Ｔｈｅ Ｄａｎｃｅ ｏｆ ａ Ｌｉｆｅｔｉｍｅ一生的舞蹈

In the summer recess between freshman and sophomore years in college， I was invited to be an instructor at a high school leadership camp hosted by a college in Michigan. I was already highly involved in most campus activities， and I jumped at the opportunity.

About an hour into the first day of camp， amid the frenzy of icebreakers and forced interactions， I first noticed the boy under the tree. He was small and skinny， and his obvious discomfort and shyness made him appear frail and fragile. Only 50 feet away， 200 eager campers were bumping bodies， playing， joking and meeting each other， but the boy under the tree seemed to want to be anywhere other than where he was. The desperate loneliness he radiated almost stopped me from approaching him， but I remembered the instructions from the senior staff to stay alert for campers who might feel left out.

As I walked toward him I said， “Hi， my name is Kevin and I’m one of the counselors. It’s nice to meet you. How are you?”

In a shaky， sheepish voice he reluctantly answered， “Okay， I guess.”

I calmly asked him if he wanted to join the activities and meet some new people. He quietly replied， “No， this is not really my thing.”

I could sense that he was in a new world， that this whole experience was foreign to him. But I somehow knew it wouldn’t be right to push him， either. He didn’t need a pep talk， he needed a friend. After several silent moments， my first interaction with the boy under the tree was over.

At lunch the next day， I found myself leading camp songs at the top of my lungs for 200 of my new friends. The campers were eagerly participated. My gaze wandered over the mass of noise and movement and was caught by the image of the boy from under the tree， sitting alone， staring out the window. I nearly forgot the words to the song I was supposed to be leading. At my first opportunity， I tried again， with the same questions as before: “How are you doing? Are you okay?”

To which he again replied， “Yeah， I’m all right. I just don’t really get into this stuff. ”

As I left the cafeteria， I too realized this was going to take more time and effort than I had thought — if it was even possible to get through to him at all.

That evening at our nightly staff meeting， I made my concerns about him known. I explained to my fellow staff members my impression of him and asked them to pay special attention and spend time with him when they could.

The days I spend at camp each year fly by faster than any others I have known. Thus， before I knew it， mid-week had dissolved into the final night of camp and I was chaperoning the “last dance”. The students were doing all they could to savor every last moment with their new “best friends” — friends they would probably never see again.

As I watched the campers share their parting moments， I suddenly saw what would be one of the most vivid memories of my life. The boy from under the tree， who stared blankly out the kitchen window， was now a shirtless dancing wonder. He owned the dance floor as he and two girls proceeded to cut up a rug. I watched as he shared meaningful， intimate time with people at whom he couldn’t even look just days earlier. I couldn’t believe it was him.

In October of my sophomore year， a late-night phone call pulled me away from my chemistry book. A soft-spoken， unfamiliar voice asked politely， “Is Kevin there?”

“You’re talking to him. Who’s this?”

“This is Tom Johnson’s mom. Do you remember Tommy from leadership camp? ”

The boy under the tree. How could I not remember? “Yes， I do”， I said. “He’s a very nice young man. How is he?”

An abnormally long pause followed， then Mrs. Johnson said， “My Tommy was walking home from school this week when he was hit by a car and killed.” Shocked， I offered my condolences.

“I just wanted to call you”， she said， “because Tommy mentioned you so many times. I wanted you to know that he went back to school this fall with confidence. He made new friends. His grades went up. And he even went out on a few dates. I just wanted to thank you for making a difference for Tom. The last few months were the best few months of his life.”

In that instant， I realized how easy it is to give a bit of yourself every day. You may never know how much each gesture may mean to someone else. I tell this story as often as I can， and when I do， I urge others to look out for their own “boy under the tree.”

在大一到大二之間的那個暑假，密歇根的一所大學主辦一次中學學生干部夏令營，邀我擔任輔導員。對于校園的多數活動，我都持贊同態度并積極參與，那次我同樣欣然接受了。

頭一天活動進行大約一個鐘頭，我注意到，開始活躍的營員們興致濃厚，不太自然地互動起來，而樹下卻有一個孤零零的男孩。他身材矮小，瘦弱不堪，那明顯的不安和羞怯使他顯得不堪一擊。在只有五十英尺遠的地方，二百名充滿激情的營員正在玩耍、開玩笑并互作介紹，而樹下的男孩似乎除了想呆在原地，不想去任何地方。他流露出的極度孤獨令我幾乎難以靠近，但我沒忘記資深輔導員們的提示：對可能感覺受到冷落的營員要保持警惕。

我走向那個男孩，對他說：“嗨！我叫凱文，是你們的輔導員。很高興認識你，你好嗎？”

帶著顫抖的怯生生的聲音，他勉強答道：“我想——還好吧。”

我平靜地問他想不想投入到那些活動從而結識一些人，他輕聲回答：“不，那不關我的事。”

我能感覺到他在面對一個新的環境，這種體驗對他來說是全然陌生的。也不知為什么，我覺得強迫他加入也不妥當。他不需要鼓勵性的講，他需要的是朋友。幾次沉默之后，我和樹下男孩的接觸就此結束。

第二天吃午飯的時候，我扯開嗓門，領著二百名剛認識的新朋友唱起了營歌。營員們都熱情參與，我的目光游移于這群人，忽然那個“樹下男孩”的樣子吸引了我的注意：他孤零零地坐著，眼瞅著窗外。我幾乎忘記了領唱的歌詞。只要一有機會，我就會照舊用那些話問他：“你怎么樣? 你好嗎？”

他的回答依然是：“嗯，我很好。我真地不想參與那種事兒。”

我離開自助餐廳的時候充分認識到，扭轉這種狀況所需的時間和所做的努力要比我想像的要多——即便是在能讓他徹底“迷途知返”的情況下。

在當晚的全體工作人員會議上，我告訴了他們我對他的擔憂。我向同事們說明他給我留下的印象，請求他們對他給以特別的關注，并盡可能花時間和他在一起。

每年我在營地度過的日子總是一晃而過，感覺比其它時間過得快。這次同樣如此。我還沒明白過來，星期三已成過去，露營的最后一晚來到了。我伴隨營員們跳起“最后的舞蹈”。學生們都在竭力品味跟新“摯友”在一起的最后每一刻——他們或許以后再也見不到面了。

營員們共度這難忘的分別時刻，這時我突然目睹了我一生都記憶最清晰的一幕：那個曾透過廚房窗戶茫然盯著外面的樹下男孩，此時卻成了不穿襯衫的跳舞奇才。他和兩個女孩跳著搖擺舞，在舞池里到處舞動。我注視著他跟大家共享這親密無間又意義深長的時刻，而僅僅幾天前他卻對他們連瞧也不瞧一眼。判若兩人，讓我無法相信。

我大二那年的十月，深夜的一個電話讓我放下化學課本，一個柔和卻生疏的聲音彬彬有禮地問道：

“凱文在嗎？”

“我就是，您是哪位？”

“我是湯姆#8226;約翰遜的母親，您還記得那個參加夏令營的湯米嗎？”

樹下的那個男孩，我怎么會不記得呢？

“我記得。”我說，“他是個很不錯的小伙子，他現在情況怎么樣？”

長長的反常沉默過后，約翰遜夫人又說道：“湯米這個星期從學校回家的時候，一輛汽車撞了他使他辭別人世。”我感到震驚，向她表示我的哀悼。

“我給您打電話，”她說，“只因為湯米好多次說起過您。我想讓您知道，他今年秋季返校時有了自信心，交了新朋友，學習成績提高了，甚至還出去約會過幾次。我只想表達我的感激之情，因為是您改變了他。最后的這幾個月是他度過的生命中最美好的時光。”

在那一刻，我意識到，你每天奉獻出一點點還是容易得很，你可能永遠都不知道你的舉動對他人的影響有多大。我常常講起這個故事，每當講起的時候，我總是力勸別人也注意一下他們自己的“樹下男孩”。

1．recess：n.[U][C]【美】學校的假期；課間休息

2．freshman 和sophomore分別指大學一年級生、大學二年級生，為美國英語說法

3．frenzy：n.[U] [又作 a ~] 狂亂，發狂，狂熱（state of violent mental agitation）；極度的激動

4．icebreaker：n. [C] 破冰船 碎冰機，破冰設備；打破僵局的東西

5．Interaction：n. 交互作用，互相影響；互動[between， with]

6．frail：adj.身體虛弱的；易損壞的，不堅實的；意志薄弱的，易被引誘的

7．fragile：adj.易碎的，脆的，易損壞的；脆弱的，虛弱的

8．desperate：adj. 猛烈的，厲害的， 極端的

9．radiate：vt.流露，顯示，煥發，洋溢 <喜悅、幸福等>

10．counselor：n.[C] （兒童夏令營）管理員指導老師

11．sheepish：adj. （如綿羊般） 內向的，羞怯的，靦腆的， 怯懦的，膽小的

12．reluctantly：adv. 不情愿地，勉強地

13．pep talk：鼓舞士氣的講話

14．cafeteria：[C]自助餐館，自助食堂（a restaurant where you serve yourself and pay a cashier）

15．get through to：使明白

16．dissolve：vt.消失 例如： The coach dissolved into theblackness.馬車消失在黑夜中

17．blankly：adv.茫然地，毫無表情地

18．cut （up） a rug： 跳搖擺舞

19．intimate：adj.親密的，熟悉的；舒適的，怡人的，氣氛融洽的

20．condolence：n. 吊慰，吊唁，哀悼[on] ；[常 ~s]吊辭，吊慰的話[on]