We both had wanted to see a Mark Rothko exhibit at the Yale Art Gallery, but because of a labor dispute, some of the university's buildings, including the museum, were closed. As Bill and I walked by, he decided he could get us in if we offered to pick up the litter that had accumulated in the gallery's courtyard. Watching him talk our way in was the first time I saw his persuasiveness in action. We had the entire museum to ourselves. We wandered through the galleries talking about Rothko and twentieth-century art. I admit to being surprised at his interest in and knowledge of subjects that seemed, at first, unusual for a Viking from Arkansas. We ended up in the museum's courtyard, where I sat in the large lap of Henry Moore's sculpture Draped Seated Woman while we talked until dark.
我们都想去耶鲁美术馆欣赏马克·罗思科的画展，不过因为劳资纠纷，校园内一些大楼被迫关闭，美术馆也不例外。比尔和我经过那里时，他说他有办法让我们进去，只要我们提出帮忙收拾美术馆院子里的垃圾。看着他说服人家让我们进去，我第一次发现他的说服力惊人。整个美术馆就只有我们两人，穿梭在各个展示厅之间，讨论罗思科与20世纪的画作。我承认被他的艺术修养与兴趣吓了一跳，毕竟一个从阿肯色来的维京人，乍看之下根本不像有艺术细胞。我们最后来到美术馆的院内，我坐在亨利·摩尔的雕像作品《穿褶绉服坐着的女人》的腿上，和他一直聊到天黑。

I was starting to realize that this young man from Arkansas was much more complex than first impressions might suggest. To this day, he can astonish me with the connections he weaves between ideas and words and how he makes it all sound like music. I still love the way he thinks and the way he looks. One of the first things I noticed about Bill was the shape of his hands. His wrists are narrow and his fingers tapered and deft, like those of a pianist or a surgeon. When we first met as students, I loved watching him turn the pages of a book. Now his hands are showing signs of age after thousands of handshakes and golf swings and miles of signatures. They are, like their owner, weathered but still expressive, attractive and resilient.
我这才开始意识到，这位阿肯色州的年轻人远比第一印象复杂。他能在思想与词语间编织出恰当的联系，言语精当灵活，至今这还常令我吃惊。我也欣赏他的思考方式与神态。打一开始，我就注意到比尔双手的形状。他手腕细瘦优雅，手指又长又灵活，有如钢琴家或外科医生的手。自我们从学生时初识，我便喜欢看他翻书的样子。这双手至今已握过数以千计的手，挥杆不下千余次，签过的名连起来也有好几英里长。如今经过岁月磨炼，这双手跟它的主人一样多了几许风霜，但它的表现力、魅力与灵活度不减当年。