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It was a cold night in Washington, D.C., and I was heading back to the hotel when a man approached me. He asked if I would give him some money so he could get something to eat. I’d read the signs， “Don’t give money to panhandlers1.” So I shook my head and kept walking.
I wasn’t prepared for a reply, but with resignation2, he said, “I am really homeless and I am really hungry! You can come with me and watch me eat!” But I kept on walking.
The incident bothered me for the rest of the week. I had money in my pocket and it wouldn’t have killed me to hand over a buck or two even if he had been lying. On a frigid3, cold night, no less, I assumed the worst of a fellow human being.
Flying back to Anchorage, I couldn’t help thinking of him. I tried to rationalize4 my failure to help by assuming government agencies, churches and charities were there to feed him. Besides, you’re not supposed to give money to panhandlers.
Somewhere over Seattle, I started to write my weekly garden column for The Anchorage Daily News. Out of the blue, I came up with an idea. Bean’s Cafe, the soup kitchen in Anchorage, feeds hundreds of hungry Alaskans every day. Why not try to get all my readers to plant one row in their gardens dedicated to Bean’s? Dedicate a row and take it down to Bean’s. Clean and simple.
We didn’t keep records back then, but the idea began to take off. Folks would fax me or call when they took something in. Those who only grew flowers donated them. Food for the spirit. And salve for my conscience.
In 1995, the Garden Writers Association of America held their annual convention5 in Anchorage and after learning of Anchorage’s program Plant a Row for Bean’s became Plant a Row For The Hungry. The original idea was to have every member of the Garden Writers Association of America write or talk about planting a row for the hungry sometime during the month of April.
As more and more people started working with the Plant a Row concept, new variations6 cropped up. Many companies gave free seeds to customers and displayed the logo7, which also appeared in national gardening publications.
I am stunned that millions of Americans are threatened by hunger. If every gardener in America—and we’re seventy million strong—plants one row for the hungry, we can make quite a dent8 in the number of neighbors who don’t have enough to eat. Maybe then I will stop feeling guilty about abandoning a hungry man I could have helped.
一个寒冷的夜晚，在华盛顿特区，我正走在回旅馆的路上，一个男人向我走来。他问我是否愿意给他一些钱买东西吃。我看到过“不要给乞丐钱的告示”。于是，我摇了摇头继续向前走。
我没准备说什么，但他无可奈何地说：“我真的是一个无家可归的人，我真的很饿！你可以跟着我，看着我买东西吃！”但是，我仍然继续走自己的路。
在那个星期的余下几天里，这件事一直在烦扰着我。我口袋里有钱，即使他是在说谎，我给他一两美元也不会要了我的命。但是，我却在一个寒冷的夜晚，毫无根据地把一个穷困潦倒的同胞假设为一个十恶不赦的坏人。
坐飞机返回安克雷奇之后，我仍然忍不住会想起他。我竭力用国家已经安排有关行政部门、教堂和慈善机构来帮助那些饥饿的人得到食物为借口，来为自己开脱。何况，我也不能把钱送给乞丐。
在西雅图，我开始为《安克雷奇日报》的每星期一版的园艺专栏写稿。我摆脱灰暗的心情，想到了一个主意。比恩的小餐馆——安克雷奇救济贫民的施舍处——每天要送给数百名阿拉斯加饥民食物。为什么不尝试让我的所有读者们在他们的花园里种一行蔬菜捐给比恩的小餐馆呢？捐献一行蔬菜给比恩的小餐馆。合法而简单。
这是一件新生事物，在那之前，从没有发生过类似的事情。但是，这个主意很快就被传播开来。当人们捐出东西的时候，他们会发传真或者打电话给我。那些只种鲜花的园艺工作者们捐出了鲜花。这是精神食粮。它使我的良心得到了抚慰。
1995年，美国的园艺作家协会在安克雷奇召开年会，在得知安克雷奇的规划项目后，“为比恩餐馆种一行蔬菜”变成了“为饥民种一行蔬菜”。最初的想法是让每一位美国园艺作家协会的会员在四月份的某个时候写或者谈论有关为饥民们种一行蔬菜的话题。
由于越来越多的人们开始为“种一行蔬菜”的事业奋斗，这项工作发生了很大的变化。许多公司向消费者免费提供种子，并展示了徽标，这些徽标也刊登在国家园艺类的书籍中。
使我大为震惊的是受到饥饿威胁的美国人竟然有数百万人之多。如果美国的每一位园艺工作者——美国有7000万人之多——都能为饥民们种一行蔬菜，那么，我们的那些受到饥饿威胁的同胞们的数量就会大大减少。也许只有到那时，我才会不再为我原本能够帮助却没有帮助的那个饥饿的男人感到内疚。
乔桉摘译自Online Stories
I wasn’t prepared for a reply, but with resignation2, he said, “I am really homeless and I am really hungry! You can come with me and watch me eat!” But I kept on walking.
The incident bothered me for the rest of the week. I had money in my pocket and it wouldn’t have killed me to hand over a buck or two even if he had been lying. On a frigid3, cold night, no less, I assumed the worst of a fellow human being.
Flying back to Anchorage, I couldn’t help thinking of him. I tried to rationalize4 my failure to help by assuming government agencies, churches and charities were there to feed him. Besides, you’re not supposed to give money to panhandlers.
Somewhere over Seattle, I started to write my weekly garden column for The Anchorage Daily News. Out of the blue, I came up with an idea. Bean’s Cafe, the soup kitchen in Anchorage, feeds hundreds of hungry Alaskans every day. Why not try to get all my readers to plant one row in their gardens dedicated to Bean’s? Dedicate a row and take it down to Bean’s. Clean and simple.
We didn’t keep records back then, but the idea began to take off. Folks would fax me or call when they took something in. Those who only grew flowers donated them. Food for the spirit. And salve for my conscience.
In 1995, the Garden Writers Association of America held their annual convention5 in Anchorage and after learning of Anchorage’s program Plant a Row for Bean’s became Plant a Row For The Hungry. The original idea was to have every member of the Garden Writers Association of America write or talk about planting a row for the hungry sometime during the month of April.
As more and more people started working with the Plant a Row concept, new variations6 cropped up. Many companies gave free seeds to customers and displayed the logo7, which also appeared in national gardening publications.
I am stunned that millions of Americans are threatened by hunger. If every gardener in America—and we’re seventy million strong—plants one row for the hungry, we can make quite a dent8 in the number of neighbors who don’t have enough to eat. Maybe then I will stop feeling guilty about abandoning a hungry man I could have helped.
一个寒冷的夜晚，在华盛顿特区，我正走在回旅馆的路上，一个男人向我走来。他问我是否愿意给他一些钱买东西吃。我看到过“不要给乞丐钱的告示”。于是，我摇了摇头继续向前走。
我没准备说什么，但他无可奈何地说：“我真的是一个无家可归的人，我真的很饿！你可以跟着我，看着我买东西吃！”但是，我仍然继续走自己的路。
在那个星期的余下几天里，这件事一直在烦扰着我。我口袋里有钱，即使他是在说谎，我给他一两美元也不会要了我的命。但是，我却在一个寒冷的夜晚，毫无根据地把一个穷困潦倒的同胞假设为一个十恶不赦的坏人。
坐飞机返回安克雷奇之后，我仍然忍不住会想起他。我竭力用国家已经安排有关行政部门、教堂和慈善机构来帮助那些饥饿的人得到食物为借口，来为自己开脱。何况，我也不能把钱送给乞丐。
在西雅图，我开始为《安克雷奇日报》的每星期一版的园艺专栏写稿。我摆脱灰暗的心情，想到了一个主意。比恩的小餐馆——安克雷奇救济贫民的施舍处——每天要送给数百名阿拉斯加饥民食物。为什么不尝试让我的所有读者们在他们的花园里种一行蔬菜捐给比恩的小餐馆呢？捐献一行蔬菜给比恩的小餐馆。合法而简单。
这是一件新生事物，在那之前，从没有发生过类似的事情。但是，这个主意很快就被传播开来。当人们捐出东西的时候，他们会发传真或者打电话给我。那些只种鲜花的园艺工作者们捐出了鲜花。这是精神食粮。它使我的良心得到了抚慰。
1995年，美国的园艺作家协会在安克雷奇召开年会，在得知安克雷奇的规划项目后，“为比恩餐馆种一行蔬菜”变成了“为饥民种一行蔬菜”。最初的想法是让每一位美国园艺作家协会的会员在四月份的某个时候写或者谈论有关为饥民们种一行蔬菜的话题。
由于越来越多的人们开始为“种一行蔬菜”的事业奋斗，这项工作发生了很大的变化。许多公司向消费者免费提供种子，并展示了徽标，这些徽标也刊登在国家园艺类的书籍中。
使我大为震惊的是受到饥饿威胁的美国人竟然有数百万人之多。如果美国的每一位园艺工作者——美国有7000万人之多——都能为饥民们种一行蔬菜，那么，我们的那些受到饥饿威胁的同胞们的数量就会大大减少。也许只有到那时，我才会不再为我原本能够帮助却没有帮助的那个饥饿的男人感到内疚。
乔桉摘译自Online Stories