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THE ART OF BEING A NEIGHBOUR
I used to believe in the American dream, which meant a job, credit, and success. I wanted it and worked for it like everyone else.
One year, through a series of unhappy events, my life changed a lot. I found myself homeless and alone. I had only my truck and $56.
I rented a little house in the countryside. The locals knew nothing about me. But slowly, they started teaching me the art of being a neighbour. They dropped off blankets, candles, tools and canned deer meat, and they began getting together to chat. They would ask if I wanted to go fishing or go for a drink together. They started to teach me belief in a different American dream —not the one of individual achievement, but one of neighbourliness.
Men would stop by with wild berries, ice cream and truck parts. The women there worked harder than anyone I’d ever met. They taught me the value of a whetstone to sharpen my knives, how to store food in the creek and keep it cold and safe. All those things I thought were the necessary requirements for a civilized life did not exist in this place. My most valuable possessions were my relationships with my neighbours.
After four years in that place, I moved back into town. I saw that a lot of people were having a really hard time, losing their jobs and homes. I managed to rent a big house to take in a handful of people.
It’s four of us now, but over time I’ve had nine come in and move on to other places from here. We would all be in shelters if we hadn’t banded together. The American dream I believe in now is a shared one. It’s not so much about what I can get for myself; it’s about what we all can get.
【日積月累】
◇credit 信譽，信用，信賴
◇whetstone n. 磨刀石
◇creek n. 小河，小溪
【參考譯文】
做鄰居的藝術
我以前相信美國夢，那意味著有份工作，有信譽，有成就。為了實現它，我像其他人一樣為之奮斗。
有一年，在經歷了一系列不愉快的事件后，我的生活發生了巨大的變化。我沒了家，落得孤身一人。只剩一輛卡車和56美元。
我在郊外租了一個小房子。當地人對我一無所知。但是漸漸地，他們開始教我如何做一個鄰居。他們給我送來毯子、蠟燭、工具和鹿肉罐頭。他們開始過來和我聊天。他們會問我想不想去釣魚或去喝一杯。他們讓我知道另一個美國夢——這個夢不關乎個人成就，而是關于鄰里和睦。
男人帶著野果、冰激凌和卡車零件來看我。我從沒見過比那里婦女工作更賣力的人。她們告訴我可以鋒利刀子的磨刀石有多么的重要，教我如何在小河里儲存食物，使食物既涼爽又安全。我認為文明生活里應具備的那里都沒有。我最珍貴的東西就是與鄰居的感情。
在那住了4年后，我搬回了城市。我看過很多時運不濟的人，丟了工作，沒了家。我設法租了一棟大房子，收留了幾個人。
現在算我在內有4個人，但是以前還住過9個人，后來他們都搬去了別的地方。如果我們不團結在一起，我們就得住進避難所。我現在相信的美國夢是大家共同擁有的，不是我個人能得到什么，而是我們大家一起能得到什么。
【人生啟迪】
人們說城市是冷冰冰的鋼鐵森林，在那里看不到相交甚好的鄰里。是否因為“高處不勝寒”的緣故，住在高樓大廈里的人們都懶于交流溝通。這樣說來，那些摩天大廈不過是高級些的監獄，隔離著一顆顆寂寞的心。打開你的心門，上下樓梯間和鄰居打個招呼，借借東西幫幫忙，學做一名合格的鄰居。
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