梁軍
When I was in junior high, the eighth-grade bully punched me in the stomach. Not only did it hurt and make me angry, but the embarrassment and humiliation were almost intolerable. I wanted desperately to even the score! I planned to meet him by the bike racks the next day and let him have it.
For some reason, I told my plan to Nana, my grandmother—a big mistake. She gave me one of her hour-long lectures. The lecture was a total drag, but among other things, I vaguely remembered her telling me that I didnt need to worry about him. She said, “Good deeds beget good results, and evil deeds beget bad results.” I told her that I did good things all the time, and all I got in return was “baloney”! She stuck to her guns, though. She said, “Every good deed will come back to you someday, and every bad thing you do will come back to you.”
It took me 30 years to understand the wisdom of her words. Nana was living in a board-and-care home in Laguna Hills, California. Each Tuesday, I came by and took her out to dinner. I would always find her neatly dressed sitting in a chair right by the front door. I vividly remember our very last dinner together before she went into the convalescent hospital. We drove to a nearby simple little family-owned restaurant. I ordered pot roast for Nana and a hamburger for myself. As the food arrived, I dug in and noticed that Nana wasnt eating. She was just staring at the food on her plate. Moving my plate aside, I took Nanas plate, placed it in front of me, and cut her meat into small pieces. I then placed the plate back in front of her. As she was very weak, she forked the meat into her mouth with great difficulty. I was struck with a memory that brought instant tears to my eyes. Forty years previously, as a little boy sitting at the table, Nana had always taken the meat on my plate and cut it into small pieces so I could eat it.
It had taken forty years, but the good deed had been repaid. Nana was right. We reap exactly what we sow—“every good deed you do will someday come back to you.”
What about the eighth-grade bully?
He ran into the ninth-grade bully.
我上初中時,有個八年級的惡霸打了我肚子一拳。那一拳不僅讓我感到疼痛和氣憤,還有無法忍受的窘迫和羞辱。我咬牙切齒地想報仇雪恨,于是計劃第二天到自行車停放處找他討回公道,讓他也嘗我一拳。
不記得因為什么,我把計劃告訴了奶奶,這可真是個錯誤的做法。結果她跟我說教了好久。這番說教雖說很無聊,但我依稀記得,她告誡我沒必要去找那壞小子算賬。她說:“好人有好報,惡人得惡報?!蔽腋嬖V她,我一直在做好事,到頭來卻發(fā)現(xiàn)那是“胡說”!但是,她仍然堅持她的看法。她說:“你做的每件好事總有一天會有好報,你做的每件壞事也總有一天會有惡報?!?/p>
30年過去了,我才終于明白奶奶那句話的智慧。奶奶住在加州拉古拉崗市的寄宿制護理所。每個星期二,我都去探望她,并帶她出去吃晚餐。她總是穿戴整齊地坐在前門旁的一把椅子上等我。我清楚地記得,她被送入療養(yǎng)院前,我們最后一次共進晚餐的情形。我們駕車來到附近一家簡樸的家庭自營餐館,我給她點了一份燉肉,我自己要了一個漢堡包。點餐送上桌后,我就開吃了,但我注意到奶奶沒有吃,她只是盯著她盤中的食物。我把自己的餐盤放到一邊,把奶奶的餐盤放在面前,把肉切成小塊,然后再把餐盤放回到她面前。由于身體虛弱,她把肉叉起來送進嘴里要費半天勁。我突然想起了一段往事,淚水立刻奪眶而出。40年前,當我還是個小男孩的時候,奶奶總是幫我把餐盤中的肉切成小塊,方便我吃下去。
奶奶說的是對的。雖然經過了40年的時間才得到回報,但做好事的確是有好報的。種瓜得瓜,種豆得豆?!澳阕龅拿考檬驴傆幸惶鞎泻脠蟮摹!?/p>
那個八年級的惡霸后來怎樣了?
他撞上了九年級的惡霸。endprint