When I was growing up, I was embarrassed to be seen with my father．He was seriously crippled(瘸)and very 1 , and when we would walk together, his hand 2 my arm for balance, people would stare．I would be inwardly ashamed at the unwanted 3 ．If he ever noticed or was bothered, he never 4 ．
It was difficult to coordinate(协调)our 5 －his halting, mine impatient–and because of that, we didn’t 6 much as we went along．But as we started out, he always said,“You 7 the pace, I will try to adjust to you．”
Our usual walk was to or from the subway, 8 was how he got to work．He went to work 9 , and despite bad weather．He almost never missed a day, and would make 10 to the office even if others could not．A matter of pride．
When snow or ice was on the ground, it was impossible for him to walk, 11 with help．At such times my sister or I would pull him 12 the streets of Brooklyn, NY, on a child’s sleigh to the subway entrance． 13 there, he would hold the handrail until he reached the 14 steps that the warmer tunnel air kept 15 ．In Manhattan the subway station was the basement of his office building, and he would not have to go outside again until we 16 him in Brooklyn on his way home．
When I think of it now, I am 17 at how much courage it 18 for a grown man to subject himself to such indignity(侮辱)and stress．And at 19 he did it–without bitterness or 20 ．