People said, That cat came to the right place. He's getting treated like a king. This was true. But as I watched, I was also thinking about what the cat was doing for us.
大家都说：这只猫算是来对地方了。我们把它当国王一般款待。确实如此。不过当我看着(人与猫的互动)，我也在思考这只猫为我们带来了什么。
There's a lot of talk about what's wrong with prisons in America. We need more programs; we need more psychologists or treatment of various kinds. Some even talk about making prisons more kind, but I think what we really need is a chance to practice kindness ourselves. Not receive it, but give it.
很多人在讨论美国监狱到底出了什么问题。我们需要更多(改造)项目;我们需要更多心理学家或各种治疗法。有些人以至说要让监狱更加人性化，但我认为，我们真正需要的是一个让我们表现善意的机会。不是接受，而是给予。
After more than two decades here, I know that kindness is not a value that's encouraged. It's often seen as weakness. Instead, the culture encourages keeping your head down, minding your own business and never letting yourself be vulnerable.
在这里呆了二十多年后，我明白监狱并不鼓励善意善行——它通常会被视为软弱。相反，这里提倡的监狱文化是低调做人，别管闲事，而且绝对不能让人觉得你是好欺负的。
For a few days, a raggedy cat disrupted this code of prison culture. They've taken him away now—hopefully to a decent home—but it did my heart good to see the effect he had on me and the men here. He didn't have a Ph.D., he wasn't a criminologist or a psychologist, but by simply saying, I need some help here, he did something important for us. He needed us, and we need to be needed. I believe we all do.
在那几天，一只邋遢的小猫打乱了这种监狱文化的法则。现在他们把它抱走了——很可能送到某个靠谱的家庭——但是看到它对我以及这里的人所产生的影响，我的心灵得到了救赎。它并没有博士学位，也不是犯罪学家或心理医生。它只不过简朴地说了一句我需要帮助，就为我们带来了特别重要的影响。它需要我们，而我们也渴望被人需要。我相信人皆如此。
