友情·歲月

They say that happiness is marrying your best friend. Well， they （whoever “they” are） were right. Except that my wife is the only friend I’ve got at the moment. But in the 27 years before we met， there was a rather short list of people I trusted enough to be my best friend. And they each helped shape the man I am today.

First was David， my lanky next door neighbor， with his leading man looks， strong moral compass， and particularly picky eating habits. I marveled at how he could eat white rice and black beans for every single meal.

Then came the dangerous Dylan and Dave， who unleashed my teenage dark side， and helped me break every rule in the book. Mom said she knew Dylan was trouble， because the dog hated him. What a wise puppy！

Then at college I met Ryan， a fellow actor， singer and Mets fan. We were like two peas in a pod. We even planned to start a band together， until he found love and moved out to LA， and I went to China to find my own way.

Sticking with this month’s friendly theme， My Favorite Ant follows old friends who learn about regret and forgiveness since the early age of three. Never Forget Old Friends shows how the death of a loved one forces us to revisit forgotten feelings and friendships. How I Became the Woman I Am Today： A Story of Friendship shows us how a teacher-student relationship can evolve into a deep， meaningful friendship day by day. And we learn how Friendship Is Like a Cup of Tea， since “it’s not as strong as wine or whisky， and not as sweet as a soft drink”.

I haven’t kept in touch with any of those old friends （for one reason or another）， but I’ll always be grateful for the part they’ve played in shaping who I am today.

人們說，幸福就是能與你最好的朋友結(jié)婚。嗯，人們（無論是什么人）說的沒錯。只可惜我的妻子是我此刻唯一的朋友了。但在我們相遇的27年前，有一串簡短的人名羅列著我所信任的人，他們被我奉為摯友。他們每一個人的幫助，成就了今天的我。

首先是大衛(wèi)——我那又高又瘦的隔壁鄰居。他長著一副領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者般的模樣，懷有強(qiáng)烈的道德準(zhǔn)則，并且秉持獨(dú)特的挑食習(xí)慣。我對他每頓都吃白飯和黑豆的飲食大為驚嘆。

然后就是危險的迪倫和戴夫，他們將我少年時黑暗的一面釋放了出來，助我打破書中的每一條常規(guī)。我媽說她知道迪倫是個麻煩鬼，因為咱家里的狗也討厭他。多聰明的狗狗呀！

接著上大學(xué)時，我遇到了賴安，他同樣是一名演員、歌手和紐約大都會棒球隊的粉絲。我們就像是一個豆莢子里的兩顆豆豆。我們甚至計劃過一起組一支樂隊，但后來他找到了真愛并且離開了洛杉磯，而我則去了中國追尋屬于我自己的人生路。

來看看本月的友情主題，《螞蟻結(jié)“奇緣”》講述了兩位老朋友早在三歲之時起就學(xué)習(xí)有關(guān)懊悔與寬恕的故事。《舊時友，勿相忘》展示了某位至親的離世如何會促使我們重拾忘卻的感受和友情。《從恩師到密友：你令“愛”了不起》向我們展示了一段師生情如何與日俱增，升華成為一份深摯、雋永的友誼。而我們懂得了為何《友誼如茶》，因為“它并不如烈酒或威士忌那樣濃烈，也不像汽水那般香甜”。

我并沒有和任何一位老朋友保持聯(lián)系（出于某些原因），但我會永遠(yuǎn)對他們在我成長路上所起的作用心懷感激。……