It’s wonderful to be back in my boyhood hometown again to visit with my now elderly mother. It seems like centuries ago when I was growing up here. Back then, this small town was just a backdrop that formed the unremarkable environment in which I lived my everyday life.
Mom’s doing great for her age, but she’s moving slower these days. After a lengthy but heartwarming talk in the den about my wife, the kids and how well work is going back in the big city far from here, we have reached the point of being all talked out for now.
What a perfect time to go for a walk and get some fresh air. The outside loudly calls for a look around the neighborhood to see how things have changed, and how things have stayed the same. As I walk down the street, it’s like I’m on my trusted bicycle riding around as a young boy. I’m on yet another grand mission on my bike again. Oh, the places my bike could take me, and did.
There’s the small corner store, just a quick bike ride down one street and up another, where I can get an ice-cold soda in a glass bottle with the red metal cap. Inside is the long candy aisle where I must carefully consider my choices; will it be a candy bar, or pack of football cards with the bonus flat piece of bubble gum, or a handful of fireball jawbreakers? … The freedom to decide continues unabated¸ only the stakes are higher with time, requiring proportionally greater wisdom.
翻译：
与年迈的母亲一起重游童年的故乡，是一件很美妙的事情。我在这里的成长像是几个世纪前发生的事情一样。回想当初，这个小镇只是我童年生活一个丝毫不起眼的背景。
照她的年龄来说，母亲的身体还很好，但这些天行动迟缓了一些。我们在书房里进行了一次温馨的长谈，说到我的妻子，孩子，以及离这里很遥远的大城市里工作的事情。我们把现在所有的一切都说了个遍。
这可是出门散步，呼吸新鲜空气的完美时刻。整个世界都在呼唤着我，要我看看周遭的一切，看世事如何变迁又如何保持原样。我走过街道，像是又骑上了我心爱的单车，回到了我的少年时代。我又要开始单车上的庄严旅程了。啊，那些单车带我去过的地方！
在那街角有一间小小的商店，就在骑车从一条街转进另一条街的地方。在那儿可以买到一瓶冰冻汽水，玻璃瓶，红色的金属盖子。商店里面是条长长的糖果长廊，我得认真考虑我的选择：是买一个糖果块、一套附赠口香糖的足球卡、还是一把火球样的硬球糖？自由决定的权利从未消减，只是随着时间的推移，这其中的利害关系越来越复杂，需要更多适度调配的智慧。
