The Best Time of My Life
It was June 15, and in two days I would be turning thirty. I was insecure about entering a new decade of my life and feared that my best years were now behind me.
My daily routine included going to the gym for a workout before going to work. Every morning I would see my friend Nicholas at the gym. He was seventy-nine years old and in terrific shape. As I greeted Nicholas on this particular day, he noticed I wasn’t full of my usual vitality and asked if there was anything wrong. I told him I was feeling anxious about turning thirty. I wondered how I would look back on my life once I reached Nicholas’s age, so I asked him, “What was the best time of your life?”
Without hesitation, Nicholas replied, “Well, Joe, this is my philosophical answer to your philosophical question.”
“When I was a child in Austria and everything was taken care of for me and I was nurtured by my parents, that was the best time of my life.
When I was going to school and learning the things I know today, that was the best time of my life.
When I got my first job and had responsibilities and got paid for my efforts, that was the best time of my life.
When I met my wife and fell in love, that was the best time of my life.
The Second World War came, and my wife and I had to flee Austria to save our lives. When we were together and safe on a ship bound for North America, that was the best time of my life.
When we came to Canada and started a family, that was the best time of my life.
When I was a young father, watching my children grow up, that was the best time of my life.
And now, Joe, I am seventy-nine years old. I have my health, I feel good and I am in love with my wife just as I was when we first met. This is the best time of my life.”
一生中最美好的时光
那天是6月15日，再过两天我就要30岁了。要进入生命中又一个新的十年，我对此感到忐忑不安，担心自己最美好的岁月已经离我远去了。
我每日上班前都去体育馆锻炼一阵。每天早上我都会在体育馆见到我的朋友尼古拉斯。他79岁，身材棒极了。那天我跟他打招呼时，他注意到我不象往常那样充满活力，便问我有什么不对劲。我告诉他自己就要30岁了，心里很担忧。不知道我要是到了尼古拉斯的岁数会怎么回顾自己的一生，于是我问他：“你一生中最美好的时光是在什么时候？”
尼古拉斯毫不迟疑地答道：“好吧，乔，以下就是我对于你那富有哲理的问题所作出的富有哲理的回答。”
“小时候我在奥地利，一切都被照顾得好好的，我在父母的抚育下成长，那是我一生中最美好的时光。
上学的时候我学着至今都不忘记的知识，那是我一生中最美好的时光。
当我找到第一份工作，承担了工作中的职责并且为自己的努力获得报酬时，那是我一生中最美好的时光。
当我遇到我的妻子并坠入爱河时，那是我一生中最美好的时光。
二次大战来临，妻子和我为活命不得不逃离奥地利。当我们一起安安全全地坐上驶往北美洲的轮船时，那是我一生中最美好的时光。
当我们来到加拿大建立了家庭时，那是一生中最美好的时光。
当我成了一位年轻的父亲，看着自己的孩子一点点地长大时，那是我一生中最美好的时光。
而现在，乔，我79岁了。我身体健康，感觉很好，而且还和初次相遇时一样爱我的妻子。这是我一生中最美好的时光。”
