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It’s wonderful to be back in my boyhood hometown again to visit with my now elderly mother. It seems like centuries ago when I was growing up here. Back then, this small town was just a backdrop that formed the unremarkable environment in which I lived my everyday life.
與年邁的母親一起重游童年的故鄉，是一件很美妙的事情。我在這里的成長像是幾個世紀前發生的事情一樣。回想當初，這個小鎮只是我童年生活一個絲毫不起眼的背景。
Mom’s doing great for her age, but she’s moving slower these days. After a lengthy but heartwarming talk in the den about my wife, the kids and how well work is going back in the big city far from here, we have reached the point of being all talked out for now.
照她的年齡來說，母親的身體還很好，但這些天行動遲緩了一些。我們在書房里進行了一次溫馨的長談，說到我的妻子，孩子，以及離這里很遙遠的大城市里工作的事情。我們把現在所有的一切都說了個遍。
What a perfect time to go for a walk and get some fresh air. The outside loudly calls for a look around the neighborhood to see how things have changed, and how things have stayed the same. As I walk down the street, it’s like I’m on my trusted bicycle riding around as a young boy. I’m on yet another grand mission on my bike again. Oh, the places my bike could take me, and did.
這可是出門散步，呼吸新鮮空氣的完美時刻。整個世界都在呼喚著我，要我看看周遭的一切，看世事如何變遷又如何保持原樣。我走過街道，像是又騎上了我心愛的單車，回到了我的少年時代。我又要開始單車上的莊嚴旅程了。啊，那些單車帶我去過的地方！
There’s the small corner store, just a quick bike ride down one street and up another, where I can get an ice-cold soda in a glass bottle with the red metal cap. Inside is the long candy aisle where I must carefully consider my choices; will it be a candy bar, or pack of football cards with the bonus flat piece of bubble gum, or a handful of fireball jawbreakers? … The freedom to decide continues unabated¸ only the stakes are higher with time, requiring proportionally greater wisdom.
在那街角有一間小小的商店，就在騎車從一條街轉進另一條街的地方。在那兒可以買到一瓶冰凍汽水，玻璃瓶，紅色的金屬蓋子。商店里面是條長長的糖果長廊，我得認真考慮我的選擇：是買一個糖果塊、一套附贈口香糖的足球卡、還是一把火球樣的硬球糖？自由決定的權利從未消減，只是隨著時間的推移，這其中的利害關系越來越復雜，需要更多適度調配的智慧。
