我的成長故事:男孩和單車

It’s wonderful to be back in my boyhood hometown again to visit with my now elderly mother. It seems like centuries ago when I was growing up here. Back then, this small town was just a backdrop that formed the unremarkable environment in which I lived my everyday life.
與年邁的母親一起重遊童年的故鄉，是一件很美妙的事情。我在這裏的成長像是幾個世紀前發生的事情一樣。回想當初，這個小鎮只是我童年生活一個絲毫不起眼的背景。

Mom’s doing great for her age, but she’s moving slower these days. After a lengthy but heartwarming talk in the den about my wife, the kids and how well work is going back in the big city far from here, we have reached the point of being all talked out for now.
照她的年齡來說，母親的身體還很好，但這些天行動遲緩了一些。我們在書房裏進行了一次溫馨的長談，說到我的妻子，孩子，以及離這裏很遙遠的大城市裏工作的事情。我們把現在所有的一切都說了個遍。

What a perfect time to go for a walk and get some fresh air. The outside loudly calls for a look around the neighborhood to see how things have changed, and how things have stayed the same. As I walk down the street, it’s like I’m on my trusted bicycle riding around as a young boy. I’m on yet another grand mission on my bike again. Oh, the places my bike could take me, and did.
這可是出門散步，呼吸新鮮空氣的完美時刻。整個世界都在呼喚着我，要我看看周遭的一切，看世事如何變遷又如何保持原樣。我走過街道，像是又騎上了我心愛的單車，回到了我的少年時代。我又要開始單車上的莊嚴旅程了。啊，那些單車帶我去過的地方！

There’s the small corner store, just a quick bike ride down one street and up another, where I can get an ice-cold soda in a glass bottle with the red metal cap. Inside is the long candy aisle where I must carefully consider my choices; will it be a candy bar, or pack of football cards with the bonus flat piece of bubble gum, or a handful of fireball jawbreakers? … The freedom to decide continues unabated¸ only the stakes are higher with time, requiring proportionally greater wisdom.
在那街角有一間小小的商店，就在騎車從一條街轉進另一條街的地方。在那兒可以買到一瓶冰凍汽水，玻璃瓶，紅色的金屬蓋子。商店裏面是條長長的糖果長廊，我得認真考慮我的選擇：是買一個糖果塊、一套附贈口香糖的足球卡、還是一把火球樣的硬球糖？自由決定的權利從未消減，只是隨着時間的推移，這其中的利害關係越來越複雜，需要更多適度調配的智慧。There’s the bridge over the lazy river where I love to park my bike, and just sit on the tall ledge to think penetrating thoughts, as I look down the river into the expansive horizon. How far does this river go, and what is beyond the river, and even what is beyond that? Maybe someday I can travel to experience it on my own when I get older … Many are the places I’ve since traveled, only to enlarge my curiosity further, as my awareness of the unknown has grown.
我經常把單車停在悠悠的河邊，坐在高高的橋上，眺望寬廣無盡的地平線，思考着我那些奇異的想法。這條河會流到哪裏呢？河的前面是什麼？前面的前面呢？也許當我長大了，我可以獨自去探索……我去過很多很多地方，都只是爲了擴大我的好奇心，因爲越來越意識到我對這世界的無知。

It’s only a quick ride to reach the old retired doctor’s house, whose lawn I mow weekly. He pays me a modest wage to help maintain his large yard. We always enjoy talking as we work together. I don’t remember exactly all that we talked about, but I do remember that he always listened and I felt appreciated. He sure did know a lot about what life has in store that is common to every man … His example of deliberate kindness and thoughtful wisdom showed me how to pass on the same to others younger than myself, many times over the years.
騎車到那個退休的老醫生家裏只要很短的時間，我每個星期都去給他修剪草坪。他給我微薄的報酬，讓我幫忙打理他的大庭院。我們很享受工作時一起聊天的時光。我已經不能確切地記得我們到底說了些什麼，但我記得他總是在聆聽，這讓我覺得自己很受尊重。他當然知道對每個普通人來說，生活將會是什麼樣子。很多年以來，他傳遞善意與智慧的榜樣一直激勵着我，讓我把這些繼續傳遞給比我年輕的人。

Up ahead is her house, just three houses down from that corner. I sure do have a crush on her. She is so lovely with pretty blond hair. I need to ride past her house yet again to see if I might find her outside where I could maybe, just maybe, have the chance to talk with her after school. I’m not sure what to say given the chance, but it’s worth the risk. Too bad she never really noticed me at school, even though we shared the same classes; I wonder where she is now … Years later in college, it was just as awkward when I first met my future bride and struggled to start a conversation, but those moments surprisingly became the initial spark that turned into the real communication of our now 25-year marriage.
前方是她的家，拐角過去再過三所房子就到了。我確定我是是迷上她了。她有着美麗的金髮，十分可愛。我騎着車一次又一次地經過她的門前，幻想着或許能碰見她出門，或許——只是或許，能在放學後有跟她說話的機會。我不知道這機會能否降臨，但值得冒險。不幸的是，她在學校從來沒留意過我，即使我們在一個班裏上課。我很想知道她現在身在何方……幾年後，當在大學裏遇見我未來的新娘時，我還是那樣笨拙地，試着去開始我們的談話。然而那些時刻，很意外的，成爲燃起我們如今25年婚姻的星星之火。

Where is that special tree? I know it’s somewhere around here between these two houses, or is it the next house? I guess the tree is now long gone. Having packed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich lunch in my bicycle basket, I’m set to spend almost the entire day climbing around in it, where I can think and dream unrestrained. It is here I have found a glorious refuge; each large branch is its own lavish room comprising my expansive estate. What a rich man I am to have found such an interesting place that I can call my own! I love to climb to the very top where the highest branch is so narrow, I must hold on tight as I sway widely with it in the wind – because the higher I go, the more I can see. I can even see past the supermarket, with a glimpse of the ocean a mile beyond that. I’m glad my mother never knew how high I dared to climb … Ever since then, I have always found it well worth paying the price to reach the vantage point that affords life’s best perspective.
那棵特別的樹在哪裏呢？我知道它就在這兒的某個地方，在這兩所房子之間，還是在下一座房子旁邊？我猜那棵樹已經消失很久了。那時我經常把花生醬和果凍三明治裝好，放進車籃裏作爲午餐，出發來到這裏。我幾乎整天都待在樹上，天馬行空地幻想着。我在這兒找到了輝煌的庇護所，每一根粗壯的樹枝都是一個寬大的房間，共同構築成我的私人莊園。能夠找到如此有趣的屬於我的領地，我是多麼的富有啊！我喜歡爬上最高的地方——上得越高，我才能看得越遠。因爲樹枝太細，我必須得緊緊抓住它，隨風搖擺。我的目光甚至可以越過商場，瞥見一英里外的海洋。我很高興母親從來不知道我爬得有多高。從那以來，我一直都覺得爲了看見生活的光明遠景，付出代價爬上那個制高點是十分值得的。My bicycle enabled so much adventure along the safe sidewalks and sleepy streets of my town. It offered great freedom to explore. There were so many places to ride my bike, including special places that only I knew about. There were seemingly endless opportunities for discovery, compelling experiences, and even the thrill of imagined danger.
我的單車帶着我在這個小鎮經歷了許多冒險，穿過安全人行道和安靜的長街。它爲我提供了探索的自由。可去的地方太多了，包括很多別人不知道的地方。似乎總有無盡的發現的機會、扣人心絃的歷險，以及令人興奮的想象中可能出現的危險。

My life then had space wide enough to ride but secure enough with all its well-defined boundaries, where I purposed to set my course towards creating an engaging life to enjoy. This was a place that couldn’t have been more adventurous.
我的生活中現在有足夠廣闊的空間去行駛，但有了更加安全的定義分明的界限。我已計劃好我的步伐，去創造、享受我充實的生活。這已經成爲一個沒有任何冒險性的地方。

It’s been decades since those days of boyhood exploration, and I’m sure that rust has long since consumed my old bike. But even though everything is different now, nothing has changed. Life remains an adventure that continually beckons. Although I am more established now, I still fashion the places I call my own so that I may live large. I still must plan to set a direction and be careful to navigate a wise path.
少年時代的探險已經過去了幾十年，我的舊單車肯定也早已生滿了鏽。然而，雖然現在一切都不一樣了，卻其實什麼都沒有改變。生活本身就是一場冒險，不停地在向我們召喚着。儘管我現在被越來越多的人肯定，但我依然在不停地構築屬於自己的領地，以獲得更大的生活空間。我仍然要計劃前進的方向，小心地在智慧的道路上航行。

This wonderful little town - this special appointed place - provided a significant time of preparation which was a microcosm of my life, where I learned, without realizing I was learning, the most important things before I ever lived them.
這個奇妙的小鎮，這個特別的地方，爲我提供了一段意義非凡的準備時間。這裏曾是我的小小世界。我在這裏接受潤物無聲的教育，學會了那些我此後生活中最重要的事情。

(作者：Franklin B. Holleman,哲學博士 翻譯：樑明修)