手机浏览器扫描二维码访问
佚名
Anonymous
Manyyearsago,whenIwasayoungmaninmytwenties,IworkedasasalesmanforaSt。Louisianocomany。
Wesoldourianosalloverthestatebyadvertisinginsmalltownnewsaersandthen,whenwehadreceivedsufficientrelies,wewouldloadourlittletrucks,driveintotheareaandselltheianostothosewhohadrelied。
EverytimeweadvertisedinthecottoncountryofSoutheastMissouri,wewouldreceivearelyonaostcardwhichsaid,ineffect,“Pleasebringmeanewianoformylittlegranddaughter。Itmustberedmahogany。Icanay$10amonthwithmyeggmoney。”Theoldladyscrawledonandonandonthatostcarduntilshefilleditu,thenturneditoverandevenwroteonthefront——aroundandaroundtheedgesuntiltherewasbarelyroomfortheaddress。
Ofcourse,wecouldnotsellanewianofor$10amonth。Nofinancecomanywouldcarryacontractwithaymentsthatsmall,soweignoredherostcards。
Oneday,however,Ihaenedtobeinthatareacallingonotherrelies,andoutofcuriosityIdecidedtolooktheoldladyu。IfoundrettymuchwhatIexected:theoldladylivedinaoneroomshare-croerscabininthemiddleofacottonfield。
Thecabinhadadirtfloorandtherewerechickensinthehouse。Obviously,theoldladycouldnothavequalifiedtourchaseanythingoncredit—nocar,nohone,norealjob,nothingbutaroofoverherheadandnotaverygoodoneatthat。Icouldseedaylightthroughitinseverallaces。Herlittlegranddaughterwasabout10,barefootandwearingafeed-sackdress。
Iexlainedtotheoldladythatwecouldnotsellanewianofor$10amonthandthatsheshouldstowritingtouseverytimeshesawourad。Idroveawayheartsick,butmyadvicehadnoeffect—shestillsentusthesameostcardeverysixweeks。Alwayswantinganewiano,redmahogany,lease,andswearingshewouldnevermissa$10ayment。Itwassad。
Acouleofyearslater,Iownedmyownianocomany,andwhenIadvertisedinthatarea,theostcardsstartedcomingtome。Formonths,Iignoredthem—whatelsecouldIdo?
Butthen,onedaywhenIwasintheareasomethingcameoverme。Ihadaredmahoganyianoonmylittletruck。DesiteknowingthatIwasabouttomakeaterriblebusinessdecision,IdeliveredtheianotoherandtoldherIwouldcarrythecontractmyselfat$10amonthwithnointerest,andthatwouldmean52ayments。ItookthenewianointhehouseandlaceditwhereIthoughttheroofwouldbeleastlikelytorainonit。Iadmonishedherandthelittlegirltotrytokeethechickensoffit,andIleft—sureIhadjustthrownawayanewiano。
Buttheaymentscamein,all52ofthemasagreed—sometimeswithcoinstaedtoa3x5inchcardintheenveloe。Itwasincredible!
So,Iuttheincidentoutofmymindfor20years。
ThenonedayIwasinMemhisonotherbusiness,andafterdinnerattheHolidayInnontheLevee,Iwentintothelounge。AsIwassittingatthebarhavinganafter-dinnerdrink,Iheardthemostbeautifulianomusicbehindme。Ilookedaround,andtherewasalovelyyoungwomanlayingaverynicegrandiano。
Beingaianistofsomeabilitymyself,Iwasstunnedbyhervirtuosity,andIickedumydrinkandmovedtoatablebesideherwhereIcouldlistenandwatch。Shesmiledatme,askingforrequests,andwhenshetookabreakshesatdownatmytable。
“Arentyouthemanwhosoldmygrandmaaianoalongtimeago?”
Itdidntringabell,soIaskedhertoexlain。
Shestartedtotellme,andIsuddenlyremembered。MyLord,itwasher!Itwasthelittlebarefootgirlinthefeedsackdress!
ShetoldmehernamewasEliseandsincehergrandmothercouldntaffordtoayforlessons,shehadlearnedtolaybylisteningtotheradio。Shesaidshehadstartedtolayinchurchwheresheandhergrandmotherhadtowalkovertwomiles,andthatshehadthenlayedinschool,hadwonmanyawardsandamusicscholarshi。ShehadmarriedanattorneyinMemhisandhehadboughtheragrandiano。
Somethingelseenteredmymind。“Look,Elise,”Iasked,“MayIaskyouwhatkindofwoodisyourfirstianomadeof,theoneyourgrandmotherboughtyou?”
“Itsredmahogany,”shesaid,“Why?”
Icouldntseak。
Didsheunderstandthesignificanceoftheredmahogany?Theunbelievableaudacityofhergrandmotherinsistingonaredmahoganyianowhennooneinhisrightmindwouldhavesoldheraianoofanykind?Ithinknot。
Andthendidtheoldladyunderstandthemarvelousaccomlishmentofthatbeautiful,terriblyunderrivilegedchildinthefeedsackdress?No,Imsureshedidntunderstandthateither。
ButIdid,andmythroattightened。
Finally,Ifoundmyvoice。“Ijustwondered,”Isaid。“Imroudofyou,butIhavetogotomyroom。”
AndIdidhavetogotomyroom,becausemendontliketobeseencryinginublic。
多年以前,我是圣路易斯市一家钢琴公司的推销员。那时我二十几岁。
大崩溃 爱上生命中的不完美 认亲被杀后,疯批真千金整顿豪门 娇软美人在七零 你给的爱,一如当初 老婆生日当晚,我选择离婚! 镇守魔族三千年,我不守了你们慌什么 万道绝巅 公公请登基,逍遥太监霸公主 末日高温,穿成小丧尸,技能是种田 午夜惊恐之谜 穿越兽世,兽夫们无比宠爱我 反派团宠:天才凰女逆翻天 她是欲罢不能 爱、罪疚与修复 重生之凤鸾行 千秋人物 逆风的方向更适合飞翔 玄幻:悟性逆天,我修仙不过分吧 沙乡年鉴
从农村考入大学的庾明毕业后因为成了老厂长的乘龙快婿,后随老厂长进京,成为中央某部后备干部,并被下派到蓟原市任市长。然而,官运亨通的他因为妻子的奸情发生了婚变,蓟原市急欲接班当权的少壮派势力以为他没有了后台,便扯住其年轻恋爱时与恋人的越轨行为作文章,将其赶下台,多亏老省长爱惜人才,推荐其参加跨国合资公司总裁竞聘,才东山再起然而,仕途一旦顺风,官运一发不可收拾由于庾明联合地方政府开展棚户区改造工程受到了中央领导和老百姓的赞誉。在省代会上,他又被推举到了省长的重要岗位。一介平民跃升为省长...
一个一无是处的,被认为是废物和白痴家伙,把灵魂卖给了恶魔,能换取到什么?美色?力量?财富?权力? 颠覆这世界的所有规则吧,让我们遵寻着恶魔的轨迹 ...
天地不仁以万物为刍狗!一个小千世界狂热迷恋修行的少年获得大千世界半神的神格,人生从这一刻改变,跳出法则之外,逆天顺天,尽在掌握!...
一个被部队开除军籍的特种兵回到了都市,看他如何在充满诱惑的都市里翻云覆雨...
一个现代人,来到了古代,哇噻,美女如云呀,一个一个都要到手,战争阴谋铁血一揽众美,逍遥自来快乐似神仙本书集铁血与情感于一身为三国类中佳品。...
张湖畔,张三丰最出色的弟子,百年进入元婴期境界的修真奇才。他是张三丰飞升后张三丰所有仙器,灵药,甚至玄武大帝修炼仙境的唯一继承者,也是武当派最高者。在张三丰飞升后,奉师命下山修行。大学生,酒吧服务员,普通工人不同的身份,不同的生活,总是有丰富多彩的人生,不同的遭遇,动人的感情,总是让人沉醉不已。武林高手...