One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn’t hear the band — he could see it. In his mind’s eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with deive words.
Days and weeks passed. One morning， the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window， who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.
As soon as it seemed appropriate， the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch， and after making sure he was comfortable， she left him alone.
Slowly， painfully， he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall.
The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window. The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said，“Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you.”
两个病重的男人住在同一间病房。其中一个每天下午能够在床上坐起来一个小时，以便排出肺部的流质食物。他的床靠着这间房子的惟一一扇窗户。另一个人则只能平躺在床上度日。
他们能连续说上好几个小时的话。他们谈论各自的妻子和家人，他们的家，他们的工作，他们参军的经历，还有好多其他的事情。每天下午，靠着窗户的那个人能坐起来的时候，他总是向他的室友描绘他看到的窗外发生的所有事情。 睡在另一张床上的人开始盼望那些一小时的生活。每当那时，他的生活就会因窗外的一切活动和窗外的多姿多彩而感到开阔和愉快。
从窗口望去是一个公园，里面有一个可爱的池塘。鸭子和天鹅在水中嬉戏，孩子们则在划模型船，年轻的恋人手挽手在绚丽多彩的花丛中散步，远处是城市地平线上美丽的风景。
靠窗的这个人用优美的语言详细描绘这些的时候，房子另一端的那个人就会闭上眼睛想象那些栩栩如生的情景。
一个温和的下午，窗口的那个人描绘了经过此处的阅兵。尽管另一个人听不到乐队演奏，但他却能看到。当窗口那个人用生动的语言描绘的时候，他则用心在看。
一天天过去了，一周周过去了。一天早晨，当值白班的护士为他们提来洗澡水，看到的却是窗口那个男人的尸体，他已经在睡梦中安然去世了。她很悲伤，便叫医院的值班人员把尸体抬走了。
一到合适的时机，另一个人便问他能否搬到窗口那儿去。护士很乐意为他做了调换，在确信他觉得舒适后，就离开了。
缓慢地，痛苦地，他用一个胳膊肘支撑着自己起来，想第一次亲眼看看外面的真实世界。他竭尽全力慢慢地朝床边的窗口望去，看到的却只是一面墙。
这个人问护士是什么促使他过世的室友描绘出窗外那么丰富的世界的。护士回答说，那个人是个盲人，甚至连墙都看不见。她说：“也许他只是想鼓励你。”
The wisdom of one word
改变一生的邂逅
Isn"t it amazing how one person， sharing one idea， at the right time and place can change the course of your life"s history？ This is certainly what happened in my life. When I was 14， I was hitchhiking from Houston， Texas， through El Paso on my way to California. I was following my dream， journeying with the sun. I was a high school dropout with learning disabilities and was set on surfing the biggest waves in the world， first in California and then in Hawaii， where I would later live.
Upon reaching downtown El Paso， I met an old man， a bum， on the street corner. He saw me walking， stopped me and questioned me as I passed by. He asked me if I was running away from home， I suppose because I looked so young. I told him， "Not exactly， sir，" since my father had given me a ride to the freeway in Houston and given me his blessings while saying， "It is important to follow your dream and what is in your heart. Son. "
The bum then asked me if he could buy me a cup of coffee. I told him， "No， sir， but a soda would be great." We walked to a corner malt shop and sat down on a couple of swiveling stools while we enjoyed our drinks.
After conversing for a few minutes， the friendly bum told me to follow him. He told me that he had something grand to show me and share with me. We walked a couple of blocks until we came upon the downtown El Paso Public Library.
We walked up its front steps and stopped at a small information stand. Here the bum spoke to a smiling old lady， and asked her if she would be kind enough to watch my things for a moment while he and I entered the library. I left my belongings with this grandmotherly figure and entered into this magnificent hall of learning.
The bum first led me to a table and asked me to sit down and wait for a moment while he looked for something special amongst the shelves. A few moments later， he returned with a couple of old books under his arms and set them on the table. He then sat down beside me and spoke. He started with a few statements that were very special and that changed my life. He said， "There are two things that I want to teach you， young man， and they are these：
"Number one is to never judge a book by its cover， for a cover can fool you. "He followed with， "I"ll bet you think I"m a bum， don"t you， young man？"
I said， "Well， uh， yes， I guess so， sir. "
“Well， young man， I ve got a little surprise for you. I am one of the wealthiest men in the world. I have probably everything any man could ever want. I originally come from the Northeast and have all the things that money can buy. But a year ago， my wife passed away， bless her soul， and since then I have been deeply reflecting upon life. I realized there were certain things I had not yet experienced in life，one of which was what it would be like to live like a bum on the streets. I made a commitment to myself to do exactly that for one year. For the past year.I have been going from city to city doing just that. So， you see， don t ever judge a book by its cover， for a cover can fool you.”
"Number two is to learn how to read， my boy. For there is only one thing that people can"t take away from you， and that is your wisdom. " At that moment， he reached forward， grabbed my right hand in his and put them upon the books he d pulled from the shelves. They were the writings of Plato and Aristotle-immortal classics from ancient times.
如果一个人，在适当的时候和地方因为一句话而改变了他的人生历程，你会感到惊异和不可思议吗？然而这的确是千真万确的，它就发生在我14岁那年。那时，我正在从得克萨斯州的休斯敦，经由爱坡索市前往加利福尼亚州去的旅途中。日出即行，日落即息；痴痴地追寻着我的梦想。我本来在读高中，也许我天生就不是读书的材料，因此我不得不中途辍学。随即我决心要到世界上最大的海浪上去冲浪，先准备到加利福尼亚州，再到夏威夷，然后我准备就在那里住下来。
在刚进入爱坡索市区的时候，我看到有一个老头，一个流浪者，坐在街道的拐角处。他看见了走路的我，当我就要从他的旁边走过去时，他拦住了我，并开口向我发问。他问我是不是偷着从家里跑出来的，我想他这么问我一定是看我太年轻，觉得我太嫩的缘故。“不完全是，先生，”因为是我爸爸开车把我送到休斯敦的高速公路上的，他还一边为我祝福，一边说：“儿子，追寻你的梦想和心中的憧憬非常重要。”
然后那个流浪者问我他能请我喝咖啡吗？我回答说：“不，先生，一杯汽水就可以了。”于是，我们走进街道拐角处的一家酒吧，坐在一双转椅上，喝着饮料。
在闲聊了几分钟后，这个和蔼可亲的老流浪汉要我跟他走。他告诉我说他有一样大东西给我看，要与我分享。我们走过了几个街区，来到了爱坡索市的公立图书馆。
我们沿着它前面的台阶向上走，在一处小小的咨询台前停了下来。老流浪汉向一位笑容可掬的老太太说了几句话，并问她是否愿意在他和我进图书馆时帮忙照看一下我的行李。我把行李放在那位老奶奶般的人那里，走进了那座宏伟的学习殿堂。
老流浪汉先把我带到一张桌子前，让我坐下来稍等片刻，而他则到那些林立的书架中去寻找那个特别重要的东西去了。不一会儿，他腋下夹着几本旧书回来了。他把书放到桌子上，然后他在我的身边坐了下来，打开了话匣子，出口便不凡，其话语非常特别，改变了我一生的命运。他说：“年轻人，我想教你两件事，就是：
“第一是切记不要从封面来判断一本书的好坏，因为封面有时也会蒙骗你。”他接着说道：“我敢打赌，你一定认为我是个老流浪汉，是不是？年轻人。”
我说：“嗯，是的，先生，我想是的。”