15 A Good Heart to Lean On

名称：15 A Good Heart to Lean On
内容简介：
晨读英语美文 励志感悟
[00:08.48]A Good Heart to Lean On
[00:12.65]When I was growing up,
[00:15.69]I was embarrassed to be seen with my father.
[00:18.33]He was severely crippled and very short,
[00:21.45]and when we would walk together,
[00:24.31]his hand on my arm for balance,
[00:26.74]people would stare.
[00:28.63]I would inwardly squirm at the unwanted attention.
[00:32.39]If he ever noticed or was bothered,
[00:34.84]he never let on.
[00:36.97]It was difficult to coordinate our steps—his halting,
[00:40.24]mine impatient—and
[00:42.32]because of that,
[00:44.75]we didn't say much as we went along.
[00:46.32]But as we started out,
[00:49.00]he always said,
[00:51.43]“You set the pace.
[00:52.36]I will try to adjust to you.”
[00:53.83]Our usual walk was to or from the subway,
[00:57.15]which was how he got to work.
[00:59.20]He went to work sick,
[01:01.46]and despite nasty weather.
[01:04.10]He almost never missed a day,
[01:06.36]and would make it to the office even if others could not.
[01:10.38]A matter of pride.
[01:12.20]When snow or ice was on the ground,
[01:16.52]it was impossible for him to walk,
[01:18.06]even with help.
[01:19.37]At such times my sisters or I would pull him
[01:22.26]through the streets of Brooklyn,
[01:24.68]NY, on a child's sleigh to the subway entrance.
[01:27.44]Once there, he would cling to the handrail
[01:29.88]until he reached the lower steps
[01:31.80]that the warmer tunnel air kept ice-free.
[01:34.66]When I think of it now,
[01:37.00]I marvel at how much courage it
[01:39.37]must have taken for a grown man to
[01:41.00]subject himself to such indignity and stress.
[01:43.78]And at how he did it—without bitterness or complaint.
[01:48.10]He never talked about himself as an object of pity,
[01:51.78]nor did he show any envy of the more fortunate or able.
[01:56.65]What he looked for in others was a “good heart”,
[02:00.80]and if he found one,
[02:02.37]the owner was good enough for him.
[02:04.12]He has been gone many years now,
[02:07.53]but I think of him often.
[02:09.28]I wonder if he sensed my reluctance to be seen
[02:12.54]with him during our walks.
[02:14.01]If he did,
[02:15.74]I am sorry.
[02:18.00]I never told him how sorry I was,
[02:20.45]how unworthy I was,
[02:22.33]how I regretted it.
[02:24.56]I think of him when I complain about trifles,
[02:28.38]When I am envious of another's good fortune,
[02:31.15]when I don't have a “good heart”.
[02:34.90]At such times I put my hand on his arm to regain my balance,
[02:38.65]and say,
[02:39.71]“You set the pace,
[02:41.68]I will try to adjust to you.”