(A)
Henry’s father was a house painter. In his lifetime, he must have painted hundreds of houses, inside and out. He was a happy, outgoing man who made friends easily. It wasn’t hard to tell that he loved his work as well as his life. He was also an excellent painter. No one could paint a wall like him, which is why (a) his services were always in demand.
(B)
Finally, his father offered Henry some advice. “Don’t worry about spills and messes. They can always be cleaned up. Treat a wall the way you treat people―be generous, have fun. Always put enough paint on the brush.” With that, (b) he turned and applied a thick coat of paint to the wall, resuming his conversation with the homeowner. His father did spill a few drops but made a better-looking wall while having fun.
(C)
Once, while in college, Henry went to help his father paint a house. Henry was working inside and noticed how skilled his father was at quickly applying a quality coat of paint to a wall. As a matter of fact, while carrying on a conversation with the homeowner, laughing the whole time, his father applied generous amounts of paint to the wall. (c) He painted three walls compared to Henry’s one.
(D)
At one point, Henry’s father stopped working and watched him. (d) He noticed how Henry took his time dipping the brush in the paint bucket and how he carefully wiped off both sides of the brush as he pulled it out in order not to waste any paint. Henry then spread a thin coat of paint on the wall without spilling a drop. It was a slow, tedious process, but (e) he dared not laugh or “kid around” for fear of making a mess and embarrassing his father.