It’s wonderful to be back in my boyhood hometown again to visit with my now elderly mother. It seems like centuries ago when I was growing up here. Back then, this small town was just a backdrop that formed the unremarkable environment in which I lived my everyday life.
与年迈的母亲一起重游童年的故乡，是一件很美妙的事情。我在这里的成长像是几个世纪前发生的事情一样。回想当初，这个小镇只是我童年生活一个丝毫不起眼的背景。

Mom’s doing great for her age, but she’s moving slower these days. After a lengthy but heartwarming talk in the den about my wife, the kids and how well work is going back in the big city far from here, we have reached the point of being all talked out for now.
照她的年龄来说，母亲的身体还很好，但这些天行动迟缓了一些。我们在书房里进行了一次温馨的长谈，说到我的妻子，孩子，以及离这里很遥远的大城市里工作的事情。我们把现在所有的一切都说了个遍。

What a perfect time to go for a walk and get some fresh air. The outside loudly calls for a look around the neighborhood to see how things have changed, and how things have stayed the same. As I walk down the street, it’s like I’m on my trusted bicycle riding around as a young boy. I’m on yet another grand mission on my bike again. Oh, the places my bike could take me, and did.
这可是出门散步，呼吸新鲜空气的完美时刻。整个世界都在呼唤着我，要我看看周遭的一切，看世事如何变迁又如何保持原样。我走过街道，像是又骑上了我心爱的单车，回到了我的少年时代。我又要开始单车上的庄严旅程了。啊，那些单车带我去过的地方！

There’s the small corner store, just a quick bike ride down one street and up another, where I can get an ice-cold soda in a glass bottle with the red metal cap. Inside is the long candy aisle where I must carefully consider my choices; will it be a candy bar, or pack of football cards with the bonus flat piece of bubble gum, or a handful of fireball jawbreakers? … The freedom to decide continues unabated¸ only the stakes are higher with time, requiring proportionally greater wisdom.
在那街角有一间小小的商店，就在骑车从一条街转进另一条街的地方。在那儿可以买到一瓶冰冻汽水，玻璃瓶，红色的金属盖子。商店里面是条长长的糖果长廊，我得认真考虑我的选择：是买一个糖果块、一套附赠口香糖的足球卡、还是一把火球样的硬球糖？自由决定的权利从未消减，只是随着时间的推移，这其中的利害关系越来越复杂，需要更多适度调配的智慧。

There’s the bridge over the lazy river where I love to park my bike, and just sit on the tall ledge to think penetrating thoughts, as I look down the river into the expansive horizon. How far does this river go, and what is beyond the river, and even what is beyond that? Maybe someday I can travel to experience it on my own when I get older … Many are the places I’ve since traveled, only to enlarge my curiosity further, as my awareness of the unknown has grown.
我经常把单车停在悠悠的河边，坐在高高的桥上，眺望宽广无尽的地平线，思考着我那些奇异的想法。这条河会流到哪里呢？河的前面是什么？前面的前面呢？也许当我长大了，我可以独自去探索……我去过很多很多地方，都只是为了扩大我的好奇心，因为越来越意识到我对这世界的无知。

It’s only a quick ride to reach the old retired doctor’s house, whose lawn I mow weekly. He pays me a modest wage to help maintain his large yard. We always enjoy talking as we work together. I don’t remember exactly all that we talked about, but I do remember that he always listened and I felt appreciated. He sure did know a lot about what life has in store that is common to every man … His example of deliberate kindness and thoughtful wisdom showed me how to pass on the same to others younger than myself, many times over the years.
骑车到那个退休的老医生家里只要很短的时间，我每个星期都去给他修剪草坪。他给我微薄的报酬，让我帮忙打理他的大庭院。我们很享受工作时一起聊天的时光。我已经不能确切地记得我们到底说了些什么，但我记得他总是在聆听，这让我觉得自己很受尊重。他当然知道对每个普通人来说，生活将会是什么样子。很多年以来，他传递善意与智慧的榜样一直激励着我，让我把这些继续传递给比我年轻的人。

Up ahead is her house, just three houses down from that corner. I sure do have a crush on her. She is so lovely with pretty blond hair. I need to ride past her house yet again to see if I might find her outside where I could maybe, just maybe, have the chance to talk with her after school. I’m not sure what to say given the chance, but it’s worth the risk. Too bad she never really noticed me at school, even though we shared the same classes; I wonder where she is now … Years later in college, it was just as awkward when I first met my future bride and struggled to start a conversation, but those moments surprisingly became the initial spark that turned into the real communication of our now 25-year marriage.
前方是她的家，拐角过去再过三所房子就到了。我确定我是是迷上她了。她有着美丽的金发，十分可爱。我骑着车一次又一次地经过她的门前，幻想着或许能碰见她出门，或许——只是或许，能在放学后有跟她说话的机会。我不知道这机会能否降临，但值得冒险。不幸的是，她在学校从来没留意过我，即使我们在一个班里上课。我很想知道她现在身在何方……几年后，当在大学里遇见我未来的新娘时，我还是那样笨拙地，试着去开始我们的谈话。然而那些时刻，很意外的，成为燃起我们如今25年婚姻的星星之火。

Where is that special tree? I know it’s somewhere around here between these two houses, or is it the next house? I guess the tree is now long gone. Having packed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich lunch in my bicycle basket, I’m set to spend almost the entire day climbing around in it, where I can think and dream unrestrained. It is here I have found a glorious refuge; each large branch is its own lavish room comprising my expansive estate. What a rich man I am to have found such an interesting place that I can call my own! I love to climb to the very top where the highest branch is so narrow, I must hold on tight as I sway widely with it in the wind – because the higher I go, the more I can see. I can even see past the supermarket, with a glimpse of the ocean a mile beyond that. I’m glad my mother never knew how high I dared to climb … Ever since then, I have always found it well worth paying the price to reach the vantage point that affords life’s best perspective.
那棵特别的树在哪里呢？我知道它就在这儿的某个地方，在这两所房子之间，还是在下一座房子旁边？我猜那棵树已经消失很久了。那时我经常把花生酱和果冻三明治装好，放进车篮里作为午餐，出发来到这里。我几乎整天都待在树上，天马行空地幻想着。我在这儿找到了辉煌的庇护所，每一根粗壮的树枝都是一个宽大的房间，共同构筑成我的私人庄园。能够找到如此有趣的属于我的领地，我是多么的富有啊！我喜欢爬上最高的地方——上得越高，我才能看得越远。因为树枝太细，我必须得紧紧抓住它，随风摇摆。我的目光甚至可以越过商场，瞥见一英里外的海洋。我很高兴母亲从来不知道我爬得有多高。从那以来，我一直都觉得为了看见生活的光明远景，付出代价爬上那个制高点是十分值得的。

My bicycle enabled so much adventure along the safe sidewalks and sleepy streets of my town. It offered great freedom to explore. There were so many places to ride my bike, including special places that only I knew about. There were seemingly endless opportunities for discovery, compelling experiences, and even the thrill of imagined danger.
我的单车带着我在这个小镇经历了许多冒险，穿过安全人行道和安静的长街。它为我提供了探索的自由。可去的地方太多了，包括很多别人不知道的地方。似乎总有无尽的发现的机会、扣人心弦的历险，以及令人兴奋的想象中可能出现的危险。

My life then had space wide enough to ride but secure enough with all its well-defined boundaries, where I purposed to set my course towards creating an engaging life to enjoy. This was a place that couldn’t have been more adventurous.
我的生活中现在有足够广阔的空间去行驶，但有了更加安全的定义分明的界限。我已计划好我的步伐，去创造、享受我充实的生活。这已经成为一个没有任何冒险性的地方。

It’s been decades since those days of boyhood exploration, and I’m sure that rust has long since consumed my old bike. But even though everything is different now, nothing has changed. Life remains an adventure that continually beckons. Although I am more established now, I still fashion the places I call my own so that I may live large. I still must plan to set a direction and be careful to navigate a wise path.
少年时代的探险已经过去了几十年，我的旧单车肯定也早已生满了锈。然而，虽然现在一切都不一样了，却其实什么都没有改变。生活本身就是一场冒险，不停地在向我们召唤着。尽管我现在被越来越多的人肯定，但我依然在不停地构筑属于自己的领地，以获得更大的生活空间。我仍然要计划前进的方向，小心地在智慧的道路上航行。

This wonderful little town - this special appointed place - provided a significant time of preparation which was a microcosm of my life, where I learned, without realizing I was learning, the most important things before I ever lived them.
这个奇妙的小镇，这个特别的地方，为我提供了一段意义非凡的准备时间。这里曾是我的小小世界。我在这里接受润物无声的教育，学会了那些我此后生活中最重要的事情。

(作者：Franklin B. Holleman,哲学博士 翻译：梁明修)