遠行的心 等

My good thing happened when I was 18 years old. I was trying to drive home to Maryland from visiting friends in Texas. I was going up the road and all of a sudden my car would just not go. It was a Sunday and cold outside. The only person I could get hold of was an old man who supposedly owned a tow truck.

When he got to me， I thought he was too old to even hook up my car. He was probably around age 75 or older， and he was freezing， too. The old man was pretty deaf， so to talk with him， I had to scream， practically！ But we talked and talked. He talked my ear off， and I talked his off. I told him I had no money to fix anything seriously wrong with the car， so if the news was bad， I would have to junk it and take the bus home.

He towed my car to a small Texas town about an hours drive from the middle of nowhere where I had broken down. So， I checked into a motel. The next day， the auto shop called and said I needed a new engine in my car！ My motor had blown up！ I asked if I could just leave the car there for them. They could use it for parts since the shell of the car was fine.

They said no—the man who towed the car in told them to put in a new motor and send me on my way！ I told them I could not afford to pay for that. They said that the old man who came out to get me that Sunday owned the auto repair shop and was filthy rich！ He said just to give me a new motor and whatever else I needed and tell me to come to get the car.

When I picked up the car， there was a note that told me to just do nice things for people when I got into a better position in life and it would always come back to me. That was what he wanted me to do as payment for the new motor. He would not let anyone tell me how to contact him. He had told the repair shop people that our conversation was the most invigorating hed had in years and I was the first young person who hadnt ignored him in years.

Now， every time I see someone in need I try to do all I can for them. I will never forget this mans generosity and care for his fellow human being！ I will always do what he asked me to do， and I know he is up in heaven watching since I was only 18 at the time and now Im 40， but never got to say thanks！ Maybe the Internet has reached heaven and he can read what I write.

我18歲那年，遇上了一件幸運的事。當時到得克薩斯州探訪完朋友后，我試圖把車開回位于馬里蘭州的家。我一路往前開，忽然車子就拋錨了。那天是星期天，車外面很冷。我唯一能求助的是個老人，他開的大概是一輛拖車。

當他來到我面前時，我覺得他年紀太大了，甚至都沒有力氣將拖鉤掛在我的車上。他大概75歲左右，或許年紀還要大些，也一樣凍僵了。這個老人耳朵很背，和他說話時，我?guī)缀醪坏貌桓呗暯泻埃覀冞€是不停地交談。他對我喋喋不休，我也對他喋喋不休。我告訴他，如果我的車有任何嚴重的問題，我是付不起維修費的，所以要真是那樣，我就得把車扔了，然后乘巴士回家。

我的車拋錨的地方很荒涼，他用了一個小時才把我的車拖到得克薩斯州的一個小鎮(zhèn)上。于是我在一個汽車旅館里住下過夜。第二天，汽車修理店打電話給我，說我的車需要安裝一個新的引擎，原來的引擎壞了。我問能不能把車子留給他們，因為車子外殼還是好的，他們可以拆下一些零件來用。

他們說不必，那個把我的車拖到他們那里的老人讓他們給車安裝一個新引擎，并要他們一路送我回家。我跟他們說，我負擔不起那筆費用。他們說，在那個星期天出現在我面前并幫我的那個老人，就是他們汽車修理店的老板，他很有錢。他吩咐他們給我的車安裝一個新引擎，并說要是我另外還需要什么就都給我，然后通知我去拿車。

我拿回車時，還收到了一張老人留給我的便條，他讓我在生活處于順境時為人們做些好事，這樣做往往會給我?guī)砘貓?。他希望我用這種方式來報答他送我新引擎的舉動。他讓任何人都不要向我透露怎么聯系他，只對修理店的人說，我們之間的談話是多年來最讓他感到振奮的一次，還說我是多年來第一個沒有對他不理不睬的年輕人。

現在，每當我看見有人需要幫助的時候，我都會盡自己所能去幫助他們。我永遠都不會忘記那位老人的慷慨解囊以及他對我的關心，我永遠會照著他要求的那樣去做。并且我知道，他一直在蒼穹注視著我，因為那時我只有18歲，而現在我已經40歲了，但我從沒有機會向他道謝。興許互聯網已經連接到了天堂，他能看見我的這些文字。