石頭記

The family was cleaning out his desk. A heart attack had taken him from them suddenly. The desk was full of partially finished projects， new proposals， business cards—the usual sort of stuff you would find in a desk of a man in his position. All those things and a rock. Not a small rock. A rock with some size to it. It took up most of a large drawer. His wife， although surprised to see it， knew exactly what it was. It was a rock picked from a field on their farm. The farm they lived on and operated when they were first married. The farm they sold when the children were young and the work became too much and the money became too little. Her husband had gotten a little more schooling and found a job in the city. Together they bought a beautiful home and did not do without the 1)niceties of living. His hard work brought promotions and a good income. Most days came with a crisis or two， but life was good. The children graduated， married and began families of their own. It all went so fast.

She looked at the rock. She remembered picking rocks alongside her husband. It was the day he was trying to teach her how to drive that old tractor more than 10 feet without 2)killing the engine. Picking rocks was not for 3)sissies. It was hard work under a blazing hot sun， but it didn’t matter. They were young， very much in love and so excited about their future on the farm. They had so many plans.

She looked at the rock and though she thought she had no more tears to shed， she cried. She wanted to go back. She wanted them to go back. She realized now that that had been living—something he must have never forgotten.

The rest of the family began to carry boxes filled with his possessions to the car while his wife sat in his office and held that rock. She sat for a long time. In that rock she could see herself and her husband as young newlyweds and wondered why life had chosen this course for them.

Is there anyone who doesn’t know an ex-farmer? They are everywhere. It is tough to make a living with 160 acres and little equipment. Farms are getting bigger and bigger. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Opinions differ. A small farmer has a bad year， followed by another bad year with prospects for more of the same. Farming can be a happy life， but happiness can’t buy money.

Farming offers its share of peace， independence， solitude and of course， stress， every job’s partner. Farmers talk about having to “get a job” in order to make ends meet. It is not a happy time when the decision is made that another job is required in order to support a farming habit. This is more than a mere 4)complication in one’s life. Working in town can lead to a complete change of occupation. Work ethic， innocence and honor all grow well from the soil. Good families have been the true 5)bumper crops produced by the farms of this country. I hope we never reach the point where we find these things to no longer be a necessity in our lives.

It is a shame that we cannot all do what we want to do in life. Call me a romantic， my wife will disagree with you. We compromise. We don’t farm， we garden. We can’t help it， we were brought up that way. I remember when I was a small boy helping my father milk the cows.

“Farms are nice， Dad，” I said. “But they sure don’t have much of what you can find in the city.”

Dad’s reply was， “Thank the Lord!”

家人在清理他的辦公桌。心臟病發(fā)作突然把他從他們身邊帶走。桌子里全是進(jìn)行中的項(xiàng)目方案、新提案、業(yè)務(wù)名片——那些你通常會從在其位的男人桌上找到的東西。全是那些東西，以及一塊石頭。可不是一塊小石頭，而是一塊體積挺大的石頭，占去了一個(gè)大抽屜里大部分的空間。他妻子見到石頭時(shí)盡管感到意外，但一看就知道那是什么。那是從他們農(nóng)場的地里揀來的一塊石頭。他們新婚時(shí)就在那里經(jīng)營農(nóng)場，在那里生活。孩子們還小的時(shí)候他們就把農(nóng)場賣掉了，因?yàn)楫?dāng)時(shí)活兒太重，而收入又太少。她丈夫之前多讀了點(diǎn)書，于是在城里找到了一份工作。他們一起買了套漂亮的房子，日子總算幸福美滿。他的辛勤工作給他帶來了一些晉升機(jī)會及一份不俗的收入。他們不時(shí)也有些小波小浪危急關(guān)頭，但生活總還算不錯(cuò)。孩子們畢業(yè)了，結(jié)婚了，開始有了他們自己的家庭。這一切來得如此之快。

她看著那塊石頭。她記得和丈夫一起撿石頭。那天，他試著教她如何開著那輛破舊的拖拉機(jī)連續(xù)走超過10英尺(約3.05米)而不會中途熄火。撿石頭不是那些娘娘腔們做得來的事情。在烈日當(dāng)空的大熱天里，那可是一份苦差事，但沒關(guān)系。他們那時(shí)年輕，深愛著對方，對于農(nóng)場的未來激情滿懷，有著諸多計(jì)劃。

她看著那塊石頭，盡管她以為自己的淚已經(jīng)流干了，但她還是在哭。她想回到過去。她希望一切都回到過去。此時(shí)，她意識到那一切一直都在——那些他肯定從未忘記過的東西。……