A young man who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth enjoyed everything but study. He failed school, he failed college, and he failed to find a satisfactory job to support his own family. Whom should he blame?

    George Murdoch was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.¹ His father was an accountant and his mother, a nurse. He was raised in an upper middle class suburb. The family had two late model automobiles, a sailboat, and an elegant home near a lake. The family took annual trips to such exotic（异国情调的）places as the Greek Isles, Acapulco, France, and Hawaii.
     George was an only child and in his younger years had a number of friends. George was primarily interested in sports and having a good time. He never applied himself in school. ² The main thing his parents nagged him about was his grades — he often received Cs and Ds and seldom studied. ³ Why should he? He already had plenty of toys to play with. Even in high school, partying, skipping school⁴, and being with his friends seemed like the thing to do, rather than studying.
     After high school, his parents wanted George to go to college. Although George didn’t want to go, they lured（引诱）him into going by buying him a new Corvette.⁵ The offer was too good to refuse. He went to college and majored in partying.⁶ He was suspended because of low grades. His parents were furious with him but paid his way to go to another private college. ⁷ The result was the same. His parents then sent him to a third college. After he flunked（失败）out from this college, his parents decided they had had enough.⁸ They informed George he was now on his own. Because he was drinking and partying heavily, they also told him he had to find his own place to live. They paid his rent for one month at a low budget apartment that George chose. His parents decided that the school of hard knocks⁹ might be the best teacher for George.
     Over the next three years, George had a variety of low-skill, low-paying jobs: janitor（看门人）, dishwasher, bartender, grocery store clerk, and service station attendant. He disliked each job, as it was monotonous（单调的）and unchallenging. George also found that most of his former high school friends were now graduating from college and beginning their careers. He felt their interests had changed, that they were being snobby（势利的）and he intensely disliked being asked what he was now doing.
     While a bartender at a family restaurant, he met Kathy Reisner and they began dating.¹⁰ After six months of a courtship that was filled with a great deal of anger and hostility on both sides because both were dating others, Kathy became pregnant. George and Kathy married and several months later became the parents of a girl.
     George now felt he had to provide for three people. His relationship with Kathy was filled with violent arguments. Because George had few other friends, he decided to try to preserve the marriage.
     In order to increase the family income, he went to a diesel truck training school to learn to drive a semitruck. After this training, he got a job with Long Trucking Company. For the past four years he has been a truck driver. The pay is good, as he is now earning around $25,000 a year. But he dislikes the work. He describes it as follows:
     How would you like to bounce around in a truck eight or nine hours a day? Sometimes I get so sleepy I’m afraid I’m going to doze off and hit a bridge abutment.¹¹ If I’m a little late in delivering a load, I'm reamed out.¹² If I’m early or on time, I almost never get any appreciation. I eat at greasy spoon truck stops, and when I’m on a long haul（长途运输）I usually sleep in the cab. In winter it’s freezing cold, and in the summer it’s blazing hot. There is also the danger that fog, icy roads, or even wet roads will cause this rig to jackknife. ¹³
     I sure¹⁴ wish I could get another job. I need to be home more with my family. At times I think my wife is cheating on me when I’m away for 4 to 5 days at a time.
     Some people think trucking is great because you get to see the country. That just isn’t so. All I get to see are roads, bridges, truck stops, and warehouses（仓库）. There has to be more to life than spending eight to nine hours a day bouncing around in a cab, knowing that if you fall asleep your life will be over. But I’m locked into this job for the next 20 to 30 years. ¹⁵ I’ve got a family to support and no other job I can get will pay the bill. 16

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