評論
打印
I was one of the only kids in college who had a reason
上大學時，我是唯一一個需要
to go to the P.O. box at the end of the day,
在一天結束的時候去開郵箱的人，
and that was mainly because my mother has never believed
主要是因為我媽媽從不信賴
in email, in Facebook, in texting or cell phones in general.
電子郵件、社交網站、短信，甚至電話。
And so while other kids were BBM-ing their parents,
于是，別人在和父母轉短信的時候
I was literally waiting by the mailbox
我卻等在郵箱旁邊
to get a letter from home to see how the weekend had gone,
等待家書，了解家人怎么度過周末的，
which was a little frustrating when Grandma was in the hospital,
這在祖母住院的期間真讓我有些抓狂，
but I was just looking for some sort of scribble,
我只能通過母親手寫的
some unkempt cursive from my mother.
有點潦草的只言片語來了解情況。
And so when I moved to New York City after college
所以在我大學畢業后，來到了紐約，
and got completely sucker-punched in the face by depression,
當時正經歷人生的低谷，無法自拔，
I did the only thing I could think of at the time.
我做了唯一能想到的一件事。
I wrote those same kinds of letters that my mother had written me
就像媽媽給我手寫家書一樣
for strangers, and tucked them all throughout the city,
我也給遍布全城的陌生人寫信。
dozens and dozens of them. I left them everywhere,
十多封十多封地寫，我把它們留在城市的各個角落，
in cafes and in libraries, at the U.N., everywhere.
咖啡館、圖書館，甚至聯合國總部，到處都有。
I blogged about those letters and the days
我也在博客中提過這些信件，
when they were necessary, and I posed
有時出于需要，我也會
a kind of crazy promise to the Internet:
在博客上作瘋狂的保證：
that if you asked me for a hand-written letter,
如果你想我給你親手寫封信，
I would write you one, no questions asked.
我會給你寫一封，不問任何問題。
Overnight, my inbox morphed into this harbor of heartbreak --
一夜之間，我的郵箱成了寄托心碎故事的港灣---
a single mother in Sacramento, a girl being bullied
住在薩克拉門托（美國加州首府）的單身媽媽、來自堪薩斯鄉下的
in rural Kansas, all asking me, a 22-year-old girl
被欺負的女孩，都來問我這么一個22歲的
who barely even knew her own coffee order,
她們素未謀面，連點咖啡時都猶豫不決的女生，
to write them a love letter and give them a reason
給她們寫一封情書，
to wait by the mailbox.
好讓她們也有個理由守候在郵箱旁。
Well, today I fuel a global organization
今天我推行著一個國際組織，
that is fueled by those trips to the mailbox,
通過這些發往郵箱的信件，
fueled by the ways in which we can harness social media
通過這樣的方式我們放慢新興社交媒體的腳步，
like never before to write and mail strangers letters
在陌生人最需要的時候，
when they need them most, but most of all,
給他們寫信寄信，但最重要的是
fueled by crates of mail like this one, my trusty mail crate,
通過這些郵箱，像我的這個可靠郵箱，
filled with the scriptings of ordinary people,
里面裝滿普通人的字跡，
strangers writing letters to other strangers not because
給素未謀面的陌生人寫信不是因為
they're ever going to meet and laugh over a cup of coffee,
他們會見面，一起喝咖啡聊聊天，
but because they have found one another by way of letter-writing.
而是因為通過寫信而找到彼此。
But, you know, the thing that always gets me
你們知道嗎，這些信件最常讓我觸動的地方是
about these letters is that most of them have been written
大多數的信件都是由
by people that have never known themselves loved on a piece of paper.
這些從來不知道情書為何物的人寫來的。
They could not tell you about the ink of their own love letters.
他們壓根不知道什么是手寫情書。
They're the ones from my generation,
他們是我這一代的人，
the ones of us that have grown up into a world
在我們這一代成長的世界，
where everything is paperless, and where some
一切都是無紙化的，
of our best conversations have happened upon a screen.
而我們一些最好的對話都發生在屏幕里。
We have learned to diary our pain onto Facebook,
我們學會把傷心事記錄在社交網站Facebook上，
and we speak swiftly in 140 characters or less.
我們的話精簡在140個字符或以內。
But what if it's not about efficiency this time?
但如果說寫信無關效率呢？
I was on the subway yesterday with this mail crate,
我昨天提著這個郵箱坐地鐵，
which is a conversation starter, let me tell you.
我跟你們說，它真是個搭訕利器。
If you ever need one, just carry one of these.
如果你想和別人搭訕，你就帶一個郵箱在身邊。
And a man just stared at me, and he was like,
有個男人看著我，像是說，
"Well, why don't you use the Internet?"
“你怎么不用網絡呢？”
And I thought, "Well, sir, I am not a strategist,
我想，“先生，我不是軍事家，
nor am I specialist. I am merely a storyteller."
我也不是專家。我只是個說故事的人?！?/div>
And so I could tell you about a woman
我可以告訴你們一個女人的故事，
whose husband has just come home from Afghanistan,
她的丈夫剛從阿富汗歸來，
and she is having a hard time unearthing this thing called conversation,
她不知道該如何開展對話，
and so she tucks love letters throughout the house
所以她就把這些情書藏到屋子的各個角落，
as a way to say, "Come back to me.
作為一種方式，說“回到我身邊。
Find me when you can."
隨時來找我談談吧?！?/div>
Or a girl who decides that she is going to leave love letters
或是一個女孩的故事，她決定把情信
around her campus in Dubuque, Iowa, only to find
放在她所在位于愛荷華州迪比克的校園各處，
her efforts ripple-effected the next day when she walks out
第二天發現她的心思引起了漣漪效應
onto the quad and finds love letters hanging
她走進廣場的時候發現樹上掛有情信
from the trees, tucked in the bushes and the benches.
灌木叢中，長凳上也塞有情信。
Or the man who decides that he is going to take his life,
還有一個男子，他決定結束生命，
uses Facebook as a way to say goodbye
他在Facebook上面告別
to friends and family.
親朋好友。
Well, tonight he sleeps safely with a stack of letters
而今他安然睡在一堆信件上面
just like this one tucked beneath his pillow,
就像說這樣一封信塞在他的枕頭下面，
scripted by strangers who were there for him when.
這些信是陌生人寫的，他們在他最需要的時候支持他。
These are the kinds of stories that convinced me
這些故事讓我相信
that letter-writing will never again need to flip back her hair
這些手寫信件永遠都不需要撓首弄姿
and talk about efficiency, because she is an art form now,
講究時效，因為她現在就是一種藝術形式，
all the parts of her, the signing, the scripting, the mailing,
她所有的一切，署名，手寫體，郵寄，
the doodles in the margins.
頁邊的涂畫都是藝術。
The mere fact that somebody would even just sit down,
事實上僅僅是有人會真的坐下來，
pull out a piece of paper and think about someone
攤開一張紙，花一天時間想念一個人，
the whole way through, with an intention that is so much
注意力是如此的集中
harder to unearth when the browser is up and the iPhone
甚至不知道瀏覽器開了，蘋果手機在響，
is pinging and we've got six conversations rolling in at once,
有六個對話框在同時滾動，
that is an art form
就說明寫信是一種藝術形式，
that does not fall down to the Goliath of "get faster,"
不管我們加入了多少社交網絡，
no matter how many social networks we might join.
寫信不會是一種“更快速”的方式。
We still clutch close these letters to our chest,
我們依然會把這些信緊握胸前，
to the words that speak louder than loud,
大聲說出想說的話，
when we turn pages into palettes to say the things
在信紙上盡情抒發
that we have needed to say,
我們需要說的話，
the words that we have needed to write, to sisters
寫出我們需要寫的文字，給姐妹們，
and brothers and even to strangers, for far too long.
兄弟們，甚至陌生人們，抒寫情懷。
Thank you.
謝謝。
| 重點單詞 | 查看全部解釋 | |||
| global | ['gləubəl] |
想一想再看 adj. 全球性的，全世界的，球狀的，全局的 |
聯想記憶 | |
| overnight | ['əuvə'nait] |
想一想再看 n. 前晚 |
||
| inventory | ['invəntri] |
想一想再看 n. 詳細目錄，存貨(清單) |
聯想記憶 | |
| cell | [sel] |
想一想再看 n. 細胞，電池，小組，小房間，單人牢房，(蜂房的)巢室 |
||
| particular | [pə'tikjulə] |
想一想再看 adj. 特殊的，特別的，特定的，挑剔的 |
聯想記憶 | |
| harbor | ['hɑ:bə] |
想一想再看 n. 海港，避難所 |
||
| screen | [skri:n] |
想一想再看 n. 屏，幕，銀幕，屏風 |
||
| depression | [di'preʃən] |
想一想再看 n. 沮喪，蕭條 |
聯想記憶 | |
| rural | ['ru:rəl] |
想一想再看 adj. 農村的 |
聯想記憶 | |
| diary | ['daiəri] |
想一想再看 n. 日記，日記簿 |
