There are parents who can afford to send their children to Europe or Disneyland, and the children turn out rotten. There are parents who live in million-dollar houses and give their children cars and swimming pools, yet something goes wrong. Rich and poor, black and white, so much goes wrong so often.

“Where are all these people going, Daddy?” the son asked.

“All over the world,” came the reply. The other people in the air port wee leaving for distant destinations or arriving at the ends of their journeys. The father and son, though, were just riding this shuttle together, making it exciting, sharing each other’s company.

So many troubles in this country – crime, the murderous soullessness that seems to be taking over the lives of many young people, the lowering of educational standards, the increase in vile obscenities in public, the disappearance of simple civility. So many questions about what to do. Here was a father who cared about spending the day with his son and who had come up with this plan on a Saturday morning.

The answer is so simple: parents who care enough to spend time, and to pay attention and to try their best. It doesn’t cost a cent, yet it is the most valuable thing in the world.

The train picked up speed, and the father pointed something out, and the boy laughed again, and the answer is so simple.

父亲、儿子与答案（美） 鲍勃•格林
  

一天早晨去亚特兰大机场，我看见一辆列车载载着旅客从航空集散站抵达登记处。这类免费列车每天单调、无味地往返其间，没人觉得有趣。但这个周六我却听到了笑声。

在头节车厢的最前面，坐着一个男人和他的儿子。他们正透过窗户观赏着一直往前延伸的铁道。

我们停下来等候旅客下车，之后，车门关上了。“走吧。拉紧我！”父亲说。儿子大约5岁吧，一路喜不自禁。

车上坐的多半是衣冠楚楚，或公差或度假的白人，只有这对黑人父子穿着朴素简单。我知道如今我们不该种族歧视，我希望我这样描述没人介意。

“快看！”父亲对儿子说：“看见那位飞行员了吗？我敢肯定是去开飞机的。”儿子伸长脖子看。