约翰的选择

郭树霞

Sounds of constant traffic and busy sidewalks roared throughout the park. To any other man this would be the worst environment for thinking， but for John， the rainbow of noises was the perfect escape.

"Sir， would you like ketchup1） or mustard2）？"

John wasn't an average man. He was average to the extent that he put his pants on one leg at a time， but with John， the problem wasn't putting on his pants. To any other person， John would have been categorized in the "one heck of a3） lucky kid" group. John was the son of two entrepreneurs. He had attended the best schools and was instructed by the best tutors. He had had the best coaches for every sport and had always been the star player. All of the choices John's parents had made had earned him success， success in everyone else's eyes， at least.

"Sir， I ain't got all day. The question ain't that hard. Ketchup or mustard？"

"Oh， I apologize，" said John， "I'll take both， please."

Walking away from the stand4） with his covered hot dog， John had to once again face reality. The noise of the street still remained but it had lost its effect when answering the question， "Ketchup or mustard？"

John had just graduated from college， first in his class， of course. Job offers were flying at him like Pottery Barn5） catalogs came in the mail. He had gotten offers from law firms， publishing companies and other large companies. John had interviewed with many of the high-paying jobs， but when he was offered the job， his stomach would turn and he would reject it.

Finishing his hot dog， John began to get nervous about the interview. He wasn't nervous because he was afraid of getting the job， but because he was afraid that once again his stomach would turn.

A few hours later， after long interviewing and stomach turning， he was once again sitting on a park bench by the hot dog stand. It was the same stand where he had felt satisfaction from answering the simple question about a hot dog topping， and the same bench where he could drift away， lulled6） by the street noise.

When John was a kid， he often felt like something was wrong with him. In his parents' eyes， he was a prodigy. Adults had always called him a genius and told him how he was going to be very successful. Whenever John would win at sports， he felt like people felt better for him than he did for himself. John had always been interested in other people， not himself. At one point in his childhood， his parents noticed his lack of smiles and hired the famous therapist Odys Seus to help him. John had hated his sessions with Dr. Seus because he couldn't stand talking about himself.

"What're you all dressed up for？ Not often I see a successful-looking guy like yourself getting a hot dog."

Somewhat annoyed that someone else wanted to hear about him and his "success"， John hesitated. "Well， I just had an interview with Lynyrd Publishing."

"Lynyrd Publishing！" the man exclaimed. "That's the biggest publishing company in the city！ How'd you do？"

"I got the job ..." replied John， "but I turned it down."

"Turned it down？ Why on earth would you do that？"

John thought about the question. Why did I turn it down？ According to other people， it was an amazing job. "I guess it just wasn't for me. Well， I'm on my way to another interview now. Thanks for the hot dog，" said John.

"It's what I do，" chuckled the vendor7）.

John finished his hot dog and felt ready to take on8） life. The hot dog was his Excalibur9）. He soon reached the building. There he stood at the foot of his last hope： Richards law firm. Though it was the last， it definitely wasn't the least. Richards was like the owl and all the other law firms were mice. So， of course， it was also the interview that John had been afraid of the most.

He walked into the building and felt even more frightened when he noticed eerie10）， black-marble walls. He could see his reflection in each of the black tiles11） and realized how nervous he looked. John rode the elevator to the top floor and waited.

"Sir， we're ready for you，" said the over-exuberant12） secretary.

John entered the office and met eyes with his interviewer. She walked toward John and gave him a handshake like a robot. The interview was John's last chance to be successful. Because of that and the frightening， robot-like interviewer， John could barely breathe. From his point of view， the interview went horribly， but like everyone else， the interviewer thought he did a successful job and welcomed him to the team.

John closed his eyes and waited for his stomach to turn. His stomach didn't turn but the light pouring through the window gave him the answer he needed.

John stood up. Confident.

"Sorry， but I can't take this job."

"What？！" she exclaimed. "Are you serious？ Do you know how many people would like to have a job here？ You will never be more successful anywhere else！ You're crazy！"

Slightly frightened by the screaming robot-lady， John quietly replied， "Sorry， ma'am， but I'm going to go get a hot dog now."

Thirty years later at a park bench near a hot dog stand， two boys laughed and waited for their hot dogs.

"Shouldn't you kids be in school？" asked John.

The boys laughed， "Yeah， right. Like we need be going there."

"Well， if you don't go to school， what will you do for a living？"

"Who knows， old guy？ I'm pretty sure we'll be more successful than a hot-dog guy. That's for sure."

The boys paid for the hot dogs and walked away laughing like two hyenas13）.

John stared at the kids and chuckled to himself. He no longer had to hear people be interested in him. Now he was just the hot-dog guy， taking an interest in others by talking to his customers. John was married with two kids and a grandson. He was the most successful man he knew.

John had found success in what may seem like the most unexpected place. Every day he looked back on the moment he realized what success was to him. The day when he was asked， "Ketchup or mustard？"

道路上车流滚滚，人行道熙熙攘攘，嘈杂的声音响彻整个公园。对于其他任何人来说，这都会是个最不适合思考的环境；但于约翰而言，这喧闹像道彩虹，是最佳的避遁之所。

“先生，您要番茄酱还是芥末酱？”

约翰不是个普通人。他穿裤子时一条裤腿一条裤腿的穿，从这点来看，他也算是个普通人。但对于约翰，问题不在于他是怎样穿裤子的。在任何旁人的眼里，约翰应该都会被归为“超级幸运儿”这一类。约翰是一对企业家夫妇的儿子。他上过的学校都是最好的，教他的家庭老师也是最好的。每一个运动项目他都有最优秀的教练指导他，并且他永远都是明星运动员。约翰的父母做的所有选择都为他赢得了成功——至少在其他所有人眼里那是成功。

“先生，我可没一整天的时间等您回答。这个问题没那么难吧。您要番茄酱还是芥末酱？”

“哦，抱歉，”约翰说，“我两样都要，谢谢。”

约翰拿着抹了酱的热狗，从摊位前走开，不得不再一次面对现实。街道依旧喧闹不断，但是当他回答“要番茄酱还是芥末酱？”这个问题时，这些喧闹好像失去了效果。

约翰刚刚大学毕业，当然，是以全班第一的成绩毕业。工作机会纷至沓来，就像陶瓷谷仓家居店的广告目录涌进邮箱一样。他早已得到了律所、出版公司以及其他大公司提供的工作机会。他参加了很多高薪职位的面试，但当对方提出要录用他，他就会觉得反胃，然后就会拒绝这个工作机会。

吃完热狗，约翰开始为面试的事儿紧张起来。他紧张并不是因为害怕得到这份工作，而是因为害怕他会再一次反胃。

几个小时之后，经过了长时间的面试和反胃，他再一次坐在了公园里热狗摊位旁边的长椅上。刚才正是在这个摊位上，他回答了那个关于在热狗上抹什么酱的简单问题，并从中得到了满足感。也正是在这条长椅上，街道的喧嚣让他感到内心安宁，他得以神游物外。

在约翰小的时候，他常常感觉自己好像哪里不对劲。在父母眼里，他是个神童。大人们总说他是个天才，还说将来他会如何非常成功。每当约翰在体育比赛中胜出，他都觉得人们对他比他对自己的感觉还要好。约翰感兴趣的一直是别人，而非自己。在他童年的某个阶段，父母注意到他很少笑，于是请了著名的心理医生奥德赛·苏斯来帮助他。约翰痛恨苏斯医生对他做的那些疗程，因为他无法忍受谈论自己。

“你穿这么正式是要干吗？我很少看到像你这样看上去很成功的人来买热狗吃的。”

见别人想探听他以及有关他“成功”的事情，约翰不免有点生气，他迟疑了一下说：“呃，我刚去林纳德出版公司面试了。”

“林纳德出版公司！”那人惊叫道，“那可是这个城市最大的出版公司！结果怎样？”

“我通过了面试……”约翰回答，“但是我拒绝了。”

“拒绝？您究竟为什么那么做？”

约翰思考着这个问题。我为什么拒绝了呢？在别人看来，那可是份非常不错的工作。“我想那个工作只是不适合我。对了，我现在要去参加另一个面试了。谢谢你的热狗。”约翰说。

“我就是干这个的，不谢。”热狗摊主轻声笑道。

约翰吃完热狗，感觉又准备好迎接人生的挑战了，而那个热狗就是他的王者之剑。他很快就到了面试的大楼。他站在楼下，这里的理查兹律所是他最后的希望。尽管这是最后的希望，但绝对不是最无足轻重的希望：理查兹律所就像是猫头鹰，而其他所有律所都是老鼠。因此，这自然也是约翰一直最为担心的一场面试。

他走进大楼，当他看到那些怪异的黑色大理石墙壁时，觉得更害怕了。在每一块黑色的瓷砖上，他都能看到自己的身影，他意识到了自己看上去有多么紧张。约翰乘电梯来到了顶层等候面试。

“先生，我们可以开始了。”那位活力四射的秘书说。

约翰走进办公室，与面试官对视。她朝约翰走过来，像机器人一样和他握了握手。这次面试是约翰成为成功人士的最后机会。正因为这个原因以及这位令人害怕的、像机器人一样的面试官，约翰几乎无法呼吸。在他看来，这场面试糟透了，但就像其他所有人一样，面试官却认为他表现非凡，欢迎他成为公司的一员。

约翰闭上双眼，等着自己反胃。这次他并没有反胃，但是从窗户倾洒而入的阳光给了他所需要的答案。

约翰站起身来，信心满满。

“抱歉，我不能接受这份工作。”

“什么？！”面试官喊道，“你是说真的吗？你知道有多少人想在这儿得到一份工作？你在别的任何地方都不可能比在这儿更成功！你疯了！”

约翰有点儿被这个大喊大叫的机器人女士吓着了，他平静地回答：“对不起，女士，我现在得去买个热狗。”

30年后，在公园里一个热狗摊位附近的长椅上，两个男孩嬉笑着，等着他们的热狗。

“你们两个小孩儿现在不是应该在学校里吗？”约翰问道。

那两个男孩笑道：“是哦，没错。貌似我们应该去上学哦。”

“就是啊，如果你们不上学，以后你们靠什么生活呢？”

“谁知道啊，老头儿？但我很肯定我们会比一个卖热狗的家伙更成功，这是肯定的。”

男孩们付了热狗的钱，像两只土狼一样大笑着走开了。

约翰看着两个小孩，自顾自地轻声笑了。他再也不用听别人饶有兴趣地打探他的事情了。现在他只是个卖热狗的家伙，在跟他的顾客们聊天时会对他们产生兴趣。约翰结了婚，有两个孩子，还有一个孙子。他是他认识的人里最成功的。

约翰在看似最意想不到的地方找到了自己的成功。每天他都会回忆那个让他意识到成功于他意味着什么的时刻，就是他被问及“要番茄酱还是芥末酱？”的那一天。

1. ketchup [?ket??p] n. 番茄酱

2. mustard [?m?st?d] n. 芥末酱

3. one heck of a： 极度的，很

4. stand [st?nd] n. 摊位

5. Pottery Barn： 陶瓷谷仓家居店，美国的一个家居用品连锁店，创立于1949年。

6. lull [l?l] vt. 使平静

7. vendor [?vend?（r）] n. 小贩

8. take on： 接受……的挑战

9. Excalibur [?k?sk?l?b?] n. 王者之剑，也称Caliburn，是（传说中）英国国王亚瑟王的神剑。

10. eerie [???ri] adj. 怪异的

11. tile [ta?l] n. （贴墙或铺地用的）瓷砖

12. exuberant [?ɡ?zju?b?r?nt] adj. 充满活力的

13. hyena [ha??i?n?] n. 土狼