第2章为梦想披荆斩棘(1)
StruggleforDream
追梦少年
ABoywithaMission
佚名Anonymous
In1945,a12-year-oldboysawsomethinginashopwindowthatsethisheartrag。Buttheprice—fivedollars—wasfarbeyondReubenEarle'smeans。Fivedollarswouldbuyalmostaweek'sgroily。
Reuben'taskhisfatherforthemMarkEarlemadewasthroughfishingis,Newfoundland,ada。Reuben'smother,Dora,stretchedlikeelastictofeedaheirfive。
&heless,heopeheshop'sweathereddooraiandingproudandstraightinhisflour-sackshirtarousers,hetoldtheshopkeeperwhathewanted,adding,"ButIdon'thavethemhtnoleaseholditformeforsometime?"
"I'lltry,"theshopkeepersmiled。"Folksaroundheredon'tusuallyhavethatkiospendonthings。Itshouldkeepforawhile。"
&fullytouchedhisaothesunlightwiththebayripplinginafresheningwind。Thereoseinhislopingstride。Hewouldraisethefivedollarsandnottellanybody。
&hesoundfromasidestreet,Reubenhadanidea。
&owardsthesoundaastrusite。Peoplebuilttheirownhomesis,usingnailspurhessiansaaloetimesthesacksweredistheflurryofbuilding,andReubenknewhecouldsellthembacktothefactoryforfivetsapiece。
Thatdayhefoundtwosacks,whichhetooktwoodenfadsoldtothemaninchargeofpaails。
Theboy'shandtightlyclutchedthefive-tpiecesasherawokilometershome。
Nearhishousestoodtheahathousedthefamily'sgoatsands。Reubenfoundarustysodatinanddroppedhisside。Thenhetotheloftofthebarnaihapileofsweetsmellinghay。
Itwasdiimewhehome。Hisfathersatatthebigkittable,wonafishi。Dorawasatthekitstove,readytoservediookhisplaceatthetable。
Helookedathismotherandsmiled。Sunlightfromthewindowgildedhershthblondehair。Slimaiful,shewasthee,thegluethatheldittogether。
Herchoreswerenever-ehesforherfamilyontheoldSireadlemaealsandbakiingandteablegarden,milkisandsgsoiledawashboard。Butshey。Herfamilyandtheirwell-beipriority。
Everydayafterdschool,Reubeowhehessiannailbags。Ohetwo-roomschoolmer,wasmhtedthanReuben。Nowhewouldhavemoretimeforhismission。
Allsummerloechoresathomeweedingahegarden,gwoodagwater—Reubeohissecrettask。
&oosoonthegardenwasharvested,thevegetablesdstored,andtheschoolreopeheleavesfellandthewindsblewdgustyfromthebay。Reubereets,diligentlyseargforhishessiantreasures。
Oftenhewascold,tiredandhungry,butthethoughtoftheobjetheshopwindowsustainedhim。Sometimeshismotherwouldask:"Reuben,wherewereyforyoutohavedi;
"Playing,Mum。Sorry。"
Dorawouldlookathisfadshakeherhead。Boys。
FinallyspringburstintreenandReuben'sspiritserupted。Thetimehade!Heranintothebarhehayloftaihesoutaot。