Isn't it amazing how one person, sharing one idea, at the right time and place can change the course of your life's history? This is certainly what happened in my life. When I was 14, I was hitchhiking from Houston, Texas, through El Paso on my way to California. I was following my dream, journeying with the sun. I was a high school dropout with learning disabilities and was set on surfing the biggest waves in the world, first in California and then in Hawaii, where I would later live.
Upon reaching downtown El Paso, I met an old man, a bum, on the street corner. He saw me walking, stopped me and questioned me as I passed by. He asked me if I was running away from home, I suppose because I looked so young. I told him, "Not exactly, sir," since my father had given me a ride to the freeway in Houston and given me his blessings while saying, "It is important to follow your dream and what is in your heart. Son. "
The bum then asked me if he could buy me a cup of coffee. I told him, "No, sir, but a soda would be great." We walked to a corner maltshop and sat down on a couple of swiveling stools while we enjoyed our drinks.
After conversing for a few minutes, the friendly bum told me to follow him. He told me that he had something grand to show me and share with me. We walked a couple of blocks until we came upon the downtown El Paso Public Library.
We walked up its front steps and stopped at a small information stand. Here the bum spoke to a smiling old lady, and asked her if she would be kind enough to watch my things for a moment while he and I entered the library. I left my belongings with this grandmotherly figure and entered into this magnificent hall of learning.
The bum first led me to a table and asked me to sit down and wait for a moment while he looked for something special amongst the shelves. A few moments later, he returned with a couple of old books under his arms and set them on the table. He then sat down beside me and spoke. He started with a few statements that were very special and that changed my life. He said, "There are two things that I want to teach you, young man, and they are these:
"Number one is to never judge a book by its cover, for a cover can fool you." He followed with, "I'll bet you think I’m a bum, don’t you, young man?"
I said, "Well, uh, yes, I guess so, sir."
"Well, young man, I’ve got a little surprise for you. I am one of the wealthiest men in the world. I have probably everything any man could ever want. I originally come from the Northeast and have all the things that money can buy. But a year ago, my wife passed away, bless her soul, and since then I have been deeply reflecting upon life. I realized there were certain things I had not yet experienced in life, one of which was what it would be like to live like a bum on the streets. I made a commitment to myself to do exactly that for one year. For the past year, I have been going from city to city doing just that. So, you see, don’t ever judge a book by its cover, for a cover can fool you.
"Number two is to learn how to read, my boy. For there is only one thing that people can't take away from you,and that is your wisdom."At that moment, he reached forward, grabbed my right hand in his and put them upon the books he’d pulled from the shelves. They were the writings of Plato and Aristotle-immortal classics from ancient times.
The bum then led me back past the smiling old woman near the entrance, down the steps and back on the streets near where we first met. His parting request was for me to never forget what he taught me.
I haven't.
在適當的時間與地點，一個人分享的一種觀念竟能改變你的人生歷程，這是不是不可思議？但這樣的事真真切切地在我的生活里發生了。那年我十四歲，一路搭乘便車，從德克薩斯的休斯敦經埃爾帕索去加利福尼亞。我追隨著我的夢想，一路上與太陽為伴共渡旅程。因為學習能力低下，我從高中退了學，下定決心要去這世上最大的波濤中沖浪，先是加利福尼亞，之后是夏威夷，那也是我后來想要居住的地方。
在到達埃爾帕索市中心時，我在街角遇見一位老人——一個四處流浪的人。他看見我走過來，就在我經過時把我叫住，向我詢問。他問我是不是離家出走了，我猜他這樣問是因為我看上去年紀很小。我告訴他：“不是這樣的，先生。”因為在休斯敦是我父親載我去的高速公路，在他給我祝福時還說：“兒子，追隨夢想，追隨心中所想是件重要的事?！?/P>
于是，老人問我能否請我喝杯咖啡。我答道：“不，先生，汽水就好了。”我們走到拐角處的酒鋪，坐在一對轉椅上，喝著飲料。
在閑談了幾分鐘之后，這位和藹的流浪漢讓我跟他走。他說有些重要的東西想給我看，要與我分享。我們走了幾個街區，來到了市中心的埃爾帕索公共圖書館。
我們走上幾級臺階，停在一個小小的咨詢處前。老流浪漢同這里的一位笑容可掬的老婦人講了幾句話，還問她是否樂意在我們去圖書館的時候幫忙照看一下我的行李。于是，我把行李留給這位老奶奶照管，便走進了這座恢弘的知識殿堂。
老流浪漢先領我走到一張桌子前，請我坐下稍等片刻，他則到一排排的書架上去翻找那些特別的東西。一會兒功夫，他夾著幾本舊書回來了。他把它們攤在桌子上，接著在我身旁坐下，開始與我暢談。他談論的那些獨特見解，改變了我的人生。他說：“年輕人，有兩件事我想教給你，”
“第一件，永遠不要以書的封面去判斷書的內容，因為封面會欺騙你?！彼又f，“我打賭你一定認為我是個流浪漢，對嗎，年輕人？”
我答道：“好吧，呃……先生，我是這么想的，沒錯?！?/P>
“很好，年輕人，我有個小驚喜要告訴你。其實，我是這個世界上最富有的人之一。我也許擁有任何一個人想要擁有的東西。我原本生活在東北部地區，并且擁有一切可以用錢買得到的東西。但是，一年前，我的妻子過世了，愿主保佑她的靈魂，從那時候起，我深深地反省了人生。我意識到我的人生里仍有某些未曾經歷過的事，其中一件就是像大街上的流浪漢那樣生活。我跟我自己做了個約定，要將這件事付諸實際行動一年。而在過去的日子里，我就像流浪漢那樣，從一個城市游走到另一個城市。所以，你瞧，永遠不要以書的封面去判斷書的內容，因為封面可是會讓你上當的?！?/P>
“第二件事，要學會怎樣讀書，我的孩子。因為只有一件東西是人們無法從你身邊取走的，那就是你的智慧。”那一刻，他向前挪了挪身體，將我的右手抓起來，放在了他從書架中取來的那些書上。那些書是柏拉圖與亞里士多德的著作——從古至今流傳了世世代代的不朽之作。
談話結束了，老流浪漢帶我回到剛去過的入口附近，從微笑的老婦人那里取了行李，我們下樓梯又回到了大街上，距我們初次見面的地方很近。他在臨別時，請我永遠不要忘記他所教給我的。
而我從未忘記過。
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