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After starving as a barber during the Depression2, my father traded his straight razor3 for a bench saw at the local lumberyard. His salary wasn't much, but it was steady. Mama was filled with thanksgiving so thankful in fact that she vowed to tithe the family earnings to the Lord. Every Sunday she would go to her tithe box a colorful White Owl cigar box extract some dollar bills from it, deposit the money into a churchprovided envelope, and hand it to Dad to drop in the offering4 plate.

在大蕭條時期，我當理發師的父親飽受饑餓之苦。于是，他把自己的折疊式剃刀換成木工鋸子，去當地貯木場工作了。他的收入不多，但是穩定。媽媽對此充滿著感激之情。事實上，她的感激之心如此強烈，以至于她發誓要從家里的收入中扣除一部分獻給上帝。每個星期天，她都會拿出她的捐獻盒——一個彩色的“白貓頭鷹”牌煙盒——從中抽出幾張鈔票，放入教堂提供的信封里，交給爸爸去放到教堂的奉獻盤中。

Because Mama and Dad lived from paycheck to paycheck, that cigar box also served as a lastgasp fund5 for family emergencies. It always had to be repaid. Mama was picky6 about what constituted an emergency. A new pair of shoes was not necessary if the old ones could be restitched7, halfsoled8 or heeled. Neither was a new Easter dress for her or my sister, not if Mama could find some material, fashion a pattern, and sew it herself.

因為爸媽靠微薄的薪水過日子，所以，那個煙盒中的錢也成了家中的救急款，不過事后得把錢還回去。媽媽對家中什么是急需有嚴格的規定。如果一雙舊鞋還可以再補，或打一個前掌或后跟的話，就沒有必要買新鞋。還有，如果媽媽能找到一些布料，設計一種樣式，為自己或我妹妹縫制復活節連衣裙的話，也決不買新的。

During World War II Dad was drafted9 and went off to war, leaving behind Mama and three kids. Only 10 years old at the time, I contributed a little to the family financial pool10 with money earned from delivering the Toledo Blade. I delivered my newspapers on an old dilapidated11 bicycle. The fenders were gone, the frame was bent and both pedals were missing. Flat tires were my biggest problem. I carried a repair kit12 and pump with me so I could mend tires on the go. “I've put my name on the bicycle list at Mr. Martin's hardware store,” I revealed one night at dinner. Because of the war, bicycles were in short supply. “You could use a new bike,” Mama said. Was a bike an emergency? I didn't know what Mama's thought was at the time.

二戰期間，爸爸應征入伍，去了戰場，留下媽媽和我們3個孩子。雖然當時我才10歲，但是我也通過送《托萊多刀刃報》為家庭經濟出一份力。我騎一輛破舊不堪的自行車送報。自行車前后擋板都沒了，車架彎了，兩個腳踏板也沒了。癟胎是最頭疼的問題。我隨身帶著修理工具和打氣筒，這樣我可以隨時補胎。“我在馬丁先生的五金商店登了記，準備買輛新車，”一天吃晚飯時，我透露說。由于戰爭的原因，自行車供應短缺。“你可以用輛新車，” 媽媽說。 一輛新自行車是家中急需嗎？我不知道媽媽當時是怎樣想的。

One day I saw Mr. Martin in front of his store assembling a shiny red Rollfast. “Ain't it a beauty?” he said. “And your name's at the top of the list.” “How much?” I asked breathlessly. Mr. Martin wiped his hand on his apron. “Fortyone dollars,” he said. “Don't sell it to anyone else until I get back,” I shouted over my shoulder. I jumped on my old bike and rattled home. “Mr. Martin's got my bike,” I exclaimed, running into the house. “It's the most beautiful thing you've ever seen apple red with gray trim and chrome1 wheels.” Mama looked up from her ironing board and asked, “How much does it cost?” “Fortyone dollars,” I said. “I've got about twenty saved.” Mama pursed2 her lips, considering the situation. She started to shake her head no, but something stopped her.

一天，我看見馬丁先生正在店門口組裝一輛锃亮的紅色“飛滾”牌自行車。“這車是不是很漂亮？” 他說道。“你的名字排在登記單的第一位。” “多少錢？” 我屏住呼吸問道。馬丁先生在圍裙上擦了擦手說：“41塊。” “別賣給別人，我很快就回來，” 我邊走邊回頭喊道。我跳上舊車，一路吱嘎聲，匆忙騎回家。“馬丁先生有輛新車要賣給我，” 我大聲喊道，飛奔進屋。“你從沒見過這么漂亮的車——蘋果紅鑲著灰邊，還有鉻合金車輪。” 媽媽從燙衣板上抬起頭，問道： “多少錢？” “41塊，” 我說。“我攢了差不多20塊。” 媽媽噘起嘴唇，掂量著這件事情。她開始搖頭說不，但不知怎么又停住了。

She went to her bedroom and came back with the White Owl box in hand. She opened it and began counting, pulling out two fives first, followed by several ones. Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen... Then she stopped counting. For the first time in my life, the box seemed to be empty. I felt a hollowness of disappointment I'd never known before. Lord, please help her find three more dollars, I prayed, closing my eyes tight. When I opened them I saw her reach into the box again and pull out a little blue cloth purse with a silver catch on it. From the purse she extracted another dollar, another and another until she reached the required number.

她去了臥室，手上拿著那個“白貓頭鷹”捐獻盒出來。她打開盒子，開始數錢，先拿出了兩張5塊的，接著拿出來幾張1塊的，16，17，18 …… 然后，她停住了。我生平第一次覺得，這個盒子似乎空了。我感到一種從未有過的失望。上帝，幫幫她再找到3塊錢吧，我緊閉雙眼，心中祈禱著。當我睜開眼睛時，我看見她的手又伸進了盒子，拿出了一個藍色小布錢包，上面有一條銀色拉鎖。從這個錢包中，她拿出了1塊，又1塊，再1塊，直到錢夠數為止。

“Oh, mama, thank you,” I said, hugging her and kissing her cheek. “Just remember,” she cautioned as I gathered up the cash, “this is the Lord's money, and you'll have to repay it. When we give to the Lord, he gives right back.” “I will repay it,” I answered, and I did. On my sleek3 new Rollfast I could deliver more papers. And it was just as Mama said，I earned enough to give back to the tithe box and then I earned some more. “Ten percent for the tithe box,” Mama said and in it went. As long as we gave, we were blessed.

“噢，媽媽，謝謝你，” 我說道，擁抱著她，親吻她的面頰。“要記住，” 我把錢收攏時，她提醒說：“這是上帝的錢，你必須還回來。我們獻給上帝的，他即刻就會賜還給我們。” “我會還回來的，” 我回答說，并且我做到了。騎著我優美、閃亮的“飛滾”車，我能多送報紙。正像媽媽說的那樣，我掙了足夠的錢，不但把從捐獻盒中拿的錢還上了，而且還多掙了一些錢。 “10%的收入進入捐獻盒，”媽媽要求說。媽媽的話我照辦了。只要我們給予，就會得到賜福。