Isn't it amazing how one person, sharing one idea, at the right time and place can change the course of your life's history? This is certainly what happened in my life. When I was 14, I was hitchhiking from Houston, Texas, through El Paso on my way to California. I was following my dream, journeying with the sun. I was a high school dropout with learning disabilities and was set on surfing the biggest waves in the world, first in California and then in Hawaii, where I would later live. 

    Upon reaching downtown El Paso, I met an old man, a bum, on the street corner. He saw me walking, stopped me and questioned me as I passed by. He asked me if I was running away from home, I suppose because I looked so young. I told him, "Not exactly, sir," since my father had given me a ride to the freeway in Houston and given me his blessings while saying, "It is important to follow your dream and what is in your heart. Son. " 

    The bum then asked me if he could buy me a cup of coffee. I told him, "No, sir, but a soda would be great." We walked to a corner malt shop and sat down on a couple of swiveling stools while we enjoyed our drinks. 

    After conversing for a few minutes, the friendly bum told me to follow him. He told me that he had something grand to show me and share with me. We walked a couple of blocks until we came upon the downtown El Paso Public Library. 

    We walked up its front steps and stopped at a small information stand. Here the bum spoke to a smiling old lady, and asked her if she would be kind enough to watch my things for a moment while he and I entered the library. I left my belongings with this grandmotherly figure and entered into this magnificent hall of learning. 

    The bum first led me to a table and asked me to sit down and wait for a moment while he looked for something special amongst the shelves. A few moments later, he returned with a couple of old books under his arms and set them on the table. He then sat down beside me and spoke. He started with a few statements that were very special and that changed my life. He said, "There are two things that I want to teach you, young man, and they are these: 

    "Number one is to never judge a book by its cover, for a cover can fool you. "He followed with, "I ll bet you think I m a bum, don t you, young man?" 

    I said, "Well, uh, yes, I guess so, sir. " 

    "Well, young man, I've got a little surprise for you. I am one of the wealthiest men in the world. I have probably everything any man could ever want. I originally come from the Northeast and have all the things that money can buy. But a year ago, my wife passed away, bless her soul, and since then I have been deeply reflecting upon life. I realized there were certain things I had not yet experienced in life, one of which was what it would be like to live like a bum on the streets. I made a commitment to myself to do exactly that for one year. For the past year I have been going from city to city doing just that. So, you see, don't ever judge a book by its cover, for a cover can fool you. 

    "Number two is to learn how to read, my boy. For there is only one thing that people can't take away from you, and that is your wisdom. " At that moment, he reached forward, grabbed my right hand in his and put them upon the books he'd pulled from the shelves. They were the writings of Plato and Aristotle-immortal classics from ancient times. 

    The bum then led me back past the smiling old woman near the entrance, down the steps and back on the streets near where we first met. His parting request was for me to never forget what he taught me. 

    I haven't. 

    如果一個人，在適當的時候和地方因為一句話而改變了他的人生歷程，你會感到驚異和不可思議嗎？然而這的確是千真萬確的，它就發生在我14歲那年。那時，我正在從得克薩斯州的休斯敦，經由愛坡索市前往加利福尼亞州去的旅途中。日出即行，日落即息，癡癡地追尋著我的夢想。我本來在讀高中，也許我天生就不是讀書的材料，因此我不得不中途輟學。隨即我決心要到世界上最大的海浪上去沖浪，先準備到加利福尼亞州，再到夏威夷，然后我準備就在那里住下來。

    在剛進入愛坡索市區的時候，我看到有一個老頭，一個流浪者，坐在街道的拐角處。他看見了走路的我，當我就要從他的旁邊走過去時，他攔住了我，并開口向我發問。他問我是不是偷著從家里跑出來的，我想他這么問我一定是看我太年輕，覺得我太嫩的緣故。“不完全是，先生，"因為是我爸爸開車把我送到休斯敦的高速公路上的，他還一邊為我祝福，一邊說：‘兒子，追尋你的夢想和心中的憧憬非常重要。’”

    然后那個流浪者問我他能請我喝咖啡嗎？我回答說：“不，先生，一杯汽水就可以了。”

    于是，我們走進街道拐角處的一家酒吧，坐在一雙轉椅上，喝著飲料。#p#分頁標題#e#

    在閑聊了幾分鐘后，這個和藹可親的老流浪漢要我跟他走。他告訴我說他有一樣大東西給我看，要與我分享。我們走過了幾個街區，來到了愛坡索市的公立圖書館。

    我們沿著它前面的臺階向上走，在一處小小的咨詢臺前停了下來。老流浪漢向一位笑容可掬的老太太說了幾句話，并問她是否愿意在他和我進圖書館時幫忙照看一下我的行李。我把行李放在那位老奶奶般的人那里，走進了那座宏偉的學習殿堂。

    老流浪漢先把我帶到一張桌子前，讓我坐下來稍等片刻，而他則到那些林立的書架中去尋找那個特別重要的東西去了。不一會兒，他腋下夾著幾本舊書回來了。他把書放到桌子上，然后他在我的身邊坐了下來，打開了話匣子，出口便不凡，其話語非常特別，改變了我一生的命運。他說：“年輕人，我想教你兩件事，就是：第一是切記不要從封面來判斷一本書的好壞，因為封面有時也會蒙騙你。"他接著說道："我敢打賭，你一定認為我是個老流浪漢，是不是？年輕人。”

    我說：“嗯，是的，先生，我想是的。”

    “嗯，年輕人，我要給你一個小驚喜：其實我是這個世界上最富有的人之一，人們夢寐以求的任何東西我幾乎都有。我最初從美國東北部來，凡是金錢能買到的東西，我全都有。但是一年前，我妻子死了，愿上帝保祐她的在天之靈，從那以后，我開始深深地反思人生的意義。我意識到，生活中有些東西我還沒有體驗過，其中之一就是做一個沿街乞討的流浪漢滋味如何。于是我對自己發誓要像流浪漢一樣活一年。在過去的一年里，我從一個城市流浪到另一個城市，就像流浪漢一樣生活。所以，你看，切記不要從封面來判斷一本書的好壞，因為封面有時也會蒙騙你。”

    “第二，我的孩子，是要學會如何讀書。因為這個世界上只有一種東西是別人無法從你的身上拿走的，那，就是你的智慧！”說到這，他俯身向著我，抓住我的右手放在他從書架中找到的書上。那是柏拉圖和亞里士多德的著作--尚古以降已經流傳了幾千年的不朽的經典。