我从未觉得自己与众不同，但人们常对我说：“你的生命是个奇迹。”对我而言，我只是一个普通人，有着现实的目标和远大的理想。我曾是德克萨斯大学一名十九岁的大学生，在通向理想之路上信步前行，梦想有一天我会成为一名整形外科医生。

 

　　on the night of february 17, 1981 i was studying for an organic chemistry test at the library with sharon, my girlfriend of three years. sharon had asked me to drive her back to her dormitory as it was getting quite late. we got into my car, not realizing that just getting into a car would never quite be the same for me again. i quickly noticed that my gas gauge was registered on empty so i pulled into a nearby convenience store to buy '2.00 worth of gas. "i'll be back in two minutes," i yelled at sharon as i closed the door. but instead, those two minutes changed my life forever.

 

　　1981年2月17日的晚上，我和交往三年的女友沙伦在为有机化学测试做准备。因为太晚了，沙伦叫我驾车把她送回宿舍。我们钻进汽车，谁能想到在今后的生命中我不能再如此矫健地重复这样一个简单的动作。我很快发现油表空了，于是我把车泊在附近的一家便利店旁，想买两块钱的汽油。“我两分钟就回来，”我关上车门朝沙伦喊到。但就是这短短的两分钟改变了我一生的命运，永远地改变了。

 

　　entering the convenience store was like entering the twilight zone. on the outside i was a healthy, athletic, pre-med student, but on the inside i was just another statistic of a violent crime. i thought i was entering an empty store, but suddenly i realized it was not empty at all. three robbers were in the process of committing a robbery and my entrance into the store caught them by surprise. one of the criminals immediately shoved a .38 caliber handgun to my head, ordered me to the cooler, pushed me down on the floor, and pumped a bullet into the back of my head -- execution style. he obviously thought i was dead because he did not shoot me again. the trio of thieves finished robbing the store and left calmly.

 

　　进入这家便利店就如同踏上了阴阳间的奈何桥，门外的我还是个健康的，活蹦乱跳的未婚大学生，而门内的我却成了暴力犯罪的又一个牺牲品。我还以为店里没有人，但我突然发现我错了——有三个匪徒正在打劫这家店，而我的进入让他们有些惊慌失措。其中一个匪徒迅速掏出一把口径为38毫米的手枪用力指着我的头，勒令我走到冷冻机旁，然后把我推倒在地，像执行死刑般从后面朝我头部开了一枪。他没再朝我开第二枪，显然他以为我死了。打劫完后三个劫匪逃之夭夭。

 

　　meanwhile, sharon wondered why i had not returned. after seeing the three men leave the store she really began to worry as i was the last person she saw entering the store. she quickly went inside to look for me, but saw no one-only an almost empty cash register containing one check and several pennies. quickly she ran down each aisle shouting, "mike, mike!"

 

　　与此同时，沙伦对我的不归忧心忡忡。看到这三个匪徒离开便利店后她真的很担心，因为我是她见到的最后一个进入店里的人。她赶快跑进店来找我，只见几乎被一扫而空的收银机上挂着一张帐单，还有几枚硬币散落在上面，四周无人。她在货架间飞快地跑着、喊着：“迈克，迈克！”

 

　　just then the attendant appeared from the back of the store shouting, "lady, get down on the floor. i've just been robbed and shot at!"

 

　　这时一名服务员从店后面走出来叫到：“小姐，过来一下，我刚才被打劫了，他们还向我开了枪。”

 

　　sharon quickly dropped to the floor screaming, "have you seen my boyfriend? he has auburn hair." the man did not reply but went back to the cooler where he found me choking on my vomit. the attendant quickly cleaned my mouth and then called for the police and an ambulance.