Big Ed (2)
大艾德（2）

　　"That night, as I sat across the living room from my wife, your words were still bugging me. What kind of courage would it take to tell my wife I loved her? Couldn't anybody do it? You had also said this should be in the daylight and not in the bedroom. I found myself clearing my throat and starting and then stopping. My wife looked up and asked me what I had said, and I answered, 'Oh nothing.' Then suddenly, I got up, walked across the room, nervously pushed her newspaper aside and said, 'Alice, I love you.' For a minute she looked startled. Then tears came to her eyes and she said softly, 'Ed, I love you, too, but this is the first time in 25 years you've said it like that.'

* bug：“小虫”的意思，在这里用做动词，表示“不断骚扰某人”的意思。听完演讲后的整个晚上，大艾德都在琢磨作者的话，觉得没有道理。难道对妻子说一句I love you会那么难吗？确实是这样，大艾德徘徊了半天才对妻子说了这句看似轻而易举的话。 　

　　"We talked a while about how love, if there's enough of it, can dissolve all kinds of tensions, and suddenly I decided on the spur of the moment to call my oldest son in New York. We have never really communicated well. When I got him on the phone, I blurted out, 'Son, you're liable to think I'm drunk, but I'm not. I just thought I'd call you and tell you I love you.'

相关链接

推荐文章

　　"There was a pause at his end and then I heard him say quietly, 'Dad, I guess I've known that, but it's sure good to hear. I want you to know I love you, too.' We had a good chat and then I called my youngest son in San Francisco. We had been closer. I told him the same thing and this, too, led to a real fine talk like we'd never really had. 　"As I lay in bed that night thinking, I realized that all the things you'd talked about that day -- real management nuts and bolts -- took on extra meaning, and I could get a handle on how to apply them if I really understood and practiced tough-minded love. 　"I began to read books on the subject. Sure enough, Joe, a lot of great people had a lot to say, and I began to realize the enormous practicality of applied love in my life, both at home and at work.

* nuts and bolts：“要点”、“基本组成部分”，就象机器上的螺母和螺栓一样，是最基本的元素，又非常重要。
* applied love：“应用爱情”？我们都知道有“应用物理”、“应用化学”，恐怕是第一次听到“应用爱情”吧？大艾德想说的是，他理解了作者讲话的核心，即任何想法只有付诸实践才能取得实效，而这一切都需要极大的勇气。就如爱情，只有说出来，才能为对方所了解。 　

　　"As some of you guys here know, I really changed the way I work with people. I began to listen more and to really hear. I learned what it was like to try to get to know people's strengths rather than dwelling on their weaknesses. I began to discover the real pleasure of helping build their confidence. Maybe the most important thing of all was that I really began to understand that an excellent way to show love and respect for people was to expect them to use their strengths to meet objectives we had worked out together.

* dwell on：dwell是“栖身、停驻”的意思。dwell on也写作dwell upon，意思是“细想、详述、琢磨”等，有点“咬住不放”的意思。经过这番爱的教育，大艾德在生活和工作上也有了很大变化，不再dwell on别人的缺点，而是发现他们的长处和力量。 　

　　"Joe, this is my way of saying thanks. Incidentally, talk about practical! I'm now executive vice-president of the company and they call me a pivotal leader. Okay, you guys, now listen to this guy!"

* pivotal：“重要的”的意思。听了大艾德的“演讲”，我们是不是也该试着去“应用……”呢？