Passing through the Atlanta airport one morning, I caught one of those trains that take travelers from the main terminal to their boarding gates. Free, sterile1 and impersonal2, the trains run back and forth3 all day long. Not many people consider them fun, but on this Saturday I heard laughter.
At the front of the first car looking out the window at the track that lay ahead were a man and his son.
We had just sTOPped to let off passengers, and the doors wee closing again. Here we go! Hold on to me tight! the father said. The boy, about five years old, made sounds of sheer4 delight.
I know were supposed to avoid making racial distinctions these days, so I hope no one will mind if I mention that most people on the train were white, dressed for business trips or vacations and that the father and son were black, dressed in clothes that were just about as inexpensive as you can buy.
Look out there! the father said to his son. See that pilot I bet hes walking to his plane. The son craned his neck to look.
As I got off, I remembered some thing Id wanted to buy in the terminal. I was early for my flight, so I decided5 to go back.
I did and just as I was about to reboard the train for my gate, I saw that the man and his son had returned too. I realized then that they hadnt been heading for a flight, but had just bee riding the shuttle.
I want to ride some more!
More the father said, mock-exasperated but clearly pleased. Youre not tired
This is fun! his son said.
All right, the father replied, and when a door opened we all got on.
There are parents who can afford to send their children to Europe or Disneyland, and the children turn out rotten. There are parents who live in million-dollar houses and give their children cars and swimming pools, yet something goes wrong. Rich and poor, black and white, so much goes wrong so often.
Where are all these people going, Daddy the son asked.
All over the world, came the reply. The other people in the air port wee leaving for distant destinations or arriving at the ends of their journeys. The father and son, though, were just riding this shuttle together, making it exciting, sharing each others company.
So many troubles in this country crime, the murderous soullessness that seems to be taking over the lives of many young people, the lowering of educational standards, the increase in vile6 obscenities in public, the disappearance7 of simple civility. So many questions about what to do. Here was a father who cared about spending the day with his son and who had come up with this plan on a Saturday morning.
The answer is so simple: parents who care enough to spend time, and to pay attention and to try their best. It doesnt cosplayt a cent, yet it is the most valuable thing in the world.
The train picked up speed, and the father pointed8 something out, and the boy laughed again, and the answer is so simple.
爸爸、儿子与答案（美） 鲍勃格林
一天早晨去亚特兰大机场，我看见一辆列车载载着旅客从航空集散站抵达登记处。这种免费列车天天单调、无味地往返其间，没人感觉有趣。但这个周六我却听到了笑声。
在头节车厢的最前面，坐着一个男性和他的儿子。他们正透过窗户观赏着一直往前延伸的铁道。
大家停下来等候旅客下车，之后，车门关上了。走吧。拉紧我！爸爸说。儿子大约5岁吧，一路喜不自禁。
车上坐的多半是衣冠楚楚，或公差或度假的白人，只有这对黑人父子穿着朴素简单。我了解现在大家不该种族歧视，我期望我如此描述没人在意。
快看！爸爸对儿子说：看见那位飞行员了吗？我敢一定是去开飞机的。儿子伸长脖子看。
下了车后我忽然想起还要在航空集散站买点东西。离起飞时间还早，于是我决定再乘车回去。
正筹备上车的时候，我看到那对父子也来了。我意识到他们不是来乘飞机的，而是特意来坐区间列车的。
我还想再坐一会儿！
再坐一会儿！爸爸嗔怪模仿着儿子的语调，你还不累？
真好玩！儿子说。
好吧，爸爸说。车门开了，大家都上了车。
大家不少爸爸妈妈有能力送孩子去欧洲，去狄斯尼乐园，可孩子还是堕落了。不少爸爸妈妈住豪华别墅，孩子有车有游泳池，可孩子还是学坏了。富人、没钱人，黑人、白人，那样多人都随便学坏了。
父亲，这类人到哪里？儿子问。
世界各地。爸爸回答。机场人来人往的人流或筹备远行，或刚刚归来。这对父子却在乘坐区间列车，享受着父子间的亲情与伴随。
大家正面临很多问题：犯罪、愈加多的青年变得冷漠无情、文化水平降低、公共场所卑劣猥亵上升、起码的礼貌丧失，等等。大家有那样多的问题要处置。而这里。这位爸爸却非常在乎花上一天伴随儿子，并在如此一个星期六的早上，提出这个计划。
其实答案非常简单：爸爸妈妈想花时间，想关注，想尽心尽职。这不要花一分钱，可这却是世间无价之宝。
火车加快了。爸爸指着窗外说着什么，儿子直乐。是的，答案就是这么简单。Bob Greene
