读者文摘:我为什么要给人免费理发(1)（在线收听）

Last summer, Katie Steller pulled off the freeway on her way to work in Minneapolis.

去年夏天，凯蒂·斯特勒在去明尼阿波里斯市上班的路上在高速公路下了车。

She stopped at a traffic light, where a man was sitting with a sign asking for help.

她在一个红绿灯前停了下来，那里有一个男人坐在那里，举着求救的牌子。

She rolled down her window. “Hey!” she shouted.

她摇下车窗，喊道，“嘿！”

“I’m driving around giving free haircuts. If I go grab my chair, do you want one right now?” The man looked to be in his 60s.

“我开车到各地免费为人理发。如果我去拿我的椅子，你现在想要理发吗？”这名男子看起来60多岁。

He was heavyset, balding, and missing a few teeth. As Steller likes to tell the story, he laughed, then paused.

他身材魁梧，秃顶，缺了几颗牙。由于斯特勒喜欢讲这个故事，他笑了起来，然后停了下来。

“Actually,” he said, “I have a funeral to go to this week. I was really hoping to get a haircut.”

他说：“实际上，这周我要去参加一个葬礼。我真的希望能理一次发。”

“I’ll be right back,” Steller said. She drove off, went to the salon she owns,

斯特勒说，“我马上回来。”她开车前往她的理发店，

and recruited one of her stylists to help her load a red chair into her car.

她让一个造型师帮她把一把红色的椅子搬上车。

Then the two of them drove back. The man, named Edward, took a seat, and they trimmed his curly graying hair.

然后他们俩开车回去了。这个名叫爱德华的男人坐了下来，他们给他修剪了他卷曲的灰白头发。

He told them about growing up in Mississippi, about moving to Minnesota to be closer to his adult children, and how he still talks to his mom every day.

他告诉他们自己在密西西比长大，为了离成年的孩子们更近，他搬到了明尼苏达州，以及他如何每天都和妈妈聊天。

After Steller was done, Edward looked in a mirror. “I look good!” he said. “I’ll have to remember to put my teeth in next time.”

斯特勒理完后，爱德华照了照镜子。“我看起来不错！”他说。“下次我得记得把我的牙齿放进去。”

To date, Steller has given 30 or so such haircuts to people around the city.

到目前为止，斯特勒已经为大约30个纽约各地的人剪了发。

These clients are all living on the margins, and she is keenly aware of the power of her cleanup job.

这些客户都生活在边缘地带，她非常清楚自己清洁工作的能量。

“It’s more than a haircut,” she says. “I want it to be a gateway, to show value and respect, but also to get to know people.

她说，“它不仅仅是一次理发，我想让它成为一个展示价值和尊重的途径，同时也可以了解他人。

I want to build relationships.” Steller knows that a haircut can change a life.

我想建立关系。”斯特勒知道理发可以改变生活。

One changed hers: As a teen, she suffered from a bowel disease called ulcerative colitis that was so severe, her hair thinned drastically.

其中一次改变了她的生活：十几岁时，她患上了一种叫做溃疡性结肠炎的肠道疾病，病情非常严重，她的头发严重稀疏。

Seeing this, her mother arranged for Steller’s first professional haircut.

看到这些，她母亲给斯特勒安排了第一次专业理发。