In the Long Run， I'll Be the One you Remember

I was in the middle of coding¹ a web page when my wife emailed me these questions: Ever wonder what it would be like to have the face， the brains， the personality and the body? What it would be like to have everyone stop when you walk in a room? What it would be like to be able to get anything or anyone you want? I stopped for a moment and thought about it because my wife wouldn't email me this unless something had provoked² her to do so. I emailed her back with what I thought was a pretty good an- swer. Here is， in essence， what I wrote her back.

Yes， I had thought many times about what it would be like to be one of the beautiful people. To be able to take your breath away when I walked into a room， or to be the life of the party and have everyone fawning³ over me as I wore only the finest body. But then I always came back to the realization that a lifestyle like that is so fragile⁴. As you get older， your body changes; as you get older， the money changes. Your body never looks the same， the clothes become more and more expensive to maintain. And once you have crossed the line， suddenly you are out. The next fresh face comes in， and you are quickly forgotten.

All through growing up I was never an attractive person. I was over weight and picked on. But that didn't stop me from being a nice person. A good， clean， funny and helpful person. I was the person who you came to when you needed a friend after a breakup. I was the one you came to when you needed a joke to brighten up your day. And in the long run， I will be the one you remember， not the new face， or the fresh style.

In closing， I would like to say that we， as people， have devolved⁵ into looking for things that are bigger and better instead of what will last. I don't know about you， but I will remember the friend who helped me when I was down， more than the hot chick I just saw walking down the street.

我正在編寫一個網(wǎng)頁，我妻子通過電子郵件給我發(fā)來了以下這些問題：有沒有想過擁有動人的面孔、出眾的智慧、不凡的個性、完美的身材?如果當(dāng)你走進(jìn)一間屋子，所有人都停下來看你時，會如何?如果你能得到任何你想要的人或者物時，那又如何?我停下來，思考了一會兒，因為我妻子是不會平白無故地發(fā)這些問題給我的，除非某些東西激發(fā)了她。我把我認(rèn)為較理想的答案發(fā)給了她。以下就是我給她回復(fù)的大意。

的確，我曾數(shù)次想過，如果我變成形象出眾的人會怎么樣?我一走進(jìn)屋子，人們就屏住呼吸；或者成為晚會的靈魂，讓每個人都奉承我，因為我只穿最好的衣服，有著運動型的完美身材。然而我還是常常會意識到這樣的生活方式極其脆弱。當(dāng)你變老時，你的身體會改變，你的經(jīng)濟(jì)狀況也會改變。你的身體看起來不一樣了，衣著變得越來越貴。一旦跨越了某個界限，突然，你出局了。下一張新鮮面孔出現(xiàn)了，而你很快就會被遺忘。

從小到大，我從來就不是個有外在魅力的人。我曾經(jīng)因超重而備受愚弄，可是這并不妨礙我成為一個好人，一個干凈、風(fēng)趣、有用的好人。我是那個你分手后需要的朋友，那個你想聽笑話高興時的開心果。多年以后，你所懷念的會是我，而不是什么新面孔，或者新風(fēng)格。

最后，我想說，我們作為人已經(jīng)退化到去追求那些更大更好而不是更長久的東西。我不知道你會怎樣，但是我會記得那些在我困難的時候幫助過我的朋友，而不是我在街上看見的美妞。

注釋：

1. code vt．編碼

2. provoke vt．激發(fā)，驅(qū)使

3. fawn vi．奉承，討好

4. fragile adj．易碎的，脆的

5. devolve vt．[生物] 退化