"Hey， Dad！ Do you have fifty bucks I could borrow？." He does. Even if he doesn' t， he will find it or go without something so he will have it. Then he feels embarrassed when we pay him back， and he says， "Now， you don' t have to pay it." but we do because it is important to do the right thing. Dad taught us that.
Dad presides over all festive events. "How is today different from other days？" Of course he knows， and knows how to explain； it is he who takes charge and knows how to do everything； he is the leader， and he is in charge of our world. The Captain of the ocean sea.
It is also okay to become the Dad who knows everything， can do everything， and who is in charge of the world.
“想擁有一個快樂童年永遠都不晚。”有些人在汽車貼紙上這樣寫道。而我認為，對父親的需要永遠都不會晚。
小時候，世界就如我們所想的那樣由父親掌控著。的確，我知道我們國家有總統，別的國家有國王或首相，但他們並不是真正掌控這個世界的人。
父親通曉一切，所向披靡，他永遠是對的，且總能把一切安排妥當。他無異於上帝。
“嘿，爸爸！赫爾辛基在哪裏？”父親總會答道：“若你把東西歸放位，就會知道它在哪兒了。”“嘿，爸爸！我確實需要知道赫爾辛基的位置。”“好吧，那我們去· 百科全書。”
“嘿，爸爸！我今晚赴約用一下車，可以嗎？”“當然可以，但你必須在午夜前回來。”結果，我淩晨兩點半才到家，父親一直沒睡，在等著我。小的時候，我們不懂什麽是愛，什麽是憤慨。父親大喊大叫，我們不知道是因為他在意，還以為他是在耀武揚威。但這次例外。他說：“上帝保佑你平安歸來。去睡吧！我們有話明天再說。”“嘿，爸爸！今天我在學校惹麻煩了，我真的沒做錯事，可那個愚蠢的老師根本不聽我的解釋。” “說給我聽聽，發生了什麽事？真是那樣嗎？”第二天，父親去學校找老師談話，將誤會解除了。父親竟如此有能耐！我甚至可以永遠依賴他。
無論知道的多與少，父親們大多是充滿關愛的慈父，而且會站在我們的立場上。他為我們所做的，即使是很小的事，也會讓我們覺得重要且有意義。
“嘿，爸爸！能借給我50元錢嗎？”如果他有，就會借給我。即使他沒有，也會想辦法借給我。我們還錢給他時，他會很不自在，並說：“不必了，你不用還。”但我們要還，因為正確地做事很重要——這也是父親教育我們的。
父親操辦著所有的慶祝活動。“今天與平日有何差異？”他當然知道差異之所在，而且知道如何解釋，因為他負責和通曉一切事務的籌辦。他是領導，掌控著我們的世界。他是汪洋大海中的船長。
能成為通曉一切、所向披靡、掌控世界的父親是很不錯的。
另類古
Jenny' s Anigue
佚名 / Anonymous
My six-year-old granddaughter stares at me as if she is seeing me for the first time. "Grandma， you are an antique，" she says. "You are old. Antiques are oId. You are my antique."
I am not satisfied to let the matter rest there. I take out the Webster' s Dictionary and read the definition to Jenny. I explain， "An antique is not only just old， it' s an object existing since or belonging to earlier times ...a work of art ... piece of furniture." "Antiques are treasured，" I tell Jenny as I put away the dictionary. "They have to be handled carefully because they sometimes are very valuable. In order to quality as an antique， the object has to be at least 100 years old. "
"I' m only 67，" I remind Jenny.
We look around the house for other antiques， besides me. There is a bureau that was handed down from one aunt to another and finally to our family. "It' s very old." I tell Jenny. I try to keep it polished and I show it off whenever I can. You do that with antiques." When Jenny gets older and understands such things， I might also tell her that whenever I look at the bureau or touch it， I am reminded of the aunt so dear to me who gave me the bureau as a gift. I see her face again though she is no longer with us. I even hear her voice， and recall her smile. I remember myself as a little girl leaning against this antique， listening to one of her stories. The bureau does that for me.
There is a picture on the wall purchased at a garage sale. It is dated 1867. "Now that' s an antique，" I boast. " Over 100 years old." Of course it is marked and scratched and not in very good condition. "Sometimes age does that，" I tell Jenny. "But the marks are good marks. They show living， being around. That' s something to display with pride. In fact， sometimes， the more an object shows age， the more valuable it can become." It is important that I believe this for my own self-esteem.
Our tour of antiques continues. There is a vase on the floor. It has been in my house for a long time. I' m not certain where it came from， but I didn' t buy it new. And then there is the four poster bed， sent to me 40 years ago by an uncle who slept in it for fifty years.
One thing about antiques， I explain to Jenny， is that they usually have a story. They' ve been in one home and then another， handed down from one family to another， traveling all over the place. They' ve lasted through years and years.
They could have been tossed away， or ignored， or destroyed， or lost. But instead， they survived.
For a moment Jenny looks thoughtful. "I don' t have any antiques but you." she says. Then her face brightens.
"Could I take you to school for show and tell？"
"Only if I fit into your backpack." I answer.
And then Jenny' s antique lifted her up and embraced her in a hug that would last through the years.
六歲大的孫女好像第一次見到我似的，盯著我看了許久，然後說：“奶奶，你是件古。你老，古也老。你是我的古。”
於是，我找出一本《韋氏字典》，把這個詞的定義讀給小孫女珍妮聽，以免她再誤解下去。我解釋道：“古不僅是古老的，它還是從很久以前流傳下來的物品例如一件藝術品或是一件家具。”我邊合上字典，邊對珍妮說：“古是人們珍藏的寶物。有時對於很貴重的古，人們一定要小心謹慎地收藏。一件物品至少要有一百年的曆史，才有資格稱為古。”
我提醒她說：“我隻有67歲。”
我們環顧四周，在屋內尋找除了我以外的古。那裏有個櫃子，它是從一位姑媽那裏一代代傳下來，最終傳到我們家的。我告訴珍妮：“這是個很古老的櫃子，我盡量把它保養得美麗無瑕，隻要有機會就會展示給人們看。對待古就應該這樣。”也許等珍妮長大了，能懂得一些事情時，我還會告訴她，每當我看到這個櫃子或是撫摸它時，就會想起送我們櫃子的那位可親的姑媽。雖然她早已離開人世，但我對她的微笑依然記憶猶新。還記得當我還是個小女孩時，常常靠在這個櫃子旁邊聽她講故事。這個櫃子總讓我想起當年的時光。
牆上有一幅在舊貨市場上買的，它上麵所標的日期是1867年。“它的曆史已經超過了一百年，現在也算是一件古了。”我自誇道。當然它的保養狀況不是很好，已經有了明顯的刮痕。“歲月有時會讓一切都留下痕跡。”我對珍妮說，“然而這些痕跡都是曾經生活和存在的象征，是值得自豪地展示給世人的，因此它們都是美好的。事實上，有時，一件物品的年代越久，它的價值也就越高。”我之所以相信，是因為這些對於維護我個人的自尊心很重要。
搜尋古的旅程還在繼續。地板上的花瓶，擺放在我的房子裏已經很久了。我肯定當時買的是舊貨，但從哪兒買的，我已經不記得了。再就是40年前一位叔叔送給我的那張床，它有四根帷杆。之前，叔叔在這張**已經睡了50年。
我向珍妮解釋，古通常都有一段故事，這是它們的特點之一。它們曾被收藏在不同的家庭，從一家傳到另一家，甚至走遍了全國各地，年複一年，最終流傳了下來。
也許它們曾被拋棄，或被遺忘，或曾遭破壞，又或是曾被遺失，但最終它們幸存了下來。
“除了你之外，我不要其他古。”珍妮沉思了好一會兒說，然後開心地笑了。
“我能把你帶到學校給同學們看，給他們講你的故事嗎？”
我回答說：“可是你的書包要裝得下我才行啊。”
之後，“珍妮的古”將珍妮抱起，緊緊擁入懷中。那個擁抱將會永存在歲月的記憶中。
現在就做！
Do It Now！
丹尼斯· E. 曼納林 / Dennis E. Mannering
In a class I teach for adults. I recently did the"unpardonable." I gave the class homework！The assignment was to go to someone you love within the next week and tell them you love them. It has to be someone you have never said those words to before or at least haven' t shared those words with for a long time.