There were, of course, rules to learn. First came the handshake. None of those fishy[冷冰冰的] little finger grips, but a good firm squeeze accompanied by an equally strong gaze into the other's eyes. “ The first thing anyone knows about you is your handshake,” he would say. And we'd practice it each night on his return from work, the serious toddler in the battered[用舊了的] Cleveland Indian's cap running up to the giant father to shake hands again and again until it was firm enough.

當(dāng)然，還得學(xué)些做人的道理。首先是握手。這可不是指那種冷冰冰的手指相握，而是一種非常堅(jiān)定有力的緊握，同時(shí)同樣堅(jiān)定有力地注視對方的眼睛。老爸常說：“人們認(rèn)識你首先是通過同你握手。”每晚他下班回家時(shí)，我們便練習(xí)握手。年幼的我，戴著頂破克利夫蘭印第安帽，一本正經(jīng)地跌跌撞撞地跑向巨人般的父親，開始我們的握手。一次又一次，直到握得堅(jiān)定，有力。

As time passed, there were other rules to learn. “Always do your best.”“Do it now.”“Never lie!” And most importantly,“You can do whatever you have to do.” By my teens, he wasn't telling me what to do anymore, which was scary[令人害怕的] and heady[使人興奮的] at the same time. He provided perspective, not telling me what was around the great corner of life but letting me know there was a lot more than just today and the next, which I hadn't thought of.

隨著時(shí)間的流逝，還有許多其他的道理要學(xué)。比如：“始終盡力而為”，“從現(xiàn)在做起”，“永不撒謊”，以及最重要的一條：“凡是你必須做的事你都能做到”。當(dāng)我十幾歲時(shí)，老爸不再叫我做這做那，這既令人害怕又令人興奮。他教給我判斷事物的方法。他不是告訴我，在人生的重大轉(zhuǎn)折點(diǎn)上將發(fā)生些什么，而是讓我明白，除了今天和明天，還有很長的路要走，這一點(diǎn)我是從未考慮過的。

One day, I realize now, there was a change. I wasn't trying to please him so much as I was trying to impress him. I never asked him to come to my football games. He had a high-pressure career, and it meant driving through most of Friday night. But for all the big games, when I looked over at the sideline, there was that familiar fedora. And by God, did the opposing team captain ever get a firm handshake and a gaze he would remember. 　　

有一天，事情發(fā)生了變化，這是我現(xiàn)在才意識到的。我不再那么迫切地想要取悅于老爸，而是迫切地想要給他留下深刻的印象。我從未請他來看我的橄欖球賽。他工作壓力很大，這意味著每個(gè)禮拜五要拼命干大半夜。但每次大型比賽，當(dāng)我抬頭環(huán)視看臺時(shí)，那頂熟悉的軟呢帽總在那兒。并且感謝上帝，對方隊(duì)長總能得到一次讓他銘記于心的握手——堅(jiān)定而有力，伴以同樣堅(jiān)定的注視。