A Journey of Friendship
Curt and I have the kind of friendship that I wish everyone would be able to experience. It embodies the true meaning of partnership – trust, caring, risk-taking and all else that friendship could embrace in our hurried and harried lives.
Our friendship began many years ago. We met while attending different high schools, through competitive sports, and we had a mutual respect for each other’s athletic abilities. As the years progressed, we became the best of friends. Curt was best man in my wedding, and I was his a few years later when he married my sister’s roommate. He is also the godfather of my son, Nicholas. And yet the event that most exemplifies our partnership and solidified our friendship happened over 25 years ago, when we were young and in our carefree 20s.
Curt and I were attending a pool party at the local Swim and Racquet Club. He had just won the door prize, a beautiful new watch. We were walking to the car, joking about the party, and Curt turned to me and said, “Steve, you’ve had a few cocktails, buddy – maybe I should drive.” At first I thought he was joking, but since Curt is definitely the wiser of us, I respected his sober judgment.
“Good idea,” I said, and handed him the keys.
Once I was settled in the passenger seat and Curt behind the wheel, he said, “I’m going to need your help because I’m not sure how to get to your house from here.”
“No problem,” I responded.
Curt started the car and we were off – not without the usual first-time shifting jerks and stalls, stops and starts. The next 10 miles seemed like a hundred as I prompted Curt with directions – left now, slow down, right pretty soon, speed up and so on. The important thing is that we got home safely that night.
Ten years later at my wedding, Curt brought tears to the eyes of 400 guests as he told the story of our partnership and how we drove home together that night. Why such a remarkable story? We’ve all, I hope, offered our keys when we knew we shouldn’t drive. But you see, my friend Curt is blind. He has been since birth and never sat behind the wheel of a car before that night.
Today, Curt is one of the top executives at General Motors in New York, and I travel around the country inspiring salespeople to form long-lasting partnerships and friendships with their clients. Our willingness to take risks and trust in each other continues to bring meaning and joy to the journey of friendship.
友谊之旅
我希望每个人都能够体验到象我和curt之间的这种友谊.它体现了真正意义上的伙伴关系–信任,关怀,共患难等在我们忙碌坎坷的生活中友谊所能包含的一切.
我们的友谊开始于很多年以前.当时我们在两个不同的高中,通过参加体育比赛我们相识并且我们彼此对对方的体育才能都非常的钦佩.随着时间的推移,我们成为了最好的朋友.我结婚的时候是Curt做我的男傧相,几年以后当他和我妹妹的室友结婚时我又做了他的男傧相.他同时又是我儿子Nicholas的教父.然而,最能体现我们的合作增进我们的友谊的却是发生在25年前的一件事,那时我们都很年轻处于二十几岁无忧无虑的年龄.
我和Curt参加了一次当地游泳和球类俱乐部的联营聚会.他刚才得了一个开门奖,一块精致的新手表.我们一边向车走,一边开玩笑地谈论着聚会上的事情,这时Curt转向我说到”Steve,你刚才喝了不少酒,伙计,也许我应该来开车.”起初,我以为他在开玩笑, 不过Curt无疑要比我谨慎些，我尊重他清醒的判断。
“好吧,”说着,我把钥匙递给了他.
我一在副驾座位坐定Curt就坐在驾驶位上说到,”你得给我指路因为我不知道从这里到你家怎么走.”
“没问题,”我说到.
Curt发动了车子我们开始出发象通常那样先是向前猛冲,熄火,停顿,起动.接下来的10英里好象有100英里那幺长因为我要不断给Curt提示方向–左转,减速,即将右转,加速等等.重要的是那天晚上我们平安回到了家中.
10年后,在我的婚礼上,当Curt讲到我们合作的故事及我们如何在那天晚上驾车回家的时候,400个来宾都不禁悄然泪下.为什幺这个故事如此非同凡响呢?我希望我们大家在知道自己不应该开车的时候都交出钥匙.但是,你知道,我的朋友Curt是个盲人.他天生如此而且在那个晚上之前从来没有
