Every man wants his son to be somewhat of a clone, not in features but in footsteps. As he grows you also age, and your ambitions become more unachievable. You begin to realize that your boy, in your footsteps, could probably accomplish what you hoped for. But footsteps can be muddied and they can go off in different directions.
每个男人都希望自己的儿子成为自己的某种复制，不是长相，而是足迹。随着他的成长，你也会变老，你的雄心壮志变得越来越无法实现。你开始意识到，跟随你的脚步，你的孩子可能会实现你的期望。但足迹可能会被弄乱，可能会向不同的方向移动。

My son Jody has hated school since day one in kindergarten. Science projects waited until the last moment. Book reports weren’t written until the final threat.
我的儿子乔迪从幼儿园第一天起就讨厌上学。科学项目会一直拖到最后一刻，直到最后一次威胁，才会写读书报告。

I’ve been a newspaperman all my adult life. My daughter is a university graduate working toward her master’s degree in English. But Jody? When he entered the tenth grade he became a “vo-tech” student. They’re called “motorheads” by the rest of the student body.
我成年后一直是一名新闻记者。我女儿是一名大学毕业生，正在攻读英语硕士学位。但是乔迪？当他进入十年级时，他成为了一名技校学生。其他学生称他们为“车头”。

When a secretary in my office first called him “motorhead”, I was shocked. “Hey, he’s a good kid,” I wanted to say. “And smart, really.”
当我办公室的一位秘书第一次叫他“车头”时，我很震惊。“嘿，他是个好孩子，”我想说，“真的很聪明。”

I learned later that motorheads are, indeed, different. They usually have dirty hands and wear dirty work clothes. And they don’t often make school honor rolls.
后来我了解到，车头确实不同。他们通常手很脏，穿着邋遢的工作服。而且他们通常上不了学校的光荣榜。

But being the parent of a motorhead is itself an experience in education. We who labor in clean shirts in offices don’t have the abilities that motorheads have. I began to learn this when I had my car crashed. The cost to repair it was estimated at $800. “Hey, I can fix it,” said Jody. I doubted it , but let him go ahead, for I had nothing to lose.
但是作为一名车头的父母本身就是一种教育经历。我们这些穿着干净衬衫在办公室工作的人没有车头的能力。当我的车撞坏的时候，我开始明白这一点。修理费用估计为800美元。“嘿，我能修好，”乔迪说。我对此表示怀疑，但让他继续，因为我没有什么可失去的。

My son, with other motorheads, fixed the car. They got parts from a junkyard, and ability from vo-tech classes.The lost was 25 instead of $800.
我儿子和其他车头一起修车。他们的零件来自废品场，能力来自于技校课堂。费用是25美元而不是800。

Since that first repair job, a broken air-conditioner, a non-functioning washer and a non-toasting toaster have been fixed. Neighbors and co-workers trust their car repairs to him.
自从第一次维修工作以来，坏了的空调、不能正常工作的洗衣机和不能烤面包的烤面包机都得到了修复。邻居和同事们都把汽车修理工作托付给他。

These kids are happiest when doing repairs. They joke and laugh and are living in their own relaxed world. And their minds are bright despite their dirty hands and clothes.
这些孩子在修理时最快乐。他们开玩笑、大笑，生活在自己轻松的世界里。尽管他们的手和衣服很脏，但他们的头脑很聪明。

I have learned a lot from my motorhead: publishers need printers, engineers need mechanics, and architects need builders. Most important, I have learned that fathers don’t need clones in footsteps or anywhere else.
我从我的车头那里学到了很多：出版商需要打印机，工程师需要机械师，建筑师需要建筑工人。最重要的是，我了解到，父亲不需要在足迹或其他任何地方的复制。

My son may never make the school honor roll. But he made mine.
我儿子可能永远上不了学校荣誉榜，但他成了我的骄傲。