姍姍來遲的興趣

Robert Klose

I once knew a high school teacher who made， in my mind， a curious comment. Referring to a wayward1） student， he remarked， with a tone of grim2） resignation3）， "People don't change."

I was immediately confused. Yes， older folks tend to become set in familiar ways， but a 15-year-old？ I knew the kid well. He lived in my neighborhood. In the parlance4） of a past age， he was what one would call a "juvenile delinquent5）". But if schooling held no promise of rendering6） positive changes in kids， what was the point of teaching？

I knew whereof I spoke. My own son， Alyosha， is currently serving aboard a US Coast Guard cutter7）. This is a wonder： he'd never shown any interest for boats， water or uniforms， for one thing. But the real kicker8） is his specialty： machinery technology. He tends to9） the ship's engines.

To understand why I find this so remarkable requires a little background. Alyosha， growing up， was athletic， energetic， impish10） and occasionally hard to handle. But he never showed the least interest in tools， tinkering or working with his hands in any way. The result was that he couldn't tell a screwdriver from a paintbrush. I recall one day， as I fussed11） under the car， calling out to him to bring me an adjustable wrench12）. He fetched a pair of pliers13）. "No，" I explained while trying to hold a greasy car part in place. "Pliers." He went back into the garage and returned with a pry bar14）. "No， no，" I corrected him. "The adjustable wrench！ For loosening a nut15）." To which， in his own defense， he exclaimed， "Well， I don't know！"

Not knowing was one thing， but not wanting to learn was another. I did try my best. While working under the hood16） on another occasion I called to him， "Alyosha， want to learn how to change the oil？" His response： "Er， no， Dad. I don't want to get in your way." Painting the picnic table on a brilliant summer day： "Alyosha， want to pick up a brush？" "It's OK， Dad. I think it's a one-man job." On another occasion： "Hey， I'm doing some plumbing17）. Want to learn how to solder18）？" Alyosha： "Nah. I'd just burn myself."

And so he bounced happily along. Except for his dislike of tools and handiwork， he was a neat kid to raise. He was a gifted soccer player， and his claim to fame was not the number of goals he made but his skill as a playmaker19）， placing the ball just right so a teammate could plant the goal. OK， so he didn't know what a ball-peen hammer20） was. He had a generous heart.

The years passed. Alyosha zigged and zagged21）—a little bit of this college， a little bit of that one. A low-level job here， another one there. And then， one day， well into22） his 20s， he told me he had decided to join the Coast Guard. I supported him 100 percent. After boot camp23） and a stint24） of shore duty， he told me he had decided on a technical school： machinery technology. Of all things25）！

I nodded approvingly， but already knew that it was a challenging field， full of moving parts， tools and dreaded math. And somewhere in the works， I was sure， someone would ask him to fetch an adjustable wrench.

During his period in Coast Guard technical school I thought about him daily， wondering what the outcome would be. I had prepared myself for the phone call telling me that it was just too much and he was being sent to sea as a deckhand26）.

It didn't happen. He made it. The phone did ring， but it was Alyosha asking me to fly to Virginia to attend his graduation and pin his new rank on his collar. Prouder I couldn't have been.

As I stood before my son， fiddling with27） the rank insignia28）， Alyosha， standing at attention and staring dead ahead， broke protocol29） to glance at me. "You want me to help you， Dad？" he asked. "Always，" I answered， as I snapped30） the insignia clips into place， "but not this time."

Yeah， people do change. And， in my experience， it's usually something to behold31）.

我曾經認識一個高中老師，他發表過一番令我覺得十分費解的言論。在談到一位難以管教的學生時，他用一種嚴肅而又無可奈何的語氣說：“人是不會改變的。”

我當時頓時糊涂了。的確，年長一些的人往往會變得積習難改，但一個15歲的孩子也會如此嗎？我很了解這個孩子。他就住在我家附近。用老話來說，這孩子就是所謂的“失足青年”。但是，如果連學校教育也無法保證能給孩子帶來積極的改變，那么教育的意義何在呢？

我很清楚我說的這點。我自己的兒子阿廖沙目前在美國海岸警衛隊的一艘快艇上服役。這可是個奇跡。首先，他從未表現過他對船只、大海或者軍裝有什么興趣。但最令人驚訝的還是他的專業——機械技術。他負責維修那艘快艇的引擎。

要明白我為何覺得此事如此不同凡響，還需要了解一點背景。從小到大，阿廖沙一直都是個身強體壯、精力充沛、調皮好動的孩子，有時候也會難以管教。但他從未對機械工具、維修或者任何形式的手工活表現出絲毫的興趣。結果他連螺絲刀和油漆刷都分不清。記得有一天，我正鉆在汽車底下忙活的時候，喊他給我拿一把活動扳手，結果他拿來了一把鉗子。“不是這個，”我一邊向他解釋，一邊試圖把一個油膩膩的汽車零件安裝到位，“這是鉗子。”他走回車庫，回來時拿了一把撬桿。“錯了，錯了，”我糾正他說，“我要的是活動扳手！松螺母用的。”對此，他大聲為自己辯解道：“哎呀，我不認識！”

不認識是一回事，而不想學就是另一回事了。為此我真的竭盡所能了。又有一次，我鉆在發動機罩下面忙活時沖他大聲說：“阿廖沙，想不想學怎么換機油啊？”他的回答是：“呃，不了，爸。我不想在這里礙手礙腳的。”在一個明媚的夏日，我在給野餐桌刷油漆：“阿廖沙，想不想拿刷子來刷一下？”“不用了，爸，我覺得這事一個人干就夠了。”還有一次，我說：“嘿，我在鋪水管，想學怎么焊接嗎？”阿廖沙說：“不，我只會燒到自己。”

于是，他就這樣一路快快樂樂地成長著。其實，撇開他對工具和手工活兒的反感不說，他是個很好養的孩子。他是個頗有天賦的足球運動員，已小有名氣，而這并不是因為他進了多少個球，而是因為他的技巧——作為負責組織進攻的球員，他總能將球踢到合適的位置，從而使隊友能順利進球。好吧，他確實還是不知道什么是圓頭錘，可他擁有豁達的胸懷。

很多年過去了。阿廖沙在磕磕絆絆中長大成人——換了幾所大學，也輾轉更換了幾份低端的工作。然后有一天，在他二十多歲時，他告訴我，他已決定加入海岸警衛隊。我百分百地支持他。在經過新兵訓練，完成規定期限的海岸工作后，他告訴我他決定去一所技校，學習機械技術。那么多可學的，他偏偏挑中了這個！

我贊許地點了點頭，但心里早就明白這是個極具挑戰性的領域，充斥著各種活動部件、工具以及令人恐懼的數學。我確信，在工廠的某個地方，一定會有人叫他去取一把活動扳手。

他在海岸警衛隊技術學校學習的那段日子里，我每天都會想到他，想知道他最終的結果會是怎樣。我已經做好了心理準備接到這樣的電話，告訴我這對他來說就是太難了，他已被派往海上當一名普通水手。

我所擔心的并沒有發生。他成功了。電話鈴確實響了，但那是阿廖沙打來邀請我飛往弗吉尼亞去參加他的畢業典禮，并親手將他的新軍銜徽章別在他的衣領上。我感到前所未有的自豪。

當我站在兒子面前擺弄著他的軍銜徽章時，原本兩眼直視前方立正的阿廖沙突然違規看了我一眼。“爸，需要幫忙嗎？”他問道。“永遠都需要，”我一邊回答，一邊啪的一聲將徽章卡好，“但這次不需要。”

是的，人是會改變的。而且，就我的經驗來看，這種改變常常值得一看。