三天后，我开车去学校接女儿。我看到角落里站着一名男子，一脸焦急的表情。突然，我心中响起了这样一个声音“帮帮他吧！”我摇下车窗，他满脸欣喜地飞奔过来说：“善良的女士，我只需77美分。”我把手伸进口袋，才发现忘了带钱包，我不好意思地摊开双手，以示无奈。但当他正要转身离开时，我叫住了他，“等等！”我发现我时常放零钱的烟灰缸里躺着三张25美分的纸币和两分钱，真巧，不多不少，刚好77美分。
当我看到这77美分时，我的皮肤有股刺痛感，我迅速地将这77美分递给了他。他高兴得手舞足蹈，并且眼睛里闪烁着感激的泪花。“哇，您让我终于可以在圣诞节回家看母亲了！太谢谢您了，我已经有三年没回家看她了。巴士车20分钟后就要开了，我不得不走了。”
这个时刻，我将记忆犹新。我想那位男子也会永远记得，而我却有幸得到了人生最好的礼物——给予。我恍然悟到：那些看似巧合的事绝非巧合，任何给予都会有意义，哪怕只是少得可怜的77美分。
Deliberate Design of Two
天生“一对”
A gray African goose stood at the rear of my father’s truck， staring into the wide chrome bumper—completely engrossed with the image he saw there. The goose preened， cocking his outstretched neck from side to side， occasionally flapping his wings to punctuate his conversation of clucks and honks. It was an interesting and amusing sight.
When I noticed that the goose was still there nearly four hours later， I thought it was odd. So I asked my father about it.
“Dad，”I said. “that old gray goose has been standing behind your truck all day. Do you have any idea why”
“Oh， sure，”he answered without hesitation. “That’s Grady. He lost his “missus”a year ago， and he’s lonely without her. For nearly a month he searched the farmstead for her every day. Then one day， as he passed the shiny bumper， he caught sight of his reflection in it. I guess he thinks he’s found her. So every day he comes to be with her.”
Each and every morning， the geese wait impatiently at the door of their protective shed for my father to free them so they can roam the farmstead. When Grady is turned to loose， he departs from the others， preferring instead to be with “his missus.”On a full waddle， he rushes to wherever my father’s truck is parked and stares into the truck’s shiny silver bumper and exuberantly cackles away， perhaps filling her in on the events that transpired while they were apart.
“Isn’t it a bit strange that Grady stays at the bumper all day long” I asked.
“Not if that’s where he thinks his companion is，”my father replied. “He’s devoted to her.”
I was intrigued by the apparent affection this goose had once shared with his mate， an affection so strong he was determined to hang on to some semblance of it after her parting.
“Dad，”I asked with genuine curiosity. “Why do you think that goose would go to such lengths”
“No mystery to it，”he said matter-of-factly.“Everything in nature is a deliberate design of two. It’s natural to want a companion. Union， having someone to share your days with， being concerned with someone other than yourself， gives reason to life. And most all of us seek a mate even after painful loss and heartbreak in that quest.”
