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My six-year-old granddaughter, Caitlynd, and I stopped at a Tim Horton’s doughnut shop for a blueberry muffin1. As we were going out the door, a young teenage boy was coming in.
This young man had no hair on the sides of his head and a tuft2 of blue spiked hair on top of it. One of his nostrils3 was pierced, and attached to the hoop that ran through the hole was a chain that draped across his face and attached to a ring he was wearing in his ear. He held a skateboard under one arm and a basketball under the other.
Caitlynd, who was walking ahead of me, stopped in her tracks when she saw the teen. I thought he’d scared the dickens4 out of her, and she’d frozen on the pot.
I was wrong.
My Grandangel backed up against the door and opened it as wide as it would go. Now I was face to face with the young man. I stepped aside and let him pass. His response was a gracious, “Thank you very much.”
On our way to the car, I commended Caitlynd for her manners in holding open the door for the young man. She didn’t seem to be troubled by his appearance, but I wanted to make sure. If a grandmotherly talk about freedom of self-expression and allowing people their differences was in order, I wanted to be ready.
As it turned out, the person who needed the talk was me.
The only thing Caitlynd noticed about the teen was the fact that his arms were full. “He would have a hard time to open the door.”
I saw the partially shaved head, the tuft of spiked hair, the piercings and the chain. She saw a person carrying something under each arm and heading toward a closed door.
In the future, I hope to get down on her level and raise my sights.
我和6岁的孙女凯特琳德在蒂姆·霍顿的油炸圈饼店前停下来，买一块越橘松饼。当我们出门的时候，一个十几岁的少年正要进门。
这个年轻人的脑袋外面一圈没有头发，只在头顶上有一簇长而尖耸的蓝头发。他的一侧鼻孔上被穿了个孔，上面套着一个环，环上挂着一条链子，垂下来越过他的脸庞，连在他的一个耳环上。他的一只胳膊底下夹着一块溜冰板，另一只胳膊底下则夹着一个篮球。
凯特琳德走在我前面，当看见这个少年时，她停住了脚步。她僵立在那儿，我以为他把她的魂魄吓飞了。
但我错了。
我的孙女儿返身抵住门，把门开到最大限度。这样，我就和那个年轻人迎对面了。我走到一边，让他走过去。他有礼貌地说：“非常感谢你们。”
在走回汽车的路上，我为凯特琳德为那个年轻人开门的礼貌行为表扬了她。她似乎没有因他的外貌而不安，但我还想确定一下。如果祖母关于自由地表现自我以及允许别人标新立异的谈话正合适宜的话，那么，我想我已经准备好了。
然而，事实证明，需要这番谈话的人是我。
凯特琳德注意到的只是那个少年两只胳膊都抱满了东西的事实：“他要开门很困难。”
我看到的是被局部剃光了的脑袋、直竖的头发、穿孔和链子。而她看到的却是一个两只胳膊底下都夹满了东西、正朝一扇关闭的门走去的人。
以后，我希望我也能降低到她的身高，而抬高自己的眼界。
风信子 摘译自Wisdom
This young man had no hair on the sides of his head and a tuft2 of blue spiked hair on top of it. One of his nostrils3 was pierced, and attached to the hoop that ran through the hole was a chain that draped across his face and attached to a ring he was wearing in his ear. He held a skateboard under one arm and a basketball under the other.
Caitlynd, who was walking ahead of me, stopped in her tracks when she saw the teen. I thought he’d scared the dickens4 out of her, and she’d frozen on the pot.
I was wrong.
My Grandangel backed up against the door and opened it as wide as it would go. Now I was face to face with the young man. I stepped aside and let him pass. His response was a gracious, “Thank you very much.”
On our way to the car, I commended Caitlynd for her manners in holding open the door for the young man. She didn’t seem to be troubled by his appearance, but I wanted to make sure. If a grandmotherly talk about freedom of self-expression and allowing people their differences was in order, I wanted to be ready.
As it turned out, the person who needed the talk was me.
The only thing Caitlynd noticed about the teen was the fact that his arms were full. “He would have a hard time to open the door.”
I saw the partially shaved head, the tuft of spiked hair, the piercings and the chain. She saw a person carrying something under each arm and heading toward a closed door.
In the future, I hope to get down on her level and raise my sights.
我和6岁的孙女凯特琳德在蒂姆·霍顿的油炸圈饼店前停下来，买一块越橘松饼。当我们出门的时候，一个十几岁的少年正要进门。
这个年轻人的脑袋外面一圈没有头发，只在头顶上有一簇长而尖耸的蓝头发。他的一侧鼻孔上被穿了个孔，上面套着一个环，环上挂着一条链子，垂下来越过他的脸庞，连在他的一个耳环上。他的一只胳膊底下夹着一块溜冰板，另一只胳膊底下则夹着一个篮球。
凯特琳德走在我前面，当看见这个少年时，她停住了脚步。她僵立在那儿，我以为他把她的魂魄吓飞了。
但我错了。
我的孙女儿返身抵住门，把门开到最大限度。这样，我就和那个年轻人迎对面了。我走到一边，让他走过去。他有礼貌地说：“非常感谢你们。”
在走回汽车的路上，我为凯特琳德为那个年轻人开门的礼貌行为表扬了她。她似乎没有因他的外貌而不安，但我还想确定一下。如果祖母关于自由地表现自我以及允许别人标新立异的谈话正合适宜的话，那么，我想我已经准备好了。
然而，事实证明，需要这番谈话的人是我。
凯特琳德注意到的只是那个少年两只胳膊都抱满了东西的事实：“他要开门很困难。”
我看到的是被局部剃光了的脑袋、直竖的头发、穿孔和链子。而她看到的却是一个两只胳膊底下都夹满了东西、正朝一扇关闭的门走去的人。
以后，我希望我也能降低到她的身高，而抬高自己的眼界。
风信子 摘译自Wisdom