"When you read them you will share the longing and passion a good man feels for a good woman， and you will also discover the empowering enchantment they will give you. You will also understand the fears and tears of war. And you will realize the differences between right and wrong. You will learn to trust the people you love and keep your distance from those you mistrust. You will learn about mature friendships and how true love can become the core of your life.
"I have been fortunate， Jeffrey. I loved a wonderful man. And he loved me. While his love is now a memory， it is also a real dream that never ends. Love is like a beautiful photograph you store in an album. You can enjoy its beauty each time you stare at its wonderment. It stops time. And， it makes you young again—forever！ Grandpa Edwin was a soldier， a professional Army officer who chased Pancho Villa back to Mexico with John J. Pershing. He also served under General Pershing in the trenches in France during World War I. To understand your grandfather' s soul， read his loving letters to me. You' ll learn how romantic and beautiful a real man can be. To truly understand Grandpa' s character， read the personal note Jack Pershing wrote me when he heard that Edwin was killed in action.
"Jeffrey， I said this packet of notes was priceless and valuable. I' ve just shown you how priceless his love notes are. Please learn from them. Then find the right girl to love and love her ardently. This love will enrich both your lives and make you both happier.
"As for being valuable， save the envelopes. An appraiser at Sotheby' s said the old stamps are worth far more than the rest of my estate. And， the personal handwritten note from General Pershing is even more valuable than the stamps. Have a loving， bountiful life. God bless you."
"I love you， Grandma Elsie."
外祖母埃爾西去世時，我隻有17歲。她是我最後一位在世的祖輩，而我是她唯一的外孫。直到律師宣讀她的遺囑時，我才真正體會到她對我的愛有多深。那一刻，我終生難忘——從那天起，我成了城裏最富有的男孩子。
在外祖母的律師辦公室裏，我和媽媽、爸爸、索菲姨媽以及比爾姨夫坐在一張小會議桌旁。她想讓她的女兒女婿們分享她留下來的哪怕是一點點財富——有一小筆保險單收益、一塊刻有浮雕的寶石古、幾隻鐲子、一些人造珠寶和她的結婚戒指。她還把房契、銀行存款，以及在當地天然氣與電力公司的一點兒股份和出席外祖父埃德溫的軍事葬禮時獲贈的一麵美國國旗留給了他們。
我們起身準備離開時，律師說：“還有三樣東西。”他從公文包裏拿出一個小首飾盒，一封信，一遝用紙巾仔細包著、用褪了色的粉紅緞帶紮著的信封。“傑弗裏，你外祖母把她的訂婚鑽戒留給你了，希望你早日派上用場。”在場的每個人都笑了起來。
“傑弗裏，這些也是給你的，”他說，“也許它是所有遺物中最珍貴的—— 一封信和一遝情書。
信是這樣寫的：“親愛的傑弗裏，我把最珍貴的財富留給你——我的回憶。這是你外祖父不在我身邊時寫給我的信。請你讀一下這些信，它們是極為珍貴的無價之寶——是一本人生指南，它會教你如何去愛一個女人，如何去理解他人，如何自尊、自愛和擁有健全的人格。
“讀完之後，你就會體會到一個傑出的男人對一個好女人深切的思念之情。同時你也會發現一種魅力，它能賦予你力量。你會了解戰爭給人們帶來的恐懼和眼淚，還會學到如何明辨是非。你將學會去信賴所愛的人，遠離不值得信任的人。你還將學到何謂成熟的友誼，明白真愛怎樣才能成為你生命的核心。
“我確實很幸運，傑弗裏。我愛上了一個了不起的人。他也愛我。雖然如今他的愛已成追憶，但它是一個真實的夢，永遠不會終結。愛就像你珍藏在相冊中的一張完美的照片，每次你凝視它，都能感受到它的精彩和美好。它令時光永駐，並會讓你再度年輕——永遠年輕！你的外祖父埃德溫是一名職業軍官。他與約翰·J. 潘興對潘喬·比亞窮追猛趕，迫使他回到墨西哥。‘一戰’期間，他又隨潘興將軍轉戰法國。讀了你外祖父給我的情書後，你就會了解他的為人。你會看到一個真正的男人是多麽浪漫，他的靈魂是多麽美麗。如果你想真正了解他的性格，可以讀一讀傑克·潘興寫給我的私人信件，那是他得知你外祖父在執行任務中犧牲後寫給我的。
“傑弗裏，我說過這遝信是非常珍貴的無價之寶。我剛才給你看的這些情書的珍貴之處，你要認真體會和學習，然後找一個合適的女孩，好好地愛她。這種愛將豐富你們彼此的人生，也會讓你們更加幸福。
“信件如此珍貴，你一定要好好保管。蘇富比的一位鑒定家說，把我的其他財產加起來，也遠不如這些舊郵票值錢。並且，潘興將軍的親筆信比郵票還要珍貴。願你的人生充滿愛和寬容！願上帝保佑你！”
“我愛你，埃爾西祖母。”
愛你千遍也不厭倦
Precious Legacy
瑞·古德 / Ron Gold
My son is growing up， and it scares me. Terrifies me， actually. Girls. Driving. Alcohol. Drugs. How can I protect him from all of these things？
When he was little， I was one of those regimented， omnipresent mothers. Even when it was hard or I was tired， I addressed even the most seemingly insignificant experience if I thought it dealt with something fundamental. "I' m doing this for the long haul. " I' d tell myself and my critics. Now， I have to hope my instincts were right.
My chances for guidance dwindle daily， encumbered by the ever-present and often more-favored peers. I fear that my influence will be replaced by someone wearing a trench coat or a short skirt. Still， I repeat the basics to him when he doesn' t want to listen and address the tough issues head on. And I hold on to my belief that for the "formative" years， I demanded his full attention and maybe that unrelenting consistency will save us both.
I know that I haven' t lost him completely， not yet anyway， because of the look he gave me the other day when I dropped him off at school.
"I love you. " I said， as always， as he grabbed his backpack. Usually， he' ll say， "I love you， too， bye. " but he didn' t， and I was OK with it. He' s 14， what do I expect？ Then he looked straight at me. "I love you. " he said quietly. He looked right into my eyes to see that I heard him.
The girls who were passing by were out of earshot by then. His words and that look happened in a hundredth of a second， but the whole universe became still and I could' t hear a thing. In that sliver of a moment， his entire lifetime blazed through my mind. I know him better than anyone on this planet. I can hear what he' s not saying and know what he means： "I love you， too， Mom， and I hope you know that. I wanted to say it back to you when you said it， but there were some people walking by and they might have heard me and then teased me， but I sure didn' t mean to hurt your feelings， and I didn' t want you to leave without hearing it， because I really do love you. Please understand."
I do understand. I understand that growing up is tough， and I wouldn' t be a teenager again even if I could. I understand that I can' t be with him every second or protect him from the horrors that lurk outside my grasp. I understand how important it is for him to know that I' m here， that he can always count on me， and so I tell him this over and over， even when he says， "Mom， you already told me a thousand times."