第3章 為夢想披荊斬棘 (2)

他畫著聲音跑過去，來到了一處建築工地。羅伯茨灣的人喜歡自己建房，用的釘子是從當地一家工廠買的，都用麻袋來裝。有時人們實在太忙，就會把麻袋隨手丟棄，而魯本知道，他可以以5分錢一條的價格把麻袋再賣回工廠。

那天，他找到了兩條麻袋，拿到雜亂的木材廠，賣給了為釘子打包的人。

男孩手裏緊緊攥著兩個5分硬幣，兩公裏的路程，他是一路小跑著回到家的。

他家附近有座舊穀倉，是用來圈養山羊和雞的。魯本在那裏找到一個鏽跡斑斑的蘇打鐵罐，把兩枚硬幣投了進去。然後，他爬上穀倉的閣樓，把鐵罐藏在一堆散發著甜香味的幹草底下。

魯本回到家時已是晚飯時分，此時父親正坐在大餐桌旁擺弄著漁網，母親多à在灶台邊忙著準備晚飯，魯本在桌旁坐了下來。

他望著母親，笑了。夕陽的餘暉透過窗子照進來，把母親棕褐色的披肩發染成了金黃色。苗條、美麗的母親是這個家的中心，她像膠水一樣，把這個家緊緊地黏結在一起。

母親有永遠也幹不完的家務活，她要用老式的“勝家”縫紉機為一家人縫縫補補，要做飯、烤麵包、打理菜園、擠羊奶，還要用搓衣板洗衣服。可母親很快樂，在她看來，全家人的安康才是最重要的。

每天放學後做完家務，魯本就在鎮上搜尋裝釘子的麻袋。隻有兩間教室的學校放暑假的那天，魯本比任何人都高興，現在他有更多時間去完成他的使命了。

整個夏季，魯本除了做家務——給菜園鋤草、澆水以及砍柴、打水外，一直進行著他的秘密活動。

轉眼，菜園收獲的季節到了，蔬菜被醃製裝罐後儲藏起來，此時，學校也開學了。不久，秋葉飄零，海灣吹來陣陣寒風。魯本在街頭徘徊，努力找尋著他的寶貝麻袋。

他常常會餓著肚子，又冷又累，但是一想到商店櫥窗裏的那樣東西，他又來了精神。媽媽偶爾會問：“魯本，你去哪兒啦？我們都等你吃飯呢！”

“我出去玩啦，媽媽。對不起。”

每到這時，多à總會看著他，搖搖頭，男孩子嘛。

春天終於來了，綠意盎然，魯本的精神也隨之振奮。時候到了！他跑進穀倉，爬上草垛取出鐵罐，倒出硬幣，開始數起來。

他又數了一遍，還差20美分。鎮上哪兒還會有廢棄的麻袋呢？他必須在天黑之前再找四條賣掉。

魯本順著沃特街向前跑去。

當魯本趕到工廠時，夕陽已騙將周圍的一切à長了影子，收購麻袋的人正要鎖門。

“先生！請先別鎖門。”

那人轉過身打量了一下魯本，他渾身髒兮兮的，滿頭大汗。

“明天再來吧，孩子。”

“求求您了，先生，我必須現在就把這幾條麻袋賣掉——求您啦。”那人聽出魯本的聲音在顫抖，他快哭了。

“你為何這麽急著要這點兒錢呢？”

“這個是秘密。”

那人接過麻袋，從衣袋裏掏出四枚硬幣放到魯本手中。魯本輕聲說了句“謝謝”，就轉身往家跑。

然後，他取出鐵罐，緊緊地抱著，直奔那家商店。

“我有錢啦！”他鄭重地對店主說。

店主向櫥窗走去，取出魯本想要的那件“寶貝”。

他撣去上麵的灰塵，用牛皮紙小心地把它包好，放到魯本手中。

魯本一路狂奔到家，衝進前門。媽媽正在廚房擦灶台。“看看，媽媽！看這個！”魯本邊跑邊叫著來到媽媽跟前，他把一個小盒子放到媽媽那雙因勞動而變得粗糙的手上。

媽媽生怕把包裝紙弄壞了，小心翼翼地將它拆開，一個藍色天鵝絨首飾盒映入眼簾。多à打開盒蓋，瞬間，淚水模糊了她的雙眼。

一枚小巧的心形胸針上刻著兩個金字：母親。

那是1946年的母親節。

多à從沒收到過這樣的禮物，除了結婚戒指外，她沒有別的飾物。她一把摟過兒子，不說一句話，臉上露出聖潔的微笑，整個人愈加容光煥發起來。

真的夢想，沒有屏障

Save Money for College by My Own

佚名 / Anonymous

I will never forget one day in my first year in high school. I was sitting on the stairs descending into the basement， putting my head in my hands and crying out in despair to my parents that I would never be able to save enough money for college. My parents tried to console me， but it seemed impossible to save $64， 268， the cost for the private restitution that I desperately wanted to attend.

Now let me tell you the amazing story of how I earned this sum of money.

It all began with a paper route in Ankeny， IA. I hated delivering that route， but was determined to stick it out for six months until my family moved to Wausau， WI. With a few meager dollars from my paper route， a small nest egg began to develop. My next job was with an athletic company as a telephone customer service representative. The savings account continued to grow very slowly. Then， the fall of my junior year of high school， I began to waitress at Denny' s restaurant. It was a hard work， but the money began to roll in and this job paid at least twice as much money per hour.

By the time my senior year arrived， I had saved a considerable amount of money. This was encouraging， but I knew that I would also need some help， so began the process of applying for scholarships. Sometimes it was discouraging because I was rejected again and again. Then， my first scholarship offer came in， $2， 000 a year to play tennis. This is only a small dent at a school that costs approximately $14， 000 a year， but it was a start. Several other academic scholarships also came my way and soon I was up to have $9，050 in scholarships. Between scholarships and savings， I had enough money for my first year！

Another interesting development emerged. I began testing out of classes. Running anxiously to the mailbox in anticipation of my test scores became part of my daily routine. Excitement mounted as test result saved me approximately $1，000 in tuition and then enabled me to graduate a year early. This would save room and board expenses as well.

Finally， I was off to college. Because of careful saving， I did not have to work during the school year. Then， summer hit and it was time to work harder than ever. I continued working as a waitress at night， instructed tennis camps several mornings a week and worked as a secretary for a few hours in the afternoons. Being a little overzealous， I decided to also take a class at a community college. This class at the community college saved me $650， it was an exhausting summer and made me anxious to return to my relatively easy life at college.

During my second and third years of undergraduate schooling， I decided to work about five hours per week in the campus admissions office answering phones. This provided a little spending money and kept me from draining my savings. The overall situation looked hopeful as I approached my senior year as long as I could make as much money as I had the previous summer. That is when I decided to go to Israel to study for 3 weeks. I hesitated in making this decision and had just about decided not to go because it would cost me $1，600 more to get the credits in Israel.

About two weeks later my Mom called to tell me that I had $1，600 in the bank that I had forgotten about！ One of my concerns about this trip was not only the cost， but the loss of time to make money； however， I made as much that summer in the ten weeks that I was home as I had made during the fourteen weeks that I was home the summer before. The way everything worked together to make this trip feasible was one of the most exciting things that has ever happened to me.

Finally， my senior year of college was upon me and to keep things interesting， I decided to buy a car. I obviously did not have a lot of money to spend for a car. I searched many newspaper ads and I was ecstatic to find one for only $4， 200.

Then， I also attended an 8-week course on marriage and family in Colorado. This was an incredible experience that taught me a great deal about my worldview and how to develop a healthy family. This experience was also very costly， $4，000. I was surprised to find that I had graduated with no debt and so many remarkable journeys along the way.