Unable to engage in many activities，my father still tried to participate in some way. When a local sandlot baseball team found itself without a manager，he kept it going. He was a knowledgeable baseball fan and often took me to Ebbets Field to see the Brooklyn Dodgers play. He liked to go to dances and parties，where he could have a good time just sitting and watching.
On one memorable occasion a fight broke out at a beach party，with everyone punching and shoving. He wasn’t content to sit and watch，but he couldn’t stand unaided on the soft sand. In frustration he began to shout，“I’ll fight anyone who will sit down with me!”Nobody did. But the next day people kidded him by saying it was the first time any fighter was urged to take a dive even before the bout began.
I now know he participated in some things vicariously through me，his only son. When I played ball (poorly)，he“played”too. When I joined the Navy he“joined”too. And when I came home on leave，he saw to it that I visited his office. Introducing me，he was really saying，“This is my son，but it is also me，and I could have done this，too，if things had been different.”Those words were never said aloud.
He has been gone many years now，but I think of him often. I wonder if he sensed my reluctance to be seen with him during our walks. If he did，I am sorry I never told him how sorry I was，how unworthy I was，how I regretted it. I think of him when I complain about trifles，when I am envious of another’s good fortune，when I don’t have a“good heart”.
善心可依
佚 名
在我成長的過程中，我一直羞於讓別人看見我和父親在一起。我的父親身材矮小，腿上有嚴重的殘疾。當我們一起走路時，他總是挽著我以保持身體平衡，這時總招來一些異樣的目光，令我無地自容。可是如果他注意到了這些，不管他內心多麼痛苦，也從不表現出來。
走路時，我們很難相互協調起來——他的步子慢慢騰騰，我的步子焦躁不安。所以一路上我們交談得很少。但是每次出行前，他總是說，“你走你的，我盡量跟上你。”