“Hey Thomas, is that your boy? He looks just like you!” Dear Toastmasters, Judges. My son Sean, is now 17. When my friends hear that I have a teenage son, they always ask me why I still look so young. Well, instead of using SK-II, I joined Toastmasters to keep me looking younger. You might wonder how old I am. Me? I am 34, and I got married 4 years ago. (Pause) Do the numbers confuse you? Don't bother to take out your calculator. I am going to tell you why.
（不同的開場）「嘿！湯姆士，這是你的小孩嗎？他長得真像你！」親愛的會友、裁判們 ！我的兒子 - 西恩，今年 17歲，當我的朋友聽到我有一位正值青少年的兒子時，他們總會問我為什麼我還是看起來這麼年輕。我保持年輕的方式是加入演講會取代使用 SK-II，你可能很納悶我到底幾歲？我，今年 34歲，我四年前結婚，你會不會覺得 34歲把你弄糊塗了，不必勞駕您拿出計算機，我直接告訴你這其中的緣由。
　

When I was young, which was not too long ago, I heard people say: “Marry a wealthy woman to save you 10 years of hard work” Why should you work so hard to struggle for a good future? Just marry one!! (Pause). I wasn't sure this really was true until one day, I met my match. I became a believer.
不久之前，當我還年輕的時候，我常聽人們說：「娶個有錢的老婆可以少奮鬥十年」，「為什麼要為前途奮鬥呢？只要娶個富婆就可以了」，直到有一天我遇到我的另一半後才相信這句話的真實性。

She was in the jewelry and antique business; she lived in a nice apartment in Tienmou. She spoke English and called herself a “Toast” “Master” (Pause) I thought she was a baker. (Pause) To me all the above equaled a 4-letter word - “R I C H” rich!!
她從事珠寶與古董的生意，她住在天母的高級公寓，她滿口英語且自稱「Toast」、「Master」，我以為她是麵包師傅（演講會的經驗），對我來說，以上種種 對我來說等同於「有錢」。

After a few dates, where of course she paid the bills, one night after a candle light dinner she told me, “Tom, if you marry me, I can help you skip 10 years of hard work.” I looked at her with dollar signs in my eyes and said “Oh! I will marry you and all of your money.” "What?" "No!! I mean I will marry you with all of my heart, [Honey!]”
幾次約會後，當然是她付帳，有天晚上在燭光晚餐後她對我說：「湯姆！如果你娶了我，我可以讓你少奮鬥十年，」，我見錢眼開的說：「我要娶你和你全部的財富！」，「什麼？」，「不！不！我是說，我要全心全意的愛你，蜜糖！」

(Pause) She was pretty, sexy, and (pause) 8 years older than me, but if she could help me skip 10 years of hard work, then age is not an issue.  That night, I couldn't wait to get down on my knees and propose to her; my heart shouted inside, “SHOW ME the MONEY!!!!!!! Baby!” But, instead of money, she showed me a picture of a little boy. “What a cute boy, your sister's?” “No,” she said, “this is my son, my 10 years of hard work, soon it will become yours.” (Pause) (Mouth wild open) Oh! Boy! Can you imagine how hard that I was trying to get away?  However, a promise is a promise, and then you know the rest of the story! (Show the ring)
她既漂亮又性感，但大我八歲（搞笑三部曲），既然她可以讓我少奮鬥十年，年齡就不再是問題了。那晚，我迫不及待的屈膝向她求婚，我的心在狂喊：「寶貝！展現你的財富吧！」，沒想到她出示一張小男孩的照片，「好可愛的男孩，妳姊姊的嗎？」，「不！」她說：「這是我兒子，我的十年奮鬥，很快的，他就是你的兒子」，我當場目瞪口呆，天啊！ 各位可以想像我多想逃跑？然而，一言既出，駟馬難追，各位都知道後來的故事了（展示手指上的戒子）

That's how I met my son Sean. People learn to be a father from a newborn baby, but I learned to be a father from a 10 year-old boy. I skipped 10 years of changing dippers, feedings and being his big toy. I started waking him up early for school, taking him out for dinner and doing his homework.
我就是這樣子認識我的兒子 - 西恩，人們都是從新生兒開始學習當爸爸，我則是從一位 10歲孩子身上學習當爸爸，我跳過了前十年的換尿布、餵奶和當他的大玩偶，我從挖他起床上學、帶他出去吃晚餐及幫他做功課（搞笑三部曲）。

One time I helped him do a drawing. The next day he told me that drawing won an award. Well, I always wondered if I had some talent for drawing. Sean helped me prove that, yes, I do. At least I could beat the level of a 10-year-old.
有一次我幫他畫畫，第二天兒子告訴我畫畫得獎了，唉！我總是懷疑自己是否有畫畫的天份，西恩幫我證明了我的確有畫畫的天份，至少我可以打敗 10歲的小朋友。

(Pause) Since the time we have become pals and I am more like a big brother than a father. The first time I participated in a PTA meeting, his teacher asked me “Could you ask your mother to come? We need parents to participate not a brother.”  I said, I AM his father!! 
從那次開始我們變成了好朋友，我越來越像個大哥而不像父親，我第一次參加家長座談會時，老師對我說：「可否請令堂來參加家長座談會，家長座談會是家長參加，不是兄弟參加的」，我說：「我就是他爸爸！」

Sean asks hard questions all the time; most of the time I have to pick my brain to answer his questions, and that's how I learned my table topic speaking skills. I think he could be a Toastmaster, because he got the talent from his mother, they are both very talkative as I'm sure everyone knows!.
西恩經常問我一些艱深的問題，我常常需要絞盡腦汁回答，這就是我練習即席問答技巧的方法（演講會的經驗）。我想西恩一定可以成為演講會的會員，他遺傳了他媽媽所有的天賦，他們兩個都很多話，相信大家都同意我的說法。

(Pause)  I found out that Sean and I have a lot in common, we both love to read comic books, play computer games and watch pretty girls on the street (P) and criticize them. (Pause) That's how I learned to be a good evaluator, too. (Pause)
我發現西恩和我有許多相同之處，我們都很喜歡看漫畫書、打電動，欣賞評論街上的美女，這就是我學習成為優秀講評員的的方法（演講會的經驗）。

We are closer than he is to his mother. He is so considerate that one time I asked him: "Sean, if I ever divorced your mom, whom would you go with?"  He thought deeply and came up with an answer: "I will stay with my mom because she needs help to find another young man as good as you are to be my father. As for you, I don't think you will have a problem finding a girl to be my new mother."  That's my boy!!!
我們比他與他媽更親近，有一次我問他：「西恩！如果我與你媽離婚，你要跟誰走？」他深思後很貼心地回答：「我要跟我媽在一起，因為我要幫他找一位像你一樣優秀的年輕人當我的 新爸爸，至於你，我想你絕對沒有問題去找一位女孩來當我的新媽」（出乎意料），「真是知父莫若子」。

Sean looks up to me as a role model, and I am so proud to be his father. You might ask me “Is this worth it for the rest of your life?” I said “I missed the first 10 years to be part of his life, but I am sure I'll be there for him the next many decades to come” As to my son, Sean! You have to help make my dream come true. I skipped your first 10 years of being a young father, and I can't wait another 10 years to be a grandfather. Can you start working on this?  
西恩把我當作他的偶像，我也很榮幸當他的爸爸，你可能問我：「這樣做值得嗎？」，我說：「我錯過了他成長的前十年，但我確認我會陪他走過往後的每一個十年」，至於我的兒子 西恩，你要幫我實現我的夢想，我錯過了當你小爸爸的最初十年，但是我等不及當祖父另一個十年，西恩！你可以開始了嗎？

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