父親節(jié)獻(xiàn)禮 一封寫(xiě)給父親的信
June 5, 2012
Dear Dad:
親愛(ài)的爸爸:
Today I was at the shopping mall and I spent a lot of time reading the Father's Day cards. They all had a special message that in some way or another reflected how I feel about you. Yet as I selected and read, and selected and read again, it occurred to me that not a single card said what I really want to say to you.
今天我在商場(chǎng),花了好長(zhǎng)時(shí)間來(lái)讀“父親節(jié)”賀卡上的文字。那些卡片上面的文字都傳遞出特別的信息,也或多或少地表達(dá)出了我對(duì)您的感受??晌曳磸?fù)地挑呀讀呀,卻發(fā)現(xiàn)沒(méi)有一張賀卡能夠表達(dá)出我真正想對(duì)您說(shuō)的話。
You'll soon be 84 years old, Dad, and you and I will have had 55 Father's Days together.
爸,很快您就84歲了,我和您也將一起度過(guò)這第55個(gè)父親節(jié)。
You know, Dad, there was a time when we were not only separated by the generation gap but completely 1)polarized by it. You stood on one side of 2)the Great Divide and I on the other, father and daughter split apart by age and experience, opinion hairstyle cosmetic clothing, 3)curfew music, and boys.
爸,您也知道,有一段時(shí)間,代溝不僅僅讓我們父女倆疏遠(yuǎn),它簡(jiǎn)直就讓我們處于對(duì)立面。我們站在大分水嶺的兩邊,父女倆常因年齡、個(gè)人閱歷、觀點(diǎn)、發(fā)型、化妝、服裝、晚上回家的時(shí)間規(guī)定、音樂(lè)以及男朋友而鬧翻。
The Father-Daughter Duel of '54 shifted into high gear when you taught me to drive the old 4)Dodge and I decided I would drive the '54 5)Chevy whether you liked it or not. The police officer who 6)escorted me home after you reported the Chevy stolen late one evening was too young to understand father-daughter politics and too old to have much tolerance for a 7)snotty 16-year-old. You were so decent about it, Dad, and I think that was probably what made it the worst night of my life.
那時(shí),您教我學(xué)開(kāi)那部道奇舊車,可我卻不管您喜歡不喜歡,執(zhí)意要開(kāi)那輛54年產(chǎn)的雪佛蘭。因?yàn)榇耸?,我們的父女之?zhēng)也在1954年發(fā)展到了頂點(diǎn)。那天深夜,您報(bào)警說(shuō)雪佛蘭車被盜。之后,一名警官把我護(hù)送回家??伤贻p了,根本不明白父女之間的對(duì)抗游戲;但他也不小了,因此,不能容忍一個(gè)脾氣暴躁的16歲少女的行為。爸爸,您對(duì)這件事的處理倒是很得體。那是我一生中最難受的一個(gè)夜晚,我想您的態(tài)度可能就是原因吧。
Our relationship improved 8)immensely when I married a man you liked, and things really turned around when we began making babies 9)right and left. I didn't know what to expect of you and Mom as grandparents but I didn't have to wait long to find out. Those babies adored you then just as they adore you now. When I see you with all your grandchildren, I know you've given them the finest gift a grandparent can give. You've given them yourself.
在我嫁給了一個(gè)您喜歡的女婿后,我們倆之間的關(guān)系才緩和了好多。后來(lái),我們?nèi)σ愿吧⒆?,我們之間的關(guān)系便來(lái)了個(gè)全方位大轉(zhuǎn)變。我當(dāng)時(shí)并不知道我應(yīng)該對(duì)身為外公外婆的您和媽媽抱什么期望,但是,不用等多久我就有了答案。那時(shí)候,我的孩子們和現(xiàn)在一樣,都非常喜歡您。當(dāng)我看見(jiàn)您和您的外孫們?cè)谝黄鸬臅r(shí)候,我知道您已經(jīng)盡你所能給了他們最好的禮物,您把心都掏給他們了。
Somewhere along the line, the generation gap 10)evaporated. Age separates us now and little else. We agree on most everything, perhaps because we've learned there isn't much worth disagreeing about. However, I would like to mention that 11)fly fishing isn't all you've12)cracked it up to be, Dad.
就是這樣,您我之間的代溝慢慢消失了,我們之間的差異只有年齡。我們?cè)诤芏嗍虑樯系目捶ǘ际且恢碌模@可能是因?yàn)槲覀兠靼琢藳](méi)有那么多的事情值得我們爭(zhēng)辯吧。然而,我想提一下的是,爸,飛蠅釣魚(yú)并不是您說(shuō)的那么有意思。
I suppose I saw us and our relationship as aging together, rather like a fine wine. Numbers never seemed important. But the oddest thing happened last week. I was at a stop sign and I watched as you turned the corner in your car. It didn't immediately occur to me that it was you because the man driving looked so elderly and fragile behind the wheel of that huge car. It was rather like a slap in the face delivered from out of nowhere. Perhaps I saw your age for the first time that day. Or maybe I saw my own.
我認(rèn)為,我們以及我倆的關(guān)系就像是一瓶好酒,一起慢慢地變老。歲數(shù)已不再重要。但是,上周發(fā)生了一件很奇怪的事情,我的車在停車標(biāo)志前停下,看見(jiàn)您開(kāi)著車拐彎??墒俏也](méi)有立刻反應(yīng)過(guò)來(lái)那是您,因?yàn)樵谀遣看筌嚪较虮P(pán)后面的駕車人顯得那么蒼老、虛弱。當(dāng)時(shí),就好像是有人不知從哪兒冒出來(lái),重重地扇了我一記耳光。也許,那天是我第一次“看見(jiàn)”您的年紀(jì),或者說(shuō),是我看到了自己的年紀(jì)。
Fifty years ago this spring, we planted 13)kohlrabi together in a garden in Charles City, Iowa.
五十年前的一個(gè)春天,我們?cè)谝掳⑷A州查爾斯市的一個(gè)花園一起種下甘藍(lán)菜。
This week, we'll plant kohlrabi together again, perhaps for the last time but I hope not. I don't understand why planting kohlrabi with you is so important to me but it is. And the funny thing about it i well, I don't quite know how to tell you thi Dad...I don't even like kohlrabi...but I like planting it with you.
這星期,我們還要一起種甘藍(lán)菜。也許,這是最后一次,可我并不希望那樣。我不明白為什么和您一起種甘藍(lán)菜對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)這么重要,可確實(shí)如此。而且,關(guān)于這個(gè),有一點(diǎn)很有意思,可我不知道該怎么和您說(shuō)這事,爸……其實(shí)我壓根兒不喜歡甘藍(lán)菜……但是,我卻喜歡和您一起種甘藍(lán)菜。
I guess what I'm trying to say, Dad, is what every son and daughter wants to say to their dad today. Honoring a father on Father's Day is about more than a dad who brings home a paycheck, shares a dinner table, and attends school function graduation and weddings. It isn't even so much about kohlrabi, '54 Chevrolet and fly fishing. It's more about unconditionally loving children who are snotty and stubborn, who know everything and won't listen to anyone. It's about respect and sharing and acceptance and tolerance and giving and taking. It's about loving someone more than words can say, and it's wishing that it never had to end.
爸爸,我想說(shuō)的是每個(gè)兒女今天都想跟他們的爸爸說(shuō)的話。在父親節(jié)的時(shí)候向父親致意,這決不是因?yàn)榘职纸o家里掙錢,他和家人一起共進(jìn)晚餐,參加兒女的學(xué)?;顒?dòng),參加畢業(yè)典禮和婚禮等等,甚至也不止是一起種甘藍(lán)菜,開(kāi)54年的雪佛蘭車和飛蠅釣魚(yú)。而是爸爸們毫無(wú)保留地愛(ài)著自己脾氣壞、固執(zhí)的孩子,愛(ài)著那些自以為是、誰(shuí)的話都聽(tīng)不進(jìn)去的孩子;是尊重、分享、認(rèn)同、寬容、互諒互讓,是用言語(yǔ)無(wú)法表達(dá)的深情愛(ài)著一個(gè)人,并希望這愛(ài)永不止歇。
I love you, Dad.
爸爸,我愛(ài)您。
Your sincerely,
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