英语温情故事:为饥饿的人种一垄豆子

It was a cold night in Washington, D.C., and I was heading back to the hotel when a man approached me. He asked if I would give him some money so he could get something to eat. I'd read the signs: "Don't give money to panhandlers（乞丐） ." So I shook my head and kept walking.
那是华盛顿一个寒冷的夜晚，我正往旅馆走，这时一个男子走近我。他问我能否给他些钱，以便能买些吃的。我看过警示牌“不要给乞丐钱”，于是我摇了摇头，继续走。

I wasn't prepared for a reply, but with resignation, he said, "I really am homeless and I really am hungry! You can come with me and watch me eat!" But I kept on walking.
我没打算回答，那个男人卑微地说道“我真的无家可归，而且我真的很饿，你可以和我一起来，看着我吃！”但我只是继续走路。

The incident bothered me for the rest of the week. I had money in my pocket and it wouldn't have killed me to hand over a buck or two even if he had been lying. On a frigid（寒冷的） , cold night, no less, I assumed the worst of a fellow human being.
那件事在余下来的一周一直困扰着我，我兜里有钱，即使他在说谎，给他一、两美元也不会影响到我。而且我总是想着，在一个寒冷的晚上，一个饥饿的人可能会遭遇的事。

Flying back to Anchorage, I couldn't help thinking of him. I tried to rationalize my failure to help by assuming government agencies, churches and charities were there to feed him. Besides, you're not supposed to give money to panhandlers.
回到安克雷奇，我禁不住想到他。我试着给自己没帮助他找借口，比如给乞丐提供食物是政府机构，教堂还有慈善组织的事。而且，你不应该给乞丐钱。
Somewhere over Seattle, I started to write my weekly garden column for The Anchorage Daily News. Out of the blue, I came up with an idea. Bean's Cafe, the soup kitchen in Anchorage, feeds hundreds of hungry Alaskans every day. Why not try to get all my readers to plant one row in their gardens dedicated to Bean's? Dedicate a row and take it down to Bean's. Clean and simple.
在西雅图，我开始为《安克雷奇每日新闻报》每周园艺栏目写稿。突然间，我想到一个点子：Bean's Café，安克雷奇的施舍处，每天都为成百饥饿的阿拉斯加州人提供食物。为什么不让我的读者们在园子里种一垄豆子，然后把它捐给Bean's Café。这样做简单可行。

We didn't keep records back then, but the idea began to take off. Folks would fax me or call when they took something in. Those who only grew flowers donated them. Food for the spirit. And salve for my conscience.
我们那时并没有做记录，但是这个点子开始流传开来。当人们捐献东西，他们会给我发传真或打电话。种花的人捐献花，那是精神食粮，那使我得到了慰藉了。

Next year, the Garden Writers Association of America held their annual convention in Anchorage and after learning of Anchorage's program, Plant a Row for Bean's became Plant a Row For The Hungry. The original idea was to have every member of the Garden Writers Association of America write or talk about planting a row for the hungry sometime during the month of April.
第二年，美国园艺作家协会在了安克雷奇举办年会，在了解安克雷奇为穷人种植一垄豆子的计划后，起初的想法是让美国园艺作家协会每位成员，写或谈论“在四月为饥饿的人种一垄豆子”。