Isn't it amazing how one person, sharing one idea, at the right time and place can change the course of your life's history? This is certainly what happened in my life. When I was 14, I was hitchhiking from Houston, Texas, through El Paso on my way to California. I was following my dream, journeying with the sun. I was a high school dropout with learning disabilities and was set on surfing the biggest waves in the world, first in California and then in Hawaii, where I would later live.

Upon reaching downtown El Paso, I met an old man, a bum, on the street corner. He saw me walking, stopped me and questioned me as I passed by. He asked me if I was running away from home, I suppose because I looked so young. I told him, "Not exactly, sir," since my father had given me a ride to the freeway in Houston and given me his blessings while saying, "It is important to follow your dream and what is in your heart. Son. "

The bum then asked me if he could buy me a cup of coffee. I told him, "No, sir, but a soda would be great." We walked to a corner maltshop and sat down on a couple of swiveling stools while we enjoyed our drinks.

After conversing for a few minutes, the friendly bum told me to follow him. He told me that he had something grand to show me and share with me. We walked a couple of blocks until we came upon the downtown El Paso Public Library.

We walked up its front steps and stopped at a small information stand. Here the bum spoke to a smiling old lady, and asked her if she would be kind enough to watch my things for a moment while he and I entered the library. I left my belongings with this grandmotherly figure and entered into this magnificent hall of learning.

The bum first led me to a table and asked me to sit down and wait for a moment while he looked for something special amongst the shelves. A few moments later, he returned with a couple of old books under his arms and set them on the table. He then sat down beside me and spoke. He started with a few statements that were very special and that changed my life. He said, "There are two things that I want to teach you, young man, and they are these:

"Number one is to never judge a book by its cover, for a cover can fool you." He followed with, "I'll bet you think I’m a bum, don’t you, young man?"

I said, "Well, uh, yes, I guess so, sir."

"Well, young man, I’ve got a little surprise for you. I am one of the wealthiest men in the world. I have probably everything any man could ever want. I originally come from the Northeast and have all the things that money can buy. But a year ago, my wife passed away, bless her soul, and since then I have been deeply reflecting upon life. I realized there were certain things I had not yet experienced in life, one of which was what it would be like to live like a bum on the streets. I made a commitment to myself to do exactly that for one year. For the past year, I have been going from city to city doing just that. So, you see, don’t ever judge a book by its cover, for a cover can fool you.

"Number two is to learn how to read, my boy. For there is only one thing that people can't take away from you,and that is your wisdom."At that moment, he reached forward, grabbed my right hand in his and put them upon the books he’d pulled from the shelves. They were the writings of Plato and Aristotle-immortal classics from ancient times.

The bum then led me back past the smiling old woman near the entrance, down the steps and back on the streets near where we first met. His parting request was for me to never forget what he taught me.

I haven't.

在适当的时间与地点，一个人分享的一种观念竟能改变你的人生历程，这是不是不可思议？但这样的事真真切切地在我的生活里发生了。那年我十四岁，一路搭乘便车，从德克萨斯的休斯敦经埃尔帕索去加利福尼亚。我追随着我的梦想，一路上与太阳为伴共渡旅程。因为学习能力低下，我从高中退了学，下定决心要去这世上最大的波涛中冲浪，先是加利福尼亚，之后是夏威夷，那也是我后来想要居住的地方。

在到达埃尔帕索市中心时，我在街角遇见一位老人——一个四处流浪的人。他看见我走过来，就在我经过时把我叫住，向我询问。他问我是不是离家出走了，我猜他这样问是因为我看上去年纪很小。我告诉他：“不是这样的，先生。”因为在休斯敦是我父亲载我去的高速公路，在他给我祝福时还说：“儿子，追随梦想，追随心中所想是件重要的事。”

于是，老人问我能否请我喝杯咖啡。我答道：“不，先生，汽水就好了。”我们走到拐角处的酒铺，坐在一对转椅上，喝着饮料。

在闲谈了几分钟之后，这位和蔼的流浪汉让我跟他走。他说有些重要的东西想给我看，要与我分享。我们走了几个街区，来到了市中心的埃尔帕索公共图书馆。

我们走上几级台阶，停在一个小小的咨询处前。老流浪汉同这里的一位笑容可掬的老妇人讲了几句话，还问她是否乐意在我们去图书馆的时候帮忙照看一下我的行李。于是，我把行李留给这位老奶奶照管，便走进了这座恢弘的知识殿堂。

老流浪汉先领我走到一张桌子前，请我坐下稍等片刻，他则到一排排的书架上去翻找那些特别的东西。一会儿功夫，他夹着几本旧书回来了。他把它们摊在桌子上，接着在我身旁坐下，开始与我畅谈。他谈论的那些独特见解，改变了我的人生。他说：“年轻人，有两件事我想教给你，”

“第一件，永远不要以书的封面去判断书的内容，因为封面会欺骗你。”他接着说，“我打赌你一定认为我是个流浪汉，对吗，年轻人？”

我答道：“好吧，呃……先生，我是这么想的，没错。”

“很好，年轻人，我有个小惊喜要告诉你。其实，我是这个世界上最富有的人之一。我也许拥有任何一个人想要拥有的东西。我原本生活在东北部地区，并且拥有一切可以用钱买得到的东西。但是，一年前，我的妻子过世了，愿主保佑她的灵魂，从那时候起，我深深地反省了人生。我意识到我的人生里仍有某些未曾经历过的事，其中一件就是像大街上的流浪汉那样生活。我跟我自己做了个约定，要将这件事付诸实际行动一年。而在过去的日子里，我就像流浪汉那样，从一个城市游走到另一个城市。所以，你瞧，永远不要以书的封面去判断书的内容，因为封面可是会让你上当的。”

“第二件事，要学会怎样读书，我的孩子。因为只有一件东西是人们无法从你身边取走的，那就是你的智慧。”那一刻，他向前挪了挪身体，将我的右手抓起来，放在了他从书架中取来的那些书上。那些书是柏拉图与亚里士多德的著作——从古至今流传了世世代代的不朽之作。

谈话结束了，老流浪汉带我回到刚去过的入口附近，从微笑的老妇人那里取了行李，我们下楼梯又回到了大街上，距我们初次见面的地方很近。他在临别时，请我永远不要忘记他所教给我的。

而我从未忘记过。

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