Art+Buchwald+等

I was in New York the other day and rode with a friend in a taxi. When we got out, my friend said to the driver, “Thank you for the ride. You did a superb job of driving.” The taxi driver was stunned for a second at that moment.

“What was that all about?” I asked after the taxi left. “I am trying to bring love back to New York,” he said.

“How can one man do it?”

“Its not one man. I believe I have made that taxi driver happy all day. Suppose he has 20 fares. Hes going to be nice to those 20 fares because someone was nice to him. Those fares in turn will be kinder to their employees or shopkeepers or waiters or even their own families. Eventually the goodwill could spread to at least 1,000 people. It isnt bad, is it?”

“But youre depending on that taxi driver to pass your goodwill to others.”

“Im not depending on it,” he said. “Im aware that the system isnt foolproof so I might deal with ten different people today. If out of ten I can make three happy, then eventually I can indirectly influence the attitudes of 3,000 more.”

“It sounds good on paper,” I admitted, “but Im not sure it works in practice.” “Nothing is lost if it doesnt. It didnt take any of my time to tell that man he was doing a good job. He neither received a larger tip nor a smaller tip. If it fell on deaf ears, so what? Tomorrow there will be another taxi driver I can try to make happy.”

“Youre some kind of a nut,” I said to him, “I havent seen anyone like you since The Man from La Mancha.”

“When those men digest my words, they will feel better for it. Somehow the city will benefit from their happiness.”

“But you cant do this all alone!” I protested.

“The most important thing is not to get discouraged. Making people become kind again is not an easy job, but if I can enlist other people in my campaign ...”

“You just winked at a very plain-looking woman,” I said.

“Yes, I know,” he replied. “And if shes a teacher, her class will be in for a fantastic day.”endprint