 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| 5 | 1/1 | 返回列表 |
| 查看: 1429 | 回復: 8 | |||
| 當前只顯示滿足指定條件的回帖，點擊這里查看本話題的所有回帖 | |||
[交流]
The little tin heart
|
|||
|
After 20 years as a full-time wife and mother, I decided now that my kids were grown, I needed a part-time job to keep me busy. I decided to drive a school bus. Charlie began riding my bus in September of my fourth year driving. Eight years old, with blond hair and crystalline gray eyes, he got on with a group of children. They all had stories to tell me about their summers. Charlie, though, ignored me. He didn’t even answer when I asked his name. From that day on, Charlie was a trial. If a fight broke out I didn’t have to turn my head to know who had started it. If someone was throwing spitballs I could guess the culprit’s name. If a girl was crying, chances were Charlie had pulled her hair. No matter how I spoke to him, gently or firmly, he wouldn’t say a word. He’d just stare at me with those big gray eyes of his. I asked around some, and found out Charlie’s father was dead and he didn’t live with his mother. He deserves my patience, I thought. So I practiced every bit of patience I could muster. To my cheery “Good morning”, he was silent. When I wished him a happy Halloween, he sneered. Many, many times I asked myself how I could reach Charlie. “I’m at my wit’s end,” I’d say. Still I was sure that this child needed to feel some warmth from me. So, when he’d pass by, I’d ruffle his hair or pat him on the arm. Toward the end of that year, the kids on my bus gave me a small trophy inscribed “To the Best Bus Driver Ever.” I propped it up on the dashboard. On top I hung a small tin heart that a little girl given me. In red paint she had written, “I love Polly and Polly loves me.” On the next-to-last day of school I was delayed a few minutes talking to the principal. When I got on the bus I realized that the tin heart was gone. “Does anyone know what happened to the little heart that was up here?” I asked. For once with 39 children, there was silence. One boy piped up, “Charlie was the first one on the bus. I bet he took it.” Other children joined the chorus, “Yeah! Charlie did it! Search him!” I asked Charlie, “Have you seen the heart?” I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he protested. Standing up, he took a few pennies and a small ball out of his pockets. “See, I don’t have it.” “I bet he does!” insisted the girl who had given me the heart. “Check his pockets.” Charlie glowered when I asked him to come forward. His gaze burned into mine. I stuck my hand into one pocket. Nothing. I reached into the other pocket. Then I felt it—the familiar outline of the small tin heart. Charlie stared at me for a long time. There were no tears in those big gray eyes, no plea for mercy. He seemed to be waiting for what he’d come to expect from the world. I was about to pull the tin heart out of Charlie’s pocket when I stopped myself. Let him keep it, a voice seemed to whisper. “It must have fallen off before I got here,” I said to the kids. “I’ll probably find it back at the bus depot.” Without a word, Charlie returned to his seat. When he got off at his stop, he didn’t so much as glance at me. That summer Charlie moved away… Eventually I retired. And there my story as a school bus driver ends, except for one more incident. A dozen years after retirement I was in a department store in Kansas City, when someone said tentatively, “Polly?” I turned to see a balding man who was approaching middle age. “Yes?” His face didn’t look familiar until I noticed his big gray eyes. There was no doubt. It was Charlie. He told me he was living in Montana and doing well. Then, to my surprise, he hugged me. After he let go, he pulled something from his pocket and held it up for me to see. An old key chain… bent out of shape, the lettering faded. You can probably guess what it was—the little tin heart that said, “I love Polly and Polly loves me.” “You are the only one who kept trying,” he explained. We hugged again, and went our separate ways. I am so happy I’d done a good job. |
回復此樓» 本帖已獲得的紅花（最新10朵）
lppv» 猜你喜歡
309分085801求調劑
已經有7人回復
-
生物學308分求調劑（一志愿華東師大）
已經有3人回復
-
求調劑：一志愿：南京大學 專業(yè)：0705 總分320 ，本科985，四六級已過
已經有3人回復
-
環(huán)境工程 085701，267求調劑
已經有14人回復
-
308求調劑
已經有12人回復
-
求調劑：085600材料與化工，考材科基，總分319
已經有21人回復
-
311求調劑
已經有8人回復
-
294分080500材料科學與工程求調劑
已經有13人回復
-
288求調劑 一志愿哈工大 材料與化工
已經有19人回復
-
288資源與環(huán)境專碩求調劑，不限專業(yè)，有學上就行
已經有23人回復
7樓2011-10-10 17:32:20
yerufeng20
新蟲
熊大貓（南京）
- 應助: 208 (大學生)
- 貴賓: 16.682
- 金幣: 137478
- 散金: 32328
- 紅花: 502
- 沙發(fā): 558
- 帖子: 70765
- 在線: 3542小時
- 蟲號: 1151153
- 注冊: 2010-11-19
- 性別: GG
- 專業(yè): 腫瘤化學藥物治療
- 管轄: 文獻求助
4樓2011-10-10 11:22:06
yerufeng20
禁蟲
熊大貓（南京）
- 應助: 208 (大學生)
- 貴賓: 16.682
- 金幣: 137478
- 散金: 32328
- 紅花: 502
- 沙發(fā): 558
- 帖子: 70765
- 在線: 3542小時
- 蟲號: 1151153
- 注冊: 2010-11-19
- 性別: GG
- 專業(yè): 腫瘤化學藥物治療
- 管轄: 文獻求助
5樓2011-10-10 11:26:34
lppv
新蟲
無與倫比俱樂部部長
- ESEPI: 42
- 應助: 5 (幼兒園)
- 貴賓: 2.158
- 金幣: 9455.2
- 散金: 21883
- 紅花: 262
- 沙發(fā): 257
- 帖子: 29946
- 在線: 3646.7小時
- 蟲號: 937152
- 注冊: 2010-01-05
- 性別: MM
- 專業(yè): 無機合成和制備化學
- 管轄: English Cafe
6樓2011-10-10 15:24:05
| 最具人氣熱帖推薦 [查看全部] | 作者 | 回/看 | 最后發(fā)表 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
[考研] 309分085801求調劑 +7 | 學員Gtwj7W 2026-03-31 | 7/350 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
[考研] 調劑推薦 +7 | 清酒714 2026-03-26 | 8/400 |
|
|
|
[考研] 化學0703 調劑 306分 一志愿211 +10 | 26要上岸 2026-03-28 | 10/500 |
|
|
[考研] 一志愿西電085401數一英一299求調劑 六級521 +4 | 愛吃大鴨梨 2026-03-31 | 4/200 |
|
|
|
[考研] 287求調劑 +17 | land xuxu 2026-03-26 | 17/850 |
|
|
|
[考研] 269求調劑 +4 | 我想讀研11 2026-03-31 | 4/200 |
|
|
|
[考研] 322求調劑 +10 | 宋明欣 2026-03-27 | 10/500 |
|
|
|
[考研] 求調劑 +10 | 家佳佳佳佳佳 2026-03-29 | 10/500 |
|
|
|
[考研] 材料專碩 085600求調劑 +7 | BBQ233 2026-03-30 | 7/350 |
|
|
|
[考研] 310求調劑 +10 | 爭取九點睡 2026-03-30 | 10/500 |
|
|
|
[考研] 290求調劑 +3 | dfffsar 2026-03-29 | 3/150 |
|
|
|
[考研] 【求調劑】085601材料工程專碩 | 總分272 | +7 | 腳滑的守法公民 2026-03-27 | 7/350 |
|
|
|
[考研] 299求調劑 +10 | 15188958825 2026-03-25 | 10/500 |
|
|
|
[考研] 070305高分子化學與物理 304分求調劑 +12 | c297914 2026-03-28 | 12/600 |
|
|
|
[考研] 一志愿雙一流機械285分求調劑 +4 | 幸運的三木 2026-03-29 | 5/250 |
|
|
|
[考研] 2026年華南師范大學歡迎化學，化工，生物，生醫(yī)工等專業(yè)優(yōu)秀學子加入！ +3 | llss0711 2026-03-28 | 6/300 |
|
|
|
[考研] 085701環(huán)境工程，267求調劑 +16 | minht 2026-03-26 | 16/800 |
|
|
|
[考研] 286求調劑 +12 | PolarBear11 2026-03-26 | 12/600 |
|
|
|
[考研] 網絡空間安全0839招調劑 +4 | w320357296 2026-03-25 | 6/300 |
|
|
|
[考研] 各位老師您好：本人初試372分 +5 | jj涌77 2026-03-25 | 6/300 |
|