A Legacy of Love 愛的遺贈(zèng)
A Legacy of Love 愛的遺贈(zèng)
◎ Bobbie Gee
As a young man, Al was a skilled artist, a potter. He had a wife and two fine sons. One night, his oldest son developed a severe stomachache. Thinking it was only some common intestinal disorder, neither Al nor his wife took the condition very seriously. But the malady was actually acute appendicitis, and the boy died suddenly that night.
年輕時(shí)的阿爾是一個(gè)技藝嫻熟的畫家和陶工。他有一個(gè)妻子和兩個(gè)健壯的兒子。一天晚上，他的大兒子腹痛難忍，但考慮到可能只是一些常見的腸胃不適，阿爾和妻子都沒有太在意。但是，事實(shí)上男孩患的是急性闌尾炎，那個(gè)晚上便突然夭折了。
Knowing the death could have been prevented if he had only realized the seriousness of the situation, Al’s emotional health deteriorated under the enormous burden of his guilt. To make matters worse his wife left him a short time later, leaving him alone with his six-year-old younger son. The hurt and pain of the two situations were more than Al could handle, and he turned to alcohol to help him cope. In time Al became an alcoholic.
如果當(dāng)時(shí)意識(shí)到病情的嚴(yán)重性，兒子的死就能夠避免。意識(shí)到這些，沉重的負(fù)罪感使阿爾的精神狀況每況愈下。更糟糕的是，不久妻子也離開了他，留下六歲的小兒子與他相依為命。這兩件事帶來的傷痛，讓阿爾無法承受，于是他選擇了借酒澆愁。不久，阿爾就成了一個(gè)酒鬼。
As the alcoholism progressed, Al began to lose everything he possessed—his home, his land, his art objects, everything. Eventually Al died alone in a San Francisco motel room.
隨著酒癮越來越大，阿爾開始失去他擁有的一切——他的家、他的農(nóng)地、他的藝術(shù)品，一切的一切。最終，阿爾孤獨(dú)地死在了舊金山的一家汽車旅館里。
When I heard of Al’s death, I reacted with the same disdains the world shows for one who ends his life with nothing material to show for it. “What a complete failure!” I thought, “What a totally wasted life!”
聽說了阿爾的死訊，我的反應(yīng)像世人對(duì)未能留下遺產(chǎn)的人的鄙視一樣?！岸嗝磸氐椎氖“?！”我想，“枉度了一生！”
As time went by, I began to reevaluate my earlier harsh judgment. You see, I knew Al’s now adult son, Ernie. He is one of the kindest, most caring, most loving men I have ever known. I watched Ernie with his children and saw the free flow of love between them. I knew that kindness and caring had to come from somewhere.
隨著時(shí)間的推移，我對(duì)自己之前的苛刻判斷開始有了新的認(rèn)識(shí)。你不知道，我現(xiàn)在認(rèn)識(shí)了阿爾那個(gè)已成年的小兒子，厄尼。他是我見過的最親切、最善良、最仁愛的人?？粗蚰岷退暮⒆觽儯铱吹搅怂麄冎g自由流動(dòng)的那種關(guān)愛。我知道那種善良和仁愛必定來自某處。
I hadn’t heard Ernie talk much about his father. It is so hard to defend an alcoholic. One day I worked up my courage to ask him. “I’m really puzzled by something.” I said, “I know your father was basically the only one to raise you. What on earth did he do that you became such a special person?”
我從未聽到厄尼對(duì)父親有太多的談?wù)?。畢竟為一個(gè)酒鬼辯護(hù)并不是件容易的事。一天，我鼓起勇氣問了他。“有些事我一直感到很疑惑?！蔽艺f，“我知道，你幾乎是由你父親獨(dú)自帶大的。他到底是如何教育你的，竟讓你變得如此特別？”
Ernie sat quietly and reflected for a few moments. Then he said, “From my earliest memories as a child until I left home at 18, Al came into my room every night, gave me a kiss and said, ‘I love you, son.’”
厄尼靜靜地坐在那里，思考了一會(huì)兒，然后說：“從我記事起，一直到18歲離家，阿爾每晚都會(huì)來我的房間，給我一個(gè)吻并說：‘我愛你，兒子?！?
Tears came to my eyes as I realized what a fool I had been to judge Al as a failure. He had not left any material possessions behind. But he had been a kind loving father, and he left behind one of the finest, most giving men I have ever known.
當(dāng)我意識(shí)到自己是多么愚蠢時(shí)，我的淚水奪眶而出。我竟然說他是一個(gè)失敗者！他死后沒有留下任何物質(zhì)方面的遺產(chǎn)。但他是一位慈愛的父親，他培養(yǎng)出了一個(gè)我所見過的最善良、最無私的兒子。
