願望是自製自成的 / Dream Maker

我兒時家窮, 父親入息不多,母親是家庭主婦,我們住在一個「惡死」包租婆木板間隔的尾房,一家四口一張床,最記得一回家就是上床玩。我們家庭沒有餘錢,很多玩具都是我用剩餘物資,例如「荷蘭水」蓋、香煙盒、核桃殼等自製的。但是年幼的我卻很羡慕他人有自行車,於是常問父母親可不可以買一架給我,當然,答案每一次都是失望的。我不知道您們年輕時有沒有這種感覺和經驗,就是所有要達到的願望,都是要自製自成的,父母很多時都不能幇忙。

When I was very young, my father did not earn much and my mother was a full-time homemaker. Our family rented a partitioned cubicle that was owned by this obnoxious landlady. The four of us all slept in one make-shift bed which also became my playground during the day. Since we were not well off, I learnt to make a lot of my own toys out of pop-bottle caps, used cigarette cartons, walnut shells, and whatever spared materials that I could find. However, the one toy I really wanted at that time was a tricycle. Many times I asked my parents if they could buy me one, and every time the answer was a disappointing 'No!' I don't know whether you had similar feeling and experience in childhood, but for me, I came to the realization at an early age that I would be my own dream maker, as my parents were often not in a position to help.