評論
打印
Her grandkids could play ball in the street now. Sometimes the young men played with them. And if one of the kids were talking back, someone would say, "Don't you talk like that. That's your grandma!"
她的外孫、外孫女們現在可以在街上打球了。有時候，那些年輕人也和他們一起玩。如果哪個孩子跟外婆頂嘴，某個年輕人就會說：“你不可以這樣講話。她是你外婆!”
Armstead kept "fussin'," warning of the dangers of fast money. "You're gonna get yourselves killed!" She told them. "Do something positive!"
阿姆斯特德不停地“嘀咕”，警告他們輕易得來的錢有危險。“你們會被殺頭的!”她對他們說。“還是干點正經事吧!”
People told her she was crazy to talk to those thugs that way. Especially after another mom who had taken a stand was killed just five blocks away. Angela Dawson had waged her own battle against a different set of drug pushers — and lost. In a tragedy that made the national news, the Dawson house was set on fire and Angela, her husband, Carnell, and five of their children died. A neighborhood man was charged. Armstead didn't know Angela Dawson, but she knew her children. After the deadly fire, she was more cautious — but she didn't stop.
人們對她說，她跟那幫惡棍這樣講話真是太蠢了。尤其是在僅僅五個街區外另一個表明自己立場的大媽被殺之后。這個大媽叫安吉拉·道森。她只身與另一伙毒品販子進行了一場戰斗——結果失敗了。道森家的房子被人放火燒了，安吉拉、她的丈夫卡內爾和他們的五個孩子都死了，這一悲劇成了震驚全國的新聞。鄰近地區內的一名男子受到指控。阿姆斯特德不認識安吉拉·道森，但她認識她的孩子。在這場致死的大火后，她更加當心了——但她并沒有停止。
And she didn't just talk. She has been a driving force in the community organization BUILD （Baltimore United in Leadership Development）. Together they drove drug dealers off a vacant lot and built a playground. They established an extended-day program at school to keep kids off the streets. They prompted the city and local churches to step up efforts to redevelop abandoned houses.
而且她不僅僅限于談話。她一直是社區組織巴爾的摩發展領導才能聯合會(BUILD)的推動力。他們一起把毒品販子從一塊空地上趕走，在那里建了一個兒童游樂場。他們在學校里開辦了一項放學后的校內活動，讓孩子們不要到街上去。他們促使市里和當地的教堂加快了重建棄房的步伐。
Not long ago, Armstead ran into one of the men who used to hang out on her steps. "Hey, Mom!" he exploded, giving her a hug. He got a job, he told her, adding, "I want to thank you for all your fussin'."
不久前，阿姆斯特德偶然碰見了過去常在她門前臺階上蕩來蕩去的那伙人中的一個。“嗨，大媽!”那人大喊了一聲，一邊緊緊地擁抱著她。他告訴她，他已經找到一份工作，接著又說：“我真要謝謝你當年給我們嘀咕的那些話。”
Armstead is modest about the impact she's had. She says simply, "It makes me fed good to know my message got through to at least one young man."
阿姆斯特德對她產生的影響很是謙虛。她只是說：“知道自己那番話至少說服了一個年輕人，這就讓我很開心了。”
