Allergic to what?
《我對子彈過敏》

Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"
杰里是那種讓人又愛又恨的家伙。他總是心情不錯，總是說積極的事情。當有人問他近況如何時，他總會回答：“再好不過了！”
He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
作為餐廳經理，他是獨一無二的，盡管他換過好幾家餐廳，但總是有那么幾名服務員追隨他左右。之所以這樣，只有一個原因，那就是他對待事物時的積極態度。他是一個與生俱來的激勵者。如果某一天某個員工不太順，杰里就會出現在他面前，告訴他如何去看待事情的積極方面。
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"
他的這種處事風格令我很是好奇，于是有一天我走到杰里面前，問他：“我不太明白，一個人不可能始終保持積極的心態，可你又是怎么做到的呢？”

Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, 'Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.' I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life."
杰里回答說：“每天清晨我醒來時都會對自己說：‘杰里，你今天有兩種選擇。你可以選擇心情愉快，也可以選擇心情不好。’我會選擇心情愉快。每次發生不好的事情時，我可以選擇成為受害者，也我可以選擇從中吸取經驗。我會選擇從中吸取經驗。每當有人來找我抱怨時，我可以選擇接受這樣的抱怨，也可以選擇指出生活中的積極方面。我會選擇指出生活中的積極方面。”
"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested. "Yes, it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life."
“是的，沒錯，但這沒那么容易。”我斷言道。“是的，”杰里說，“生活其實就是選擇。只要你摒棄一切負面的東西，每一種情況都是一種選擇。你可以選擇如何對各種情況做出反應；你可以選擇其他人如何影響你的心情；你可以選擇心情好或心情不好。歸根結底，你怎樣去生活是你自己的選擇。”
I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
杰里的話對我觸動很深。不久后，我離開了餐飲業，開啟了自己的事業。我們失去了聯系，但每當我在生活中做出選擇，而不是簡單地對生活做出反應時，我還是會經常想到他。
Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him.
幾年后，我聽說杰里做了一件餐廳生意中絕對不應該做的事情——一天早晨，他沒有關餐廳的后門，遭到了三名武裝劫匪的持槍搶劫。在試圖打開保險箱時，他的手因為緊張而顫抖，輸錯了保險箱的密碼。劫匪們在慌亂中，向他開了槍。
Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma centre. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.
幸運的是，遭到槍擊后，杰里被及時發現，并被送往了當地的創傷中心。經過18個小時的手術和幾個星期的重癥監護，杰里出院了，但體內仍殘留了一些彈片。
I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?" I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place.
這件事發生六個月后，我見到了杰里。當我詢問他的狀況時，他回答說：“再好不過了。想看看我的傷疤嗎？”我拒絕看他的槍傷，但詢問了遭到搶劫時，他都想到了什么。
"The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live." "Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.
“我想到的第一件事就是我本應該鎖上后門，”杰里回答說，“然后，當我躺在地板上時，我記起我有兩種選擇——我可以選擇活下去，也可以選擇死亡。我選擇了活下去。”“你當時不害怕嗎？你有沒有失去知覺？”我問道。
Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, 'He's a dead man.' "I knew I needed to take action."
杰里繼續說道：“護理人員很棒。他們一直告訴我我會好起來的。但當他們把我推進急癥室，我看到醫生和護士臉上的表情時，我真的害怕了。我從他們的目光中讀到：‘這個人死定了'。我知道自己應該做點什么。”
"What did you do?" I asked. "Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. She asked if I was allergic to anything. "Yes," I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, "Bullets!" Over their laughter, I told them: "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."
“你做了什么？”我問。“有一位身材魁梧的護士大喊著問我問題，”杰里說，“她問我是否對什么東西過敏。‘是的，’我回答說。此時，醫生和護士都停下手中的工作，等待著我的回答。我深深地吸了一口氣，喊道：‘子彈！’在他們的笑聲中，我告訴他們：‘我選擇活下去。給我做手術吧，你們就死馬當活馬醫。”
Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.
杰里能夠成功挺過這個生死關頭，多虧了醫生們的高超醫術，但也絕離不開他令人贊嘆的生活態度。我從他身上學到了：我們每天都可以選擇活得充實。畢竟，生活態度才是最重要的。