評論
打印
9 After a while, like a dawn's brightening, a further answer did come -- that there were people to thank, people who had done so much for me that I could never possibly repay them. The embarrassing truth was I'd always just accepted what they'd done, taken all of it for granted. Not one time had I ever bothered to express to any of them so much as a simple, sincere "Thank you."
過了片刻，如同晨曦初現，一個更清晰的念頭終于涌現腦際――要感謝他人，那些賜我以諸多恩惠，我根本無以回報的人們。令我深感不安的實際情形是，我向來對他們所做的一切受之泰然，認為是理所應當。我一次也沒想過要對他們中的任何一位真心誠意地說一句簡單的謝謝。
10 At least seven people had been particularly and lastingly helpful to me. I realized, swallowing hard, that about half of them had since died -- so they were forever beyond any possible expression of gratitude from me. The more I thought about it, the more ashamed I became. Then I pictured the three who were still alive and, within minutes, I was down in my cabin.
至少有七個人對我有過不同尋常、影響深遠的幫助。令人難過的是，我意識到，他們中有一半已經過世了――因此他們永遠也無法接受我的謝意了。我越想越感到羞愧。最后我想到了仍健在的三位，幾分鐘后，我就回到了自己的艙房。
11 Sitting at a table with writing paper and memories of things each had done, I tried composing genuine statements of heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to my dad, Simon A. Haley, a professor at the old Agricultural Mechanical Normal College in Pine Bluff, Arkansas; to my grandma, Cynthia Palmer, back in our little hometown of Henning, Tennessee; and to the Rev. Lonual Nelson, my grammar school principal, retired and living in Ripley, six miles north of Henning.
我坐在攤著信紙的桌旁，回想著他們各自對我所做的一切，試圖用真摯的文字表達我對他們的由衷的感激之情：父親西蒙·A·黑利，阿肯色州派因布拉夫那所古老的農業機械師范學院的教授；住在田納西州小鎮亨寧老家的外祖母辛西婭·帕爾默；以及我的文法學校校長，退休后住在亨寧以北6英里處的里普利的洛紐爾·納爾遜牧師。
12 The texts of my letters began something like, "Here, this Thanksgiving at sea, I find my thoughts upon how much you have done for me, but I have never stopped and said to you how much I feel the need to thank you -- " And briefly I recalled for each of them specific acts performed on my behalf.
我的信是這樣開頭的：“出海在外度過的這個感恩節，令我回想起您為我做了那么多事，但我從來沒有對您說過自己是多么想感謝您――”我簡短回憶了各位為我所做的具體事例。
13 For instance, something uppermost about my father was how he had impressed upon me from boyhood to love books and reading. In fact, this graduated into a family habit of after-dinner quizzes at the table about books read most recently and new words learned. My love of books never diminished and later led me toward writing books myself. So many times I have felt a sadness when exposed to modern children so immersed in the electronic media that they have little or no awareness of the marvelous world to be discovered in books.
例如，我父親的最不同尋常之處在于，從我童年時代起，他就讓我深深意識到要熱愛書籍、熱愛閱讀。事實上，這一愛好漸漸變成一種家庭習慣，晚飯后大家圍在餐桌旁互相考查近日所讀的書以及新學的單詞。我對書籍的熱愛從未減弱，日后還引導我自己撰文著書。多少次，當我看到如今的孩子們如此沉迷于電子媒體時，我不由深感悲哀，他們很少，或者根本不了解書中所能發現的神奇世界。
14 I reminded the Reverend Nelson how each morning he would open our little country town's grammar school with a prayer over his assembled students. I told him that whatever positive things I had done since had been influenced at least in part by his morning school prayers.
我跟納爾遜牧師提及他如何每天清晨和集合在一起的學生做禱告，以此開始鄉村小學的一天。我告訴他，我后來所做的任何有意義的事，都至少部分地是受了他那些學校晨禱的影響。
15 In the letter to my grandmother, I reminded her of a dozen ways she used to teach me how to tell the truth, to share, and to be forgiving and considerate of others. I thanked her for the years of eating her good cooking, the equal of which I had not found since. Finally, I thanked her simply for having sprinkled my life with stardust.
在給外祖母的信中，我談到了她用了種種方式教我講真話，教我與人分享，教我寬恕、體諒他人。我感謝她多年來讓我吃到她燒的美味菜肴，離開她后我從來沒吃過那么可口的菜肴。最后，我感謝她，因為她在我的生命中撒下美妙的遐想。
16 Before I slept, my three letters went into our ship's office mail sack. They got mailed when we reached Tulagi Island.
睡覺前，我的這三封信都送進了船上的郵袋。我們抵達圖拉吉島后都寄了出去。
