Could anyone rely on the kindness of strangers these days? One way to test this would be for a person to journey from coast to coast without any money, 1) _________ solely on the good will of his fellow Americans. The idea 2) _________ me. So I decided to make a trip from the Pacific Coast to the Atlantic Coast without a penny. I rose early on September 6, 1994, and 3) _________ for the Golden Gate Bridge. During the 6 weeks’ journey, I hitched 82 rides and covered 4,223 miles across 14 states. I was 4) ___________ with kindness in every state I travelled across. I was 5) _________ by the stubborn capacity of Americans to help a stranger, even when it seemed to run 6) _________ to their own best interests. I found that people were 7) ________ compassionate. Hearing I had no money and would take none, people in every state bought me food or shared 8) _________ they happened to have with me. In Jamestown, Tennessee, a science teacher invited me to talk to her class about my trip. All the kids were well-mannered and 9) ________. Their questions kept coming. I told the students how proud I was to live in a country 10) ________ people were still willing to help out a stranger. I told them, “No matter who you are, you can still depend on the kindness of strangers.”