愛是比較好的遺產

As a young man, Al was a skilled artist, a potter. He had a wife and two fine sons. One night, his oldest son developed a severe stomachache. Thinking it was only some common intestinal disorder, neither Al nor his wife took the condition very seriously. But the malady was actually acute appendicitis, and the boy died suddenly that night.

年輕時，Al 就已經是一個陶藝藝術家了。他有了妻室和兩個健壯的兒子。但是一天夜里，他大兒子肚子疼得厲害，他想這也只不過是正常的小毛病，就沒太在意，他妻子也是。然而那卻是急性闌尾炎，那可憐的孩子那天夜里就這么死了。

Knowing the death could have been prevented if he had only realized the seriousness of the situation, Al's emotional health deteriorated under the enormous burden of his guilt. To make matters worse his wife left him a short time later, leaving him alone with his six-year-old younger son. The hurt and pain of the two situations were more than Al could handle, and he turned to alcohol to help him cope. In time Al became an alcoholic.

一想到孩子的死本來可以避免的如果他那時意識到情況的嚴重性，Al內心無比愧疚，情緒也一天比一天糟糕。更糟的是，不久他的妻子拋棄他和他們6歲的小兒子，離開了他。喪子之痛妻離之苦讓Al無法喘息，他開始酗酒來麻痹自己，最后他就成了一個名副其實的酒鬼。

As the alcoholism progressed, Al began to lose everything he possessed — his home, his land, his art objects, everything. Eventually Al died alone in a San Francisco motel room.

就這樣喝酒度日，Al慢慢地失去了他所擁有的一切——房子、土地、藝術作品等等，最后孤獨地在舊金山的一個汽車旅館里死去。

When I heard of Al's death, I reacted with the same disdain the world shows for one who ends his life with nothing material to show for it. "What a complete failure!" I thought. "What a totally wasted life"

當我聽說Al的死訊時，我的反映和別人一樣，鄙視他沒有留下什么財產。“多失敗??！”我思索著，“完全沒有意義的一生。”

As time went by, I began to re-evaluate my earlier harsh judgment. You see, I knew Al's now adult son, Ernie. He is one of the kindest, most caring, most loving men I have ever known. I watched Ernie with his children and saw the free flow of love between them. I knew that kindness and caring had to come from somewhere.

隨著時間的流逝，我開始重新審視早期對Al刻薄的評價。你們知道，我認識Al已成年的兒子，Ernie。他是我認識的最善良、懂得關心人、最有愛心的男人了。每每看著他和他的孩子們我都能感覺到他們之間愛的流動。我意識到這種親切一定有所淵源。

I hadn't heard Ernie talk much about his father. It is so hard to defend an alcoholic. One day I worked up my courage to ask him. "I'm really puzzled by something," I said. "I know your father was basically the only one to raise you. What on earth did he do that you became such a special person?"

Ernie很少提及他的父親，畢竟他就是想為父親辯駁也很難。一天，我鼓起勇氣問了他：“有些事情讓我很疑惑。”，我說道，“我知道事實上可以說是你父親一個人撫養(yǎng)你成人，但是他是怎樣把你培養(yǎng)成這么特別的一個人呢？”

Ernie sat quietly and reflected for a few moments. Then he said, "From my earliest memories as a child until I left home at 18, Al came into my room every night, gave me a kiss and said, 'I love you, son.'"

Ernie坐在那里沉思了一會，說道：“從我最早的回憶也就是18歲那時起，Al每天晚上都會吻我一下然后對我說‘我愛你，兒子。’。”

Tears came to my eyes as I realized what a fool I had been to judge Al as a failure. He had not left any material possessions behind. But he had been a kind loving father, and he left behind one of the finest, most giving men I have ever known.

聽道這些，我抑制不住自己，眼淚涌出來了，我認識到自己是多么的愚蠢，居然認為Al是個失敗的人。是，他確實沒留下什么遺產，但是他曾經是一個很有愛心的父親，是我認識的最好的、最有愛心的人。