Once， when I was a teenager， my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus. Finally， there was only one family between us and the ticket counter.
This family made a big impression on me. There were eight children， all probably under the age of 12. You could tell they didn't have a lot of money.
Their clothes were not expensive， but they were clean. The children were well-behaved， all of them standing in line， two-by-two behind their parents， holding hands. They were excitedly jabbering about the clowns， elephants， and other acts they would see that night.
One could sense they had never been to the circus before. It promised to be a highlight of their young lives. The father and mother were at the head of the pack， standing proud as could be.
The mother was holding her husband's hand， looking up at him as if to say， "You're my knight in shining armor."
He was smiling and basking in pride， looking back at her as if to reply， "You got that right."
The ticket lady asked the father how many tickets he wanted. He proudly responded， "Please let me buy eight children's tickets and two adult tickets so I can take my family to the circus."
The ticket lady quoted the price. The man's wife let go of his hand， her head dropped， and his lip began to quiver. The father leaned a little closer and asked， "How much did you say?"
The ticket lady again quoted the price. The man didn't have enough money.
How was he supposed to turn and tell his eight kids that he didn‘t have enough money to take them to the circus? Seeing what was going on， my dad put his hand in his pocket， pulled out a $20 bill and dropped it on the ground. (We were not wealthy in any sense of the word!)
有一次，當我還是個少年的時候，我和父親都站在排隊買票去買了馬戲團的票。最后，我們之間只有一個家庭和售票柜臺。
這個家庭給我留下了很大的印象。有八個孩子，都可能在12歲以下。你可以告訴他們沒有很多錢。
他們的衣服并不貴，但他們很干凈。孩子們表現(xiàn)得很好，所有的孩子都站在他們的父母后面，雙手抱著。他們興奮地嘰嘰喳喳的小丑，大象，和其他行為他們會看到那個晚上。
人們可以感覺到他們從未到過馬戲團。它承諾是他們年輕人生活中的一個亮點。父親和母親都在包的頭上，站得很驕傲。
母親抱著丈夫的手，抬頭望著他，好像要說：“你是我的騎士，穿著閃亮的盔甲?！?BR> 他笑了，感到很自豪，看著她好像說，“你說對了?！?BR> 售票員問父親他想要多少票。他自豪地回答說：“請讓我買八張兒童票和2張成人票，這樣我就可以帶我的家人去馬戲團了?！?BR> 機票女士報了價。男人的妻子放開了他的手，她的頭掉了，嘴唇開始顫抖起來。父親向他靠近一點，問道：“你說了多少？”
票女士再次報價。這個人沒有足夠的錢。
他怎么會告訴他八個孩子，他沒有足夠的錢帶他們?nèi)ヱR戲團？看到這一切，我父親把手伸進口袋，掏出一張20美元的賬單扔在了地上。（我們在任何意義上都不富有?。?
This family made a big impression on me. There were eight children， all probably under the age of 12. You could tell they didn't have a lot of money.
Their clothes were not expensive， but they were clean. The children were well-behaved， all of them standing in line， two-by-two behind their parents， holding hands. They were excitedly jabbering about the clowns， elephants， and other acts they would see that night.
One could sense they had never been to the circus before. It promised to be a highlight of their young lives. The father and mother were at the head of the pack， standing proud as could be.
The mother was holding her husband's hand， looking up at him as if to say， "You're my knight in shining armor."
He was smiling and basking in pride， looking back at her as if to reply， "You got that right."
The ticket lady asked the father how many tickets he wanted. He proudly responded， "Please let me buy eight children's tickets and two adult tickets so I can take my family to the circus."
The ticket lady quoted the price. The man's wife let go of his hand， her head dropped， and his lip began to quiver. The father leaned a little closer and asked， "How much did you say?"
The ticket lady again quoted the price. The man didn't have enough money.
How was he supposed to turn and tell his eight kids that he didn‘t have enough money to take them to the circus? Seeing what was going on， my dad put his hand in his pocket， pulled out a $20 bill and dropped it on the ground. (We were not wealthy in any sense of the word!)
有一次，當我還是個少年的時候，我和父親都站在排隊買票去買了馬戲團的票。最后，我們之間只有一個家庭和售票柜臺。
這個家庭給我留下了很大的印象。有八個孩子，都可能在12歲以下。你可以告訴他們沒有很多錢。
他們的衣服并不貴，但他們很干凈。孩子們表現(xiàn)得很好，所有的孩子都站在他們的父母后面，雙手抱著。他們興奮地嘰嘰喳喳的小丑，大象，和其他行為他們會看到那個晚上。
人們可以感覺到他們從未到過馬戲團。它承諾是他們年輕人生活中的一個亮點。父親和母親都在包的頭上，站得很驕傲。
母親抱著丈夫的手，抬頭望著他，好像要說：“你是我的騎士，穿著閃亮的盔甲?！?BR> 他笑了，感到很自豪，看著她好像說，“你說對了?！?BR> 售票員問父親他想要多少票。他自豪地回答說：“請讓我買八張兒童票和2張成人票，這樣我就可以帶我的家人去馬戲團了?！?BR> 機票女士報了價。男人的妻子放開了他的手，她的頭掉了，嘴唇開始顫抖起來。父親向他靠近一點，問道：“你說了多少？”
票女士再次報價。這個人沒有足夠的錢。
他怎么會告訴他八個孩子，他沒有足夠的錢帶他們?nèi)ヱR戲團？看到這一切，我父親把手伸進口袋，掏出一張20美元的賬單扔在了地上。（我們在任何意義上都不富有?。?