專四晨讀美文：The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Benjamin Button: Daisy had finished rehearsing,
and was taking a shower.
And while Daisy was showering,
the taxi was waiting outside a boutique
for the woman to pick up a package,
which hadn't been wrapped yet,
because the girl who was supposed to wrap it
had broken up with her boyfriend the night before, and forgot.
When the package was wrapped,
the woman, who was back in the cab,
was blocked by a delivery truck,
all the while Daisy was getting dressed.
The delivery truck pulled away and the taxi was able to move,
while Daisy, the last to be dressed,
waited for one of her friends, who had broken a shoelace.
While the taxi was stopped, waiting for a traffic light,
Daisy and her friend came out the back of the theater.
And if only one thing had happened differently:
if that shoelace hadn't broken;
or that delivery truck had moved moments earlier;
or that package had been wrapped and ready,
because the girl hadn't broken up with her boyfriend;
or that man had set his alarm and got up five minutes earlier;
or that taxi driver hadn't stopped for a cup of coffee;
or that woman had remembered her coat,
and got into an earlier cab,
Daisy and her friend would've crossed the street,
and the taxi would've driven by.
But life being what it is-
a series of intersecting lives and incidents,
out of anyone's control-that taxi did not go by,
and that driver was momentarily distracted,
and that taxi hit Daisy, and her leg was crushed.
Benjamin Button: It's never too late or,
in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be.
There's no time limit, start whenever you want.
You can change or stay the same,
there are no rules to this thing.
We can make the best or the worst of it.
I hope you make the best of it.
And I hope you see things that startle you.
I hope you feel things you never felt before.
I hope you meet people with a different point of view.
I hope you live a life you're proud of.
If you find that you're not,
I hope you have the strength to start all over again.