Artist: Walker Clay
Song: The Chain Of Love
Album: Live, Laugh, Love
He was driving home one evening,
In his beat up Pontiac
When an old lady flagged him down,
Her Mercedes had a flat
He could see that she was frightened,
Standing out there in the snow
'Til he said I'm here to help you ma'am,
By the way my name is Joe
She said I'm from St. Louis,
And I'm only passing through
I must have seen a hundred cars go by,
This is awful nice of you
When he changed the tire,
And closed her trunk
And was about to drive away,
She said how much do I owe you
Here's what he had to say
You don't owe me a thing, I've been there too
Someone once helped me out,
Just the way I'm helping you
If you really want to pay me back,
Here's what you do
Don't let the chain of love end with you
Well a few miles down the road,
The lady saw a small cafe
She went in to grab a bite to eat,
And then be on her way
But she couldn't help but notice,
How the waitress smiled so sweet
And how she must've been eight months along,
And dead on her feet
And though she didn't know her story,
And she probably never will
When the waitress went to get her change,
From a hundred dollar bill
The lady slipped right out the door,
And on a napkin left a note
There were tears in the waitress's eyes,
When she read what she wrote
You don't owe me a thing,
I've been there too
Someone once helped me out,
Just the way I'm helping you
If you really want to pay me back,
Here's what you do
Don't let the chain of love end with you
That night when she got home from work,
The waitress climbed into bed
She was thinkin' about the money,
And what the lady's note had said
As her husband lay there sleeping,
She whispered soft and low
Everything's gonna be alright, I love you, Joe
.......我為人人，人人為我，多麼溫暖的故事......
一則愛的故事，愛要傳遞。
助人的心，讓人間更和諧。
The more you give, the more you get
The more you laugh, the less you fret.
The more you do unselfishly
The more you live abundantly.
The more of everything you share,
The more you'll always have to spare.
The more you love, the more you'll find
That life is good and friends are kind.
For only what we give away,
Enriches us from day to day.
---Author Unknown
以下內容摘自三民版高中英文第四冊第二課
He was driving home on a country road one evening. Ever since the Levi’s factory closed, work in this small town had been almost as slow as his battered old car. Now, as winter raged on, the chill had finally hit home. It made the road ahead even bleaker.
The afternoon was slowly fading into twilight. With the continuous snow flurries making it difficult to see, he almost missed the elderly lady stranded on the side of the road. Fortunately, even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help, so he pulled up in front of her car and got out. The lady smiled nervously, looking visibly worried. “No one has stopped over the past few hours, except for this man. He looks poor and hungry. Is he going to hurt me?” she thought to herself.
Realizing that she was frightened, the man said quickly, “I’m here to help you. Why don’t you wait inside the car where it’s warm? By the way, my name is Joe.”
All she had was a flat tire, but for those who were of this lady’s age, that was bad enough. While Joe was working to change the tire, the lady began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only passing through the small town. She thanked him for coming to her aid. Joe just smiled in response.
The elderly lady asked him how much she owed him and added that any amount would be all right. She shuddered at the thought of all the awful things that might have happened if Joe had not stopped to help her.
Joe, however, hadn’t thought twice about stopping to help the lady. To him, this wasn’t a job, but rather a way to help someone in need. He knew that there were plenty of people who had lent him a helping hand in the past. He told her that if she really wanted to repay him, she could help the next person whom she found in need.
Waving goodbye to Joe, the elderly lady started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but Joe felt uplifted as he headed home.
A few miles down the road, the lady saw a small dingy-looking café. She went in to grab a bite and get out of the cold before she embarked on the last leg of her trip home.
A waitress came over and brought a clean towel for her to wipe her wet hands. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet that entire day couldn’t erase. The lady then noticed that the waitress was heavily pregnant. She wondered how someone like this waitress could be so thoughtful and generous to a stranger. Then she remembered Joe.
The lady finished her meal and quietly slipped out of the door while the waitress was getting the change from the hundred-dollar bill the lady had given her for the bill. When the waitress returned, the lady was no longer in sight. On the table was a napkin, with four more one-hundred-dollar bills underneath it. The lady had paid almost fifty times as much as the cost of her meal! Tears filled the waitress’s eyes as she read what was written on the napkin. It said, “Someone once helped me out in the way I’m helping you now. If you really want to pay me back, don’t let the chain of love end in your hands.”
That night, after the waitress returned home, she lay awake in bed, thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could the elderly lady have known that she and her family needed money, especially with her baby due the next month? Her husband, who was sleeping beside her, was worried sick about their future. She gave him a soft kiss and whispered, “Everything will be all right. I love you, Joe.”
—Adapted from “The Chain of Love” by Jonnie Barnett and Rory Lee. Chicken Soup for the Country Soul. Reprinted by permission of Jonnie Barnett and Balmur Entertainment, Inc. (ASCAP), and Rory Lee and Melanie Howard Music, Inc.
