回想起來，我當時就應該想到，如果她從我手中拿到球，會想要扔出去 」，曼福特解釋， 「但在當時，我只是很興奮地給了她。」
「我的第一個念頭是，我已經等待了這麼長的時間，這是我的第一個界外球……」但是對女兒的關心，迅速凌駕失球的沮喪。
擔心艾蜜莉受到驚嚇，曼福特把女兒緊緊摟住，給她一個大大的笑容。「我只是想讓她知道，她沒有做錯事。」
無論中外球迷，看棒球賽時都會搶接界外球。曾經因此發生過不少趣事，也不幸發生過掉落六公尺看台的憾事。但是所有接到過球的得意臉龐，都被這一位「球迷爸爸」比下去了，消息傳出之後，儘管他已婚，曼福特仍被美國女性選為「最理想丈夫」。
在人人吶喊「拚經濟」的時代，我們也該呼籲大家「拚人性」！
WOW!
原來如此
wrap
「wrap 」是包裝，耶誕禮物的包裝是「gift wrap」；曼福特擔心女兒艾蜜莉受到驚嚇，把她緊緊摟住（上圖／取自網路），文中的句子是「wrapped her in a bear hug」，「hug」是擁抱，「bear hug」 是熊抱，也就是用力地、緊緊地擁抱。
比「熊抱」更熱烈的擁抱，就像「把她包起來一般的」摟住，就是「wrapped her in a bear hug」。
deftly
「deftly」是quick and skillful（迅速而且技巧地）完成某件事，文中曼福特with hands that would be the envy of any major leaguer （用令任何大聯盟選手都羨慕的身手）接到界外球，也就是說，在那一瞬間，他的動作媲美甚至超越「年薪百萬美元」的大聯盟選手，當時他的「自我感覺」一定也是「無比美好」。
foul ball
「foul 」是犯規，打籃球時，別人上籃你拉他手，裁判或教練會對你吹哨，說「foul ！」
foul ball是「界外球」，投手被打者擊出去的球若沒有沿著邊線，而是從邊線側邊飛出去，且為高飛球，通稱為?界外飛球?，計好球一次；如果球沒有沿著邊線剛好飛出牆外，稱為?界外全壘打?，也計好球一次。
因為球「飛」到了看台，球迷就理所當然地接受這「天外飛來的禮物」留念，代表特殊意義如「致勝全壘打」、「第三千支安打」的球，如再找到打擊者簽名，更加價值不菲。有不少球迷戴棒球手套看球，就是這個原因。
找出隱藏的字
Finding words
D A U G H T E R E O K
D W U T H F E R Z P D
I O H H F P A R I X E
S F Z G Y A R S L D F
M O U U T L L K A I T
A U U A P B Y O E B L
Y L K C O N C E R N Y
T H I N K C X P A R W
E X C H A N G E Y T G
T M T H G I A R T S S
※因為是「找字遊戲」，所以有些字沒按照傳統英文字「由左到右」的規矩，有的由右到左，有的字上下排列。
你至少可以找到十個字，這些字都在內文中出現過。
解答
D A U G H T E R E O K
D W U T H F E R Z P D
I O H H F P A R I X E
S F Z G Y A R S L D F
M O U U T L L K A I T
A U U A P B Y O E B L
Y L K C O N C E R N Y
T H I N K C X P A R W
E X C H A N G E Y T G
T M T H G I A R T S S
你至少可以找到foul；realize；caught；exchange；daughter；wrap；dismay；deftly；straight；concern等十個字。這些字都可以在內文之中找到。
（※若只找十個字不過癮，可以挑戰更多，例如第七列可以找到early，倒數第三行可找到Think.）