One of the 1）prerequisites of the international airline pilot’s trade is the opportunity to explore many of the world’s cities. That is， if one has recovered from the 2）aggregated hours of flight across assorted time zones. True rest is difficult to come by， so most of us inhabit a kind of 3）twilight zone in which we appear to be alive and well but underneath the persevering exterior remains a numbness that clings like paint. In this altered state of awareness we carry on 4）weary conversations that eventually make no sense， snore through a motion picture， fall into our food over dinner， exude loud speech and wilder actions in some sort of 5）compensatory behaviour for knowing we are not one hundred percent， perhaps not even fifty percent. This demeanor is part of us， and always will be until we hang up the hat and finally achieve a decent night’s sleep， over and again， and the business card says “retired”.

But the journey is fun. And that’s what we’re all about. And， this time， it was in 6）Osaka， Japan. I was on my own and decided to wander around an 7）enticing area I’d explored on other trips， anticipating a continued adventure begun on my last visit.

Some lovely hours were spent poking around， first in the antique shops then the model stores. I even added to my unbuilt model airplane kit collection， representing some 300 years of modeling ahead. Then， finding the narrow sidestreet that led to the noodle shop I had discovered previously， I embarked on an almost mystical adventure. The preceding month I had entered this tiny restaurant 8）on a whim， or I thought of it as by chance. A Japanese noodle shop， so called， is fairly typical， and if you have ever been in one you know what I mean. There are a few 9）diminutive tables and chairs but the focus is on a counter behind which the cook administers his trade directly in front of the customers， conjuring such delicacies as gayoza and a number of savory noodle and rice dishes. All this is accomplished against a 10）tapestry of cooking smoke， the crackle of hot oils， and occasionally some resounding vocal accompaniment.

On that particular day business was slow， and the owner/cook started a conversation in somewhat broken but understandable English. Upon hearing that I was an airline pilot， he nodded， smiled and said， “I have friend to meet you. I will call him now. Please talk with him. Maybe find what you both looking for.”

Now that was a bit 11）cryptic， as well as enticing. What WAS I looking for？ How would this man know？ Where would I be led？ Why？

Within a few moments a young fellow entered the restaurant. Pleasant， well in his twenties， so young to me. His English was also flawed but navigable. The restaurant owner said a few things to him in Japanese then left us on our own. “I very pleased to meet you”， he said. There was a great deal of bowing. Yes， it is the Japanese way of showing respect， but this bordered on reverence. Then he saw my big bag of airplane model kits. His eyes lit up and his smile was broad. I took them out for his inspection.

“Yes， 12）MD-11， Douglas Company， now Boeing Company. Scale this model 1/200” Well， he knew his airplanes and his models. “And 13）Lockheed Constellation”， he went on， fondling the other kit. “Most beautiful airplane”. He handed them back with another little bow and told me again， “I very pleased to meet you”. And I thought there were perhaps tears welling up in his eyes. He backed out， bowing again several times， and was gone into the night.

The owner returned， poured more tea and sat beside me. “He always want to be airline pilot. But，” and he patted his chest， “have bad heart. So no can do pilot. In my country， airline captain is man of high honor and position. He very much honor you talk with him.”

I felt a sadness for the young man who wanted to be a pilot， as passion 14）thwarted can lead to major grief and a life of torment. Was that what I saw in his tears？ “You please to come again，” the proprieter said.

Now I had returned， down the narrow sidestreet， back into the restaurant. We shook hands， I asked for the gayoza and noodle soup and a pot of green tea. “I call friend，” he said， more as a question.

“Yes， no problem，” I answered. And as before， the young fellow came along， again noticed my new bag of model kits， bowed， smiled and had green tea with me. And then he asked，“You please to come with me. I show you my home.”

My friend， the chef and man of mysterious ways， said， “Yes， you go！ Is very good thing.” His smile had the hint of an all-knowing wisdom. So we departed down the 15）myriad of narrow streets， turned many corners， then climbed steps to a small apartment-like residence atop some merchants’shops on the street level. As my friend turned on the light， I knew why I was there.

Not only were there airplane photos everywhere， but one entire wall held shelves of model airliners， floor to ceiling. Airplane books covered tables and chairs. And there was a delightfully simple yet effective work table upon which were several 16）airbrushes， model tools， jars of paint， reference material， and model kits.“I make all，” he said， gesturing to the wall of models. There were hundreds of them in this room！ And the quality was professional， contest grade， every single one！ My smile was ear-to-ear and so was his. I too had tears， but of joy. This man’s passion for flight had not been completely negated by a physical problem. Private grief had not led to some 17）pernicious finale. He had taken another path and now almost lived in his special world of flight！

“I have a room much like this，” I said. “We are very much the same.”

“Yes，” he said， bowing， “We same.”

And there amongst all the 18）sum and substance of my life， devotion to flight， we shared a feeling of being something like “universal man”， transcending space， time， geography， and cultural boundaries. He even gave me some extremely helpful tips on model airplane building.

I barely caught the last train back to the hotel and sat alone in the night， pondering this great experience. And I realized that it is the journey that really matters， not the reaching “there”， and I am not sure where “there” really is anyway. The business of an airline pilot has its frustrations and sorrows， but it also offers some unique opportunities. For it allows me walks down narrow streets in Singapore， or Penang， Bangkok， or Shanghai—and a special sidestreet in Osaka.

And in those places to discover that we have a lot of friends whom we simply have yet to meet. And that is truly something special.

身為國際航線飛行員的先決條件之一是有機(jī)會(huì)去探索這個(gè)世界的許多城市。前提是你能從跨越各種時(shí)區(qū)長達(dá)數(shù)小時(shí)的漫長飛行中恢復(fù)過來。飛行之后很難真正地休息，因此我們之中大多數(shù)人都生活在某種模糊狀態(tài)中，看起來生龍活虎的，但在精神奕奕的外表下，如顏料般附著一層麻木。在這種非正常意識狀態(tài)下，我們繼續(xù)著最后變得毫無意義的疲倦對話，對著電影打呼嚕，晚餐時(shí)渾然入睡，用大聲說話和舉止狂野來達(dá)到某種補(bǔ)償行為，只因知道自己并非百分百清醒，或者甚至不到百分之五十。這種舉止成為了我們的一部分，通常會(huì)持續(xù)直至我們掛起帽子，終于在某一晚能夠好好睡上一覺，循環(huán)往復(fù)，直到名片印上“已退休”。

但旅行很有趣。這也是我們?nèi)稼呏酊F的原因。而這次的目的地是日本的大阪市。我獨(dú)自前往，并決定去一個(gè)迷人的區(qū)域走走，在其他多次旅程中我曾經(jīng)探索過那里，并期待著能夠繼續(xù)上一次的冒險(xiǎn)之旅。

我四處閑逛，度過幾小時(shí)美麗時(shí)光，先是在一些古玩店，接著是一些模型店里。我甚至還為自己尚未收集完的模型飛機(jī)套裝增添了一些新藏品，它們展現(xiàn)了約三百多年前的模型樣式。然后我又找到了那條狹窄的小巷，通往我之前發(fā)現(xiàn)的那家面店，于是我開始了一場近乎神秘的冒險(xiǎn)。上個(gè)月我曾一時(shí)心血來潮進(jìn)入過這家小餐館，或者說我認(rèn)為是一種運(yùn)氣。這是一家日本面店，據(jù)稱，店面相當(dāng)?shù)湫?，如果你曾?jīng)去過某一家的話，你就知道我說的是什么意思。里面有一些小小的桌椅，但店里的焦點(diǎn)卻是在一個(gè)柜臺的后面，廚師直接在顧客面前干活，像魔術(shù)師一樣變出各種美味佳肴，如餃子和各種可口的面條以及飯食。所有這一切都伴隨著陣陣炊煙，沸油噼啪，和時(shí)不時(shí)響起的陣陣洪亮嗓音。

那天的生意并不繁忙，于是店主兼廚師操著一口有點(diǎn)蹩腳卻能夠聽明白的英語開始跟我聊天。當(dāng)聽說我是一名飛行員時(shí)，他點(diǎn)了點(diǎn)頭，微笑著說道：“我有朋友要見你。我現(xiàn)在就給他打電話。請跟他聊聊。也許能找到你們彼此都在尋找的東西。”

這可就有點(diǎn)神秘了，還挺誘人的。我在4尋找什么？這個(gè)人怎么會(huì)知道？我會(huì)被帶向何方？為什么呢？

不久以后，一個(gè)年輕小伙子進(jìn)入了餐館。開開心心的，二十歲出頭，在我看來真年輕啊。他的英語也是錯(cuò)誤百出，但可以交流。餐館老板用日語跟他說了些什么，然后就留下我倆獨(dú)處?！拔液芨吲d見到你，”他說，還鞠了不少躬。是的，這是日本人表示尊敬的方式，但這次近乎于崇敬。接著他看到我裝有飛機(jī)模型套裝的大袋子。他的眼睛亮了，臉上展露出大大的笑容。我把它們拿出來讓他一一檢視。

“是的，MD-11，曾經(jīng)的道格拉斯公司，如今的波音公司出品。這個(gè)模型的比例是1/200?！编?，他很了解他的飛機(jī)和模型?！斑€有洛克希德星座，”他繼續(xù)說，摩挲著另一套模型?！白蠲利惖娘w機(jī)，”他把模型交還給我時(shí)又鞠了一小躬，接著又對我說了一遍：“我很高興見到你?！蔽矣X得他的眼中似乎泛起了淚光。他轉(zhuǎn)身出門，又鞠了好幾次躬，然后就走進(jìn)了夜色之中。

店主回來了，添了一些茶水，坐在了我身邊?！八恢毕氤蔀橐幻w行員。但是，”他拍著自己的胸脯，“心臟很不好。所以不能當(dāng)飛行員。在我的國家里，機(jī)長是非常受人尊敬的人物和職業(yè)。你跟他說話，他感到很榮幸?！?/p>

我為這個(gè)年輕人感到悲傷，他想成為一名飛行員，而當(dāng)激情受阻時(shí)會(huì)產(chǎn)生巨大的悲傷和造成一生的痛苦。那就是我在他的淚光中見到的嗎？“請你一定要再來，”店主說。

現(xiàn)在我又來了，在這條窄巷里，回到那家餐館。我們握了握手，我點(diǎn)了餃子、面條湯和一壺綠茶?！拔掖螂娫捊o朋友，”他說，更像是個(gè)問句。

“好的，沒問題，”我回答說。就像上次那樣，那個(gè)年輕小伙子來了，又一次注意到我新買的一袋模型套裝，鞠躬，微笑，和我一起喝綠茶。接著，他問道：“請你和我一起來。我讓你看看我的家?！?/p>

我的朋友一那個(gè)老板兼神秘之人說：“是的，你去吧！是件很好的事情。”他的笑容里有著一絲洞悉一切的智慧。于是我們出發(fā)走進(jìn)迷宮般的窄巷，轉(zhuǎn)了許多個(gè)彎，然后爬上樓梯來到一間位于街邊店鋪頂上小公寓似的屋子里。當(dāng)我的朋友一開燈，我就知道為什么我在那里了。

屋里不僅貼滿了飛機(jī)的照片，還有一整面墻擺滿了幾架子的模型飛機(jī)，從地板一直到天花板。桌上椅上滿是關(guān)于飛機(jī)的書籍。還有一張相當(dāng)簡單卻實(shí)用的工作臺，上面有一些噴槍、模型工具、顏料罐、參考資料和模型套裝?！叭际俏易龅?，”他指著滿墻的模型說道。屋里有幾百個(gè)模型！而且質(zhì)量專業(yè)，全都有比賽成績，每一架都有！我笑得合不攏嘴，他也是。我的眼里也溢滿了淚水，但這是歡樂的淚水。這個(gè)人對于飛行的熱誠完全沒有因身體的問題而磨滅。內(nèi)心的悲傷并沒有導(dǎo)致某種毀滅性的結(jié)局。他選擇了另一條途徑，而如今幾乎生活在他特別的飛行世界里！

“我也有一個(gè)房間和這個(gè)很像，”我說?！拔覀儙缀跏峭活惾??！?/p>

“是的，”他說，鞠著躬，“我們同一類?！?/p>

對飛行的熱愛是我生命的一切，論及飛行，我倆有一種像是“世界同仁”的感覺，超越空間、時(shí)間、地理和文化界限。他甚至給了我一些關(guān)于建造模型飛機(jī)的有用竅門。

我勉強(qiáng)趕上了返回酒店的末班火車，獨(dú)坐在夜色里，思索著這次了不起的經(jīng)歷。而我意識到，這便是真正有意義的旅程，并非到達(dá)“那里”，況且我也不確定“那里”究竟是哪里。飛行員的職業(yè)會(huì)有挫敗和失意，但也提供了一些獨(dú)特的機(jī)會(huì)。這職業(yè)讓我走進(jìn)新加坡，或檳城、曼谷，或上海的窄巷里一還有一條位于大阪市的特殊小巷。

在那些地方去發(fā)現(xiàn)，我們有著許多朋友，只是我們還沒相遇。而那才是真正的特別之處。