I had been inside the prison called Gander Hill several times already by the time I met Ray in the spring of 1993. My father worked there with a group teaching inmates to improve their communication and speaking skills. I was a senior in college, majoring in speech communications, and eventually I started my own volunteer student group at Gander Hill.
Teaching communication means getting people to tell their stories, but Ray could tell you how much he missed playing his guitar without speaking. Sometimes he moved his hands across the air as if he were playing his favorite blues scale. He always gave me a slight nod when he saw me come into the chapel for the meeting. He loved sharing his guitar stories. Although he had been an inmate at Gander Hill for over a decade, he always had a song in his head, a particular one that he said he had been writing in his mind since his arrival. He looked forward to playing again the way a child counts the days until summer vacation.
When my group formally established itself at Gander Hill, the men were allowed a night of celebration to which they could invite one or two family members. The night of the celebration was just like Christmas for them. They huddled with their loved ones, whom they had not seen or touched in several months or longer. Since his family lived in Texas, no one came to the celebration as Ray's guest, but he waited patiently for me to arrive. As he rehearsed his song in his head, I walked into the prison with a guitar.
Ray tuned that guitar as if he were putting his life back into harmony. I have never heard a guitar tuned like that before or since. He looked at me over his shoulder and nodded a thank-you before bringing his song to life on the guitar. I watched Ray's fingers dance across the strings as if they were himself, running free. And for those moments, he was.
【日积月累】
-inmate n. 同住在一起的人（尤指医院、监狱或其他机构中的）
-scale n.音阶
-chapel n. 小教堂；小礼堂
-decade n. 十年
-rehearse v.排练，进行彩排
-harmony n. 和谐，协调
【参考译文】
一份音乐的礼物
1993年的春天，在遇见雷之前，我已经去过甘德山监狱很多次。我父亲和一帮子人在那负责提高犯人的交流和说话技巧。那年我大四，主修语言交流，后来也开始组织学生自愿在甘德山监狱开展教学工作。
教授交流技巧其实就是让人们开口讲述自己的经历，但是雷不用开口，就能让你知道他有多么想弹奏吉他。有时候他会在空中弹动手指，仿佛在弹奏自己最喜欢的蓝调。每次看到我走进小礼堂去开展教学，他都会朝我微微颔首。他喜欢分享他的吉他故事。虽然已在甘德山监狱服刑十年多了，他脑海里始终记着一首歌，这是一首特别的歌，他说从到这的那天起就开始创作它。他期盼着重拾吉他的机会，就像小孩算日子等着暑假的到来。
我们小组在甘德山监狱得到官方认可的那天，狱友被允许庆祝一晚，还可以邀请一两位家人。欢庆的那晚对他们来说就像圣诞节一样。他们与至少数月没见过面没有接触过的挚爱紧紧相拥。因为雷的家人都住在德克萨斯州，所以聚会上没有他的客人，但是他不急不躁地等着我。当他在脑里排练着自己的歌时，我提着一把吉他走进了监狱。
雷给吉他调弦的时候，仿佛把和谐重新调进了他的生活。我从来没听过那样的旋律，从那以后也没有。他转头看着我，点头致谢，然后开始弹奏他的那首歌。我看着雷的手指在琴弦上跳跃，他仿佛已化成那灵动的手指，重获了自由。其实，在那个时候，他真的自由了。
【人生启迪】
人无完人，犯错乃人之常情。我们绝不能就一个人过去的错误，给他下一个永久的判决而歧视他。本文作者自愿在监狱里开展教学，可见他一片公益热心。最难得的是，他出于真诚向犯人伸出援助之手，而不是为了个人利益或为赢得世俗的称赞。相信他的善举将在孤单凄凉的雷心中回荡一生。