人狗情未了

The silence on the other end of the phone said it all.

Finally， my father’s voice， a sound of reason for my then 19 years of life， began to speak.

“George， I don’t think this is a very good idea.”

He continued. I should not have adopted the 1)Golden retriever puppy who was， at the time， snuggled up asleep across my feet. Nineteen-year-old college sophomores who have just joined a 2)fraternity and teetered on expulsion from lack of studies don’t need another distraction. It’s not wise， and it’s not fair to the dog.

His logic， as always， was 3)impeccable. But this time， something was different. He ended up being wrong.

Something changed in me when Jumpin’

4)Jasper bounded into my life. I won’t lie and say I suddenly woke up with a sense of responsibility suddenly enveloping my every breath. Nothing comes that easily.

I had grown up in two middle-class homes where I was showered with love but， because of my parents’ divorce， had almost no responsibilities. No one expected me to do much more than take care of myself. I was not needed by anyone.

Jasper whimpered through that first night. For the first few hours， I wondered whether I had erred. Was my father right?

Sometime before the sun rose， I realized something. This little ball of fur needs me. I told myself， “Watson， you gotta get it together.”

Feeding， exercise， training. These were my chores， and those were his needs I had to fulfill. There was more. My days of last-second trips were over. I had to make sure Jasper was welcome， too. And while he didn’t say much， he took part in every conversation about our future life together.

How close was the nearest park to any potential apartments? Did the neighbors mind dogs? Did they have any unfriendly animals of their own?

As Jasper aged， my concern became wondering if a potential home had too many stairs for him to climb. Was there an elevator?

I must say， it really is something to be needed.

And as Jasper taught me his lessons of life， I learned volumes about myself. I liked to help

others. I gained a special satisfaction from helping those who couldn’t help themselves.

I didn’t become a reporter because of Jasper， but he’s one reason why I have stuck with it for a dozen years and will likely continue for decades to come.

Jasper passed away a year ago， 5)succumbing to a rapidly spreading cancer that turned my powerful and noble friend， for years the one consistent part of my life， into a frail， trembling shell of his former self.

When the time came for a vet to help him reach his personal ending， he looked up at me one last time from the floor where I 6)crouched beside him. His beautiful brown eyes perked up for me and then closed forever. I had never cried—make that 7)blubbered—for anyone like I did for Jasper.

I thought to myself， “I wish I had done more. I should have given him more brushings or the massages that he liked so much in his older years.”

It was a final lesson. While it sounds cliche， I decided to drink in all that life offered， especially in friendship and personal relationships.

The reality of his final lesson revisited me just this past weekend. My boss， a true 8)pillar of journa-lism named Lawrence Young， died at the age of 47 on Saturday of an apparent heart attack. He was my biggest advocate and as I have learned in recent days， a mentor for 9)legions of other journalists around the country.

It’s how I can 10)stomach Lawrence’s death. He was always teaching， always pushing me for more. I 11)gobbled up his lessons， which he offered up over afternoon sessions in his office. Certainly， I wanted more from him， and of course， I never expected him to die so soon. My tears told me that.

But however brief the time， Lawrence was there to touch my soul and fill my mind. I can only be glad I was so fortunate to have listened and learned as often as I did.

電話那頭的沉默已經說明了一切。

最后，終于傳來了我父親的聲音，對于當時才19歲的我來說，這是理性之聲。

他開口說道：“喬治，我覺得這可不是一個好主意。”

他繼續說，我不應該收養那只小狗，那只正蜷縮著睡在我腳上的金毛獵犬。像我這樣的一個19歲大學二年級學生，剛剛參加了一個兄弟會，還因為不努力念書而徘徊在被開除出校的邊緣，所以根本不應該再分心。那樣做很不理智，對這只狗也不公平。

他的邏輯理論總是無懈可擊，但是這次有些不同了。最后事實也證明，他錯了。

自從活蹦亂跳的金毛獵犬“碧玉”闖進我的生活，我開始有些改變。但是我不會撒謊說，我突然驚醒，覺得強烈的責任感時刻包圍著我。實際上，一切來之不易。

我在兩個中產階級家庭里長大，而且也深受父母的疼愛，但是因為父母離異，我從小就沒什么責任感。我只需要照顧好自己，沒有人會對我要求更多。沒有人需要我。

在收養碧玉的頭一天晚上，它嗚嗚地叫了一整夜。剛開始的幾個小時里，我反復地思考自己是不是做錯了。難道我父親真的說對了？

天亮之前的某一刻，我想明白了一些事情。這個小毛球需要我。我告訴自己：“沃森，你要讓它好起來啊。”

給它喂食，帶它運動，訓練它，這些成了我的日常事務，而這些是它的日常需要，我必須盡力滿足。不僅如此，在最后時刻決定去旅行的時光也一去不復返了，我還要保證大家都喜歡碧玉。雖然它不怎么作聲，但是在討論我們將來在一起的生活時總少不了它。……