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Passing through the Atlanta airport one morning, I caught one of those trains that take travelers from the main terminal1 to their boarding gates. Free, sterile2 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 were closing again. “Here we go! Hold on to me tight!” The father said. The boy, about five years old, made sounds of sheer3 delight. “Look out there!” The father said to his son. “See that pilot? I bet he’s walking to his plane.” The son craned4 his neck to look.
As I got off, I remembered something 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 been riding the shuttle.
“I want to ride some more!”
“More?” the father said, mock-exasperated5 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.
“Where are all these people going, Daddy?” the son asked.
“All over the world,” came the reply. The other people in the air port will leave for distant destinations or at the end 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 lowering of educatio standards, the disappearance of simple civility6, the murderous soullessness7 that seems to be taking over the lives of many young people. So many questions about what to do. Here was a father who cared about spending the day with his son.
The answer is so simple: Parents who care enough to spend time, 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 was so simple.
一天早上路过亚特兰大机场时，我从航空集散站看到一辆载旅客去登机口的列车。一整天，这些列车就这么自由、乏味、冷冷地穿梭着。没有多少人会认为它们有什么乐趣，但是在那个星期六，我却听到了来自地里的笑声。
在头班车的前面，一个男人和他的儿子正看着窗外的一直延伸的轨道。 我们停下来让旅客下车，接着门又关上了。“我们走吧！抓紧我！”父亲说。这个五岁大的男孩发出阵阵欢呼声。“快看！”父亲对儿子说，“看见那个飞行员了吗？我打赌他是要去开飞机。”儿子伸长了脖子去看。
我下了车，想起要在航空集散站买些东西。离飞机起飞还早，因此我决定回去。我返回了。就在将要登上去往我的登机口的列车时，我看到那对父子也回来了。我意识到他们不是要去乘坐飞机，而只是坐坐往返列车。
“我还想坐一会儿。”
“还要坐？”父亲问。虽然他佯装发怒却依然掩饰不了他高兴的情绪，“你不累吗？”“这很好玩！”儿子说。 “好吧。”父亲回答道。这时门开了，我们都上了车。
有的父母有经济能力让他们的孩子去欧洲或是去迪斯尼乐园游玩，可是这些孩子却堕落了。有的父母住在价值几百万美元的豪宅里，还给他们的孩子买了汽车和游泳池，可是孩子却学坏了。
“爸爸，这些人都要去哪儿？”儿子问道。
“全世界，”父亲回答。机场的其他人不是将要飞往遥远的目的地，就是已经结束旅程刚刚返回。然而这对父子却只是一起饶有兴趣地坐着往返列车，享受着彼此的陪伴。
我们的社会面临很多的问题——犯罪、教育水平下降、基本礼貌丧失，冷漠无情似乎主导了许多年轻人的生活。关于要做什么有太多的困惑。可这里却有一位父亲愿意花一天的时间陪他的儿子。
答案就是这么简单：父母对孩子付出所有的时间、关爱和所有的努力。 这并不用花一分钱，但却是世界上最有价值的东西。
火车加快了速度，父亲指着窗外的什么东西，儿子又笑了，答案就是这么简单。
林菲璐 摘译自English Shoot Stories
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 were closing again. “Here we go! Hold on to me tight!” The father said. The boy, about five years old, made sounds of sheer3 delight. “Look out there!” The father said to his son. “See that pilot? I bet he’s walking to his plane.” The son craned4 his neck to look.
As I got off, I remembered something 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 been riding the shuttle.
“I want to ride some more!”
“More?” the father said, mock-exasperated5 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.
“Where are all these people going, Daddy?” the son asked.
“All over the world,” came the reply. The other people in the air port will leave for distant destinations or at the end 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 lowering of educatio standards, the disappearance of simple civility6, the murderous soullessness7 that seems to be taking over the lives of many young people. So many questions about what to do. Here was a father who cared about spending the day with his son.
The answer is so simple: Parents who care enough to spend time, 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 was so simple.
一天早上路过亚特兰大机场时，我从航空集散站看到一辆载旅客去登机口的列车。一整天，这些列车就这么自由、乏味、冷冷地穿梭着。没有多少人会认为它们有什么乐趣，但是在那个星期六，我却听到了来自地里的笑声。
在头班车的前面，一个男人和他的儿子正看着窗外的一直延伸的轨道。 我们停下来让旅客下车，接着门又关上了。“我们走吧！抓紧我！”父亲说。这个五岁大的男孩发出阵阵欢呼声。“快看！”父亲对儿子说，“看见那个飞行员了吗？我打赌他是要去开飞机。”儿子伸长了脖子去看。
我下了车，想起要在航空集散站买些东西。离飞机起飞还早，因此我决定回去。我返回了。就在将要登上去往我的登机口的列车时，我看到那对父子也回来了。我意识到他们不是要去乘坐飞机，而只是坐坐往返列车。
“我还想坐一会儿。”
“还要坐？”父亲问。虽然他佯装发怒却依然掩饰不了他高兴的情绪，“你不累吗？”“这很好玩！”儿子说。 “好吧。”父亲回答道。这时门开了，我们都上了车。
有的父母有经济能力让他们的孩子去欧洲或是去迪斯尼乐园游玩，可是这些孩子却堕落了。有的父母住在价值几百万美元的豪宅里，还给他们的孩子买了汽车和游泳池，可是孩子却学坏了。
“爸爸，这些人都要去哪儿？”儿子问道。
“全世界，”父亲回答。机场的其他人不是将要飞往遥远的目的地，就是已经结束旅程刚刚返回。然而这对父子却只是一起饶有兴趣地坐着往返列车，享受着彼此的陪伴。
我们的社会面临很多的问题——犯罪、教育水平下降、基本礼貌丧失，冷漠无情似乎主导了许多年轻人的生活。关于要做什么有太多的困惑。可这里却有一位父亲愿意花一天的时间陪他的儿子。
答案就是这么简单：父母对孩子付出所有的时间、关爱和所有的努力。 这并不用花一分钱，但却是世界上最有价值的东西。
火车加快了速度，父亲指着窗外的什么东西，儿子又笑了，答案就是这么简单。
林菲璐 摘译自English Shoot Stories