父親、兒子與答案 A Father, a Son and an Answer

Passing through the Atlanta airport one morning, I caught one of those trains that take travelers from the main terminal to their boarding gates. Free, sterile and impersonal, the trains run back and forth all day long. Not many people consider them fun, but on this Saturday I heard laughter.

At the front of the first car – looking out the window at the track that lay ahead – were a man and his son.

We had just stopped to let off passengers, and the doors wee closing again. “Here we go! Hold on to me tight!” the father said. The boy, about five years old, made sounds of sheer delight.

I know we’re supposed to avoid making racial distinctions these days, so I hope no one will mind if I mention that most people on the train were white, dressed for business trips or vacations – and that the father and son were black, dressed in clothes that were just about as inexpensive as you can buy.

“Look out there!” the father said to his son. “See that pilot? I bet he’s walking to his plane.” The son craned his neck to look.

As I got off, I remembered some thing I’d wanted to buy in the terminal. I was early for my flight, so I decided to go back.

I did – and just as I was about to reboard the train for my gate, I saw that the man and his son had returned too. I realized then that they hadn’t been heading for a flight, but had just bee riding the shuttle.

“I want to ride some more!”

“More?” the father said, mock-exasperated but clearly pleased. “You’re not tired?”

“This is fun!” his son said.

“All right,” the father replied, and when a door opened we all got on.

There are parents who can afford to send their children to Europe or Disneyland, and the children turn out rotten. There are parents who live in million-dollar houses and give their children cars and swimming pools, yet something goes wrong. Rich and poor, black and white, so much goes wrong so often.

“Where are all these people going, Daddy?” the son asked.

“All over the world,” came the reply. The other people in the air port wee leaving for distant destinations or arriving at the ends of their journeys. The father and son, though, were just riding this shuttle together, making it exciting, sharing each other’s company.

So many troubles in this country – crime, the murderous soullessness that seems to be taking over the lives of many young people, the lowering of educational standards, the increase in vile obscenities in public, the disappearance of simple civility. So many questions about what to do. Here was a father who cared about spending the day with his son and who had come up with this plan on a Saturday morning.

The answer is so simple: parents who care enough to spend time, and to pay attention and to try their best. It doesn’t cost a cent, yet it is the most valuable thing in the world.

The train picked up speed, and the father pointed something out, and the boy laughed again, and the answer is so simple.

父親、兒子與答案

（美） 鮑勃•格林

一天早晨去亞特蘭大機(jī)場(chǎng)，我看見(jiàn)一輛列車(chē)載載著旅客從航空集散站抵達(dá)登記處。這類(lèi)免費(fèi)列車(chē)每天單調(diào)、無(wú)味地往返其間，沒(méi)人覺(jué)得有趣。但這個(gè)周六我卻聽(tīng)到了笑聲。

在頭節(jié)車(chē)廂的最前面，坐著一個(gè)男人和他的兒子。他們正透過(guò)窗戶(hù)觀賞著一直往前延伸的鐵道。

我們停下來(lái)等候旅客下車(chē)，之后，車(chē)門(mén)關(guān)上了。“走吧。拉緊我！”父親說(shuō)。兒子大約5歲吧，一路喜不自禁。

車(chē)上坐的多半是衣冠楚楚，或公差或度假的白人，只有這對(duì)黑人父子穿著樸素簡(jiǎn)單。我知道如今我們不該種族歧視，我希望我這樣描述沒(méi)人介意。

“快看！”父親對(duì)兒子說(shuō)：“看見(jiàn)那位飛行員了嗎？我敢肯定是去開(kāi)飛機(jī)的。”兒子伸長(zhǎng)脖子看。

下了車(chē)后我突然想起還得在航空集散站買(mǎi)點(diǎn)東西。離起飛時(shí)間還早，于是我決定再乘車(chē)回去。

正準(zhǔn)備上車(chē)的時(shí)候，我看到那對(duì)父子也來(lái)了。我意識(shí)到他們不是來(lái)乘飛機(jī)的，而是特意來(lái)坐區(qū)間列車(chē)的。

“我還想再坐一會(huì)兒！”

“再坐一會(huì)兒！”父親嗔怪模仿著兒子的語(yǔ)調(diào)，“你還不累？”

“真好玩！”兒子說(shuō)。

“好吧，”父親說(shuō)。車(chē)門(mén)開(kāi)了，我們都上了車(chē)。

我們很多父母有能力送孩子去歐洲，去狄斯尼樂(lè)園，可孩子還是墮落了。很多父母住豪華別墅，孩子有車(chē)有游泳池，可孩子還是學(xué)壞了。富人、窮人，黑人、白人，那么多人都輕易學(xué)壞了。

“爸爸，這些人去哪？”兒子問(wèn)。

“世界各地。”父親回答。機(jī)場(chǎng)來(lái)來(lái)往往的人流或準(zhǔn)備遠(yuǎn)行，或剛剛歸來(lái)。這對(duì)父子卻在乘坐區(qū)間列車(chē)，享受著父子間的親情與陪伴。

我們正面臨許多問(wèn)題：犯罪、越來(lái)越多的年輕人變得冷漠無(wú)情、文化水平下降、公共場(chǎng)合卑劣猥褻上升、起碼的禮貌喪失，等等。我們有那么多的問(wèn)題要處理。而這里。這位父親卻很在意花上一天陪伴兒子，并在這樣一個(gè)星期六的早上，提出這個(gè)計(jì)劃。

其實(shí)答案很簡(jiǎn)單：父母愿意花時(shí)間，愿意關(guān)注，愿意盡心盡職。這不要花一分錢(qián)，可這卻是世間無(wú)價(jià)之寶。

火車(chē)加速了。父親指著窗外說(shuō)著什么，兒子直樂(lè)。是的，答案就是這么簡(jiǎn)單。Bob Greene 
 

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