The Ability to Appreciate Beauty

Cynthia Zhang

          The setting sun's light reflected off the snow that blanketed the quiet campus. Christmas was coming. Relieved of all burden, red-brick buildings and tall pine trees yawned under their white cloaks, ready to sleep. Everything was a wonder. Such beauty reminded me of North Dakota and Montana in the summer two years ago, when I was on my way to Washington State.

          The beauty of the nature in the two states was bountiful. Endless grassland stretched forever with yellow wild flowers all over. My car was floating on the flower clouds. My mind was wandering off the highway from time to time, occupied with nice small talk with silent black herds of cattle.  

           When I finally stopped my car, I found a flat tire instead. My misjudgment in the morning when I started the journey followed and haunted me eventually. I learned from construction workers on the road a small shop a litter over ten miles ahead might help me.

          The kind lady working in the shop dragged out a huge electric pump for me, but neither of us was able to pump air into the flat tire. All I could do was to replace the flat tire with my back-up tire in the car trunk. There were no tools in the trunk. I had never changed a tire before.

         The lady made a phone call then. A young man arrived in the shop a little over ten minutes later in a truck. He changed my tire skillfully. I took the opportunity to pat his dog on the head and chatted with the dog a little. The young man rejected my money, quickly collected his tools, and left with his dog in his dust covered truck.

          I followed the lady’s instructions and drove at two thirds of the usual speed on the back-up tire. After another forty or fifty miles, I finally found the repair shop as informed by the lady. Then I realized my cell was out of signal.

          The repair shop struck me as even more run down than the shop. Auto parts piled around in the yard. The inventory did not have a door. A middle-aged mechanic showed up when I almost lost my patience after shouting in the yard for service for quite a while. I stared at the mechanic, not knowing what his torn and dirty clothes meant. A drama maybe? When I saw his wife coming out of a room in similar attire, sweat rolled down my back.

          The couple began to look for suitable tire for my car when they learned about my situation. I started to work on my laptop with my back close a wall for self-defense. I tried to look calm while my mind was racing. What do they want? My life or my money? A tire costs about one to two hundred dollars. Plus labor? I decided to let it be. Whatever, it was my fate.

          No good fit was found for my car, the couple informed me after looking hard around. I felt more sweat on my back.

          The man grinned to reassure me he could fix my tire for the trip. I did not know if I had confidence in his ability but agreed to let him try. He glued up the broken tire, and beamed with a promise I could ride my car all the way to the west coast. I handed him a two-dollar tip to add to his ten-dollar charge.

          I was on my way again finally. My car did not make any fuss for over one hundred miles. I felt the hung sword over my head gone out of my car window. Whew!

          The beauty of the nature came back to me. My longing for a new home came back to me as well. Sweat rolled down my back again when I recalled my encounters with the shop lady, the young man with a truck, and the repair shop couple in the past half a day.

          In the several months before my mother passed away, I showed her many pictures. I meant to let her see what my life was like in the several years I was not able to visit her. Some pictures were taken on my way to many different destinations. Mother must have understood the untold stories behind these pictures of the beautiful nature.

欣赏美的能力

          节前的校园很安静，斜阳余光映在雪地上。红砖的教学楼和高耸的松树也似乎闲了下来，披着雪衣闭目养神。很美。这静谧的美让我又想起了两年前夏天途经北达科他州和蒙大拿州的情形。

          这两个州的自然风光让人难忘。大片大片的草地绵延着，黄色小花漫山遍野。我的车在花云中漫步。我时时想着要游弋出寂静的高速路与黑色的牛群聊聊天。

          当我停下车时却发现车胎瘪了，早上出发时的误判有了报应。好在前方不远处有工人在修路，得知前方十几英里处有个小商店也许可以帮我的忙。

          热心的女店主拖出偌大的电子打气机给我用。我们摆弄半天最终没能给车胎充上气，唯一的出路是用备胎。而我却既无工具更没换胎经验。

          女店主打了一个电话，十多分钟后一个小伙子开着卡车来到店里。他干净利索地帮我换上了备胎。我则拍着他的狗亲切地聊了两句。给他钱他拒绝了，极快地收拾好工具，带着他的狗开着他满是尘土的卡车走了。

          遵照女店主的嘱咐我以平时三分之二的速度开着装上备胎的车又走了四、五十英里，终于到了汽车维修站。这时我的手机信号也没有了。

          这个汽车维修站比那个小商店更破败。汽车零部件堆了一场院，仓库少了门。当我喊了半天终于见到一个中年修理工时，他身上满是洞的脏衣服让我起疑：这是拍电影吧？当他同样衣衫褴褛的妻子跟出来时，我背上开始冒汗。

          夫妇两人问清情况，开始找合适的车胎。我若无其事地开始在手提电脑上工作起来。背始终靠着一面墙以防万一，同时也等着报价的打击。车胎至少一二百，再加上人工费？哎，不是要命就是要钱吧。命该如此吧。

          夫妇两个忙了半天也没找到合适的胎。我背上的汗流得更快了。

          男店主笑呵呵地说他可以把我的车胎补好，车可以照开。我半信半疑，也只好由他。他用胶补好胎，保证我可以一直开到西海岸。他报价十元，我又给他两元小费。

          终于可以上路了。当我的车痛痛快快跑了一百多英里后，我一颗悬着的心终于放了下来。

          美景又回到了我的眼前，我对新家的向往也回来了。想想过去半天碰到的女店主、小伙子和夫妇俩，我背上的汗又流下来了。

          母亲去世前几个月我曾经把我的照片发给她，让她知道我未能看望她的几年生活是什么样的。这些照片中有一些是沿途的美景。这些美景照片背后的故事想来母亲也是可以想见的。