Sam

Every man has countless memories of his time in the military, and I am no exception. What I miss the most is my commanding officer. In the army, I served as his orderly and driver. He was an upright and humorous man, a mentor and a friend in my life’s journey.

Years ago, he retired and moved to Yilan. I had promised to visit him whenever I was in the area. This time, while in Luodong, I happened to have a free moment and immediately thought of him—what better time than now for a reunion?

To my surprise, he kindly picked me up at the train station and even treated us to dinner. With his usual humor, he said, “You used to drive for me; now it’s my turn to drive for you.” I could only give an awkward laugh, feeling rather embarrassed.

Along the train ride, I passed through places like Houdong and Ruifang. The old houses there reminded me of my childhood home. As the train stopped and moved on, so did my memories, resurfacing one after another.

These days, I’ve grown quite fond of traveling by train, watching the scenery pass by, reflecting on things, and learning to slow down—after all, patience brings clarity.

每個男人提起當兵總有許多的回憶，我也一樣，而最令我懷念的是我的長官。在軍中我擔任的是長官的傳令兼駕駛，這位長官為人正直、幽默，在人生的旅程中他是我的良師益友。

多年前他搬到宜蘭退休，我答應過到宜蘭便會去拜訪他。此次到羅東恰巧有一個空檔立刻想起長官,來個擇日不如撞日的約會吧！結果大哥非常客氣的來火車站接送並請我們吃晚餐。大哥一樣幽默的說：之前我幫他開車，這次他幫我開車。我只能乾笑，非常的不好意思。

火車在沿途中看到猴峒及瑞芳等，哪裏的房子老舊卻令我想起以前的老家。生命中的回憶就在列車到站過站中又想起了不少。現在還蠻習慣坐著火車到處走，看著沿途的風景，想想一些事情，學著放慢腳步，事緩則圓。