評論
打印
Years later, her inspiration, urging, anger, and persuasion and passion for learning finally led to that lovely day when Miss Bessie dropped me a note saying, "I’m so proud to read your column in the Nashville Tennessean.”
許多年后，貝茜老師的激勵和敦促、她的憤怒、她的勸誘、她對學習的熱情終于迎來了一個美好的日子，那天她給我寫了一封短信，上面寫道：“能夠在納什維爾市的《田納西人》上讀到你寫的專欄，我很為你驕傲。”
Miss Bessie was 80 when I went back to McMinnville and visited her in a senior citizens' apartment building. Pointing out proudly that her building was racially integrated, she reached for two glasses and a pint of bourbon. I was momentarily shocked, because it would have been scandalous in the 1930s and ’40s for word to get out that a teacher drank, and nobody had ever raised a rumor that Miss Bessie did.
當我再次回到麥克明維爾并到老年公寓里看望貝茜老師的時候，她已經80歲了。她很驕傲地告訴我這所公寓里住著各色人種。然后她拿出了兩個玻璃杯和一品脫波旁酒。我頓時愣住了，因為在二十世紀三、四十年代的時候如果老師喝酒的消息被傳出去是很不體面的，而且沒有人說過貝茜老師會喝酒。
I felt a new sense of equality as she lifted her glass to mine. Then she revealed a softness and compassion that I had never known as student.
當她和我碰杯時，我感受到一種前所未有的平等。當時她流露出來的溫柔和憐愛是我以前作為一個學生時從來沒有感受到的。
"I've never forgotten that examination day," she said, "when Buster Martin held up seven fingers, obviously asking you for help with question number seven. 'Name a common carrier.’ I can still picture you looking at your exam paper and humming a few bars of "Chattanooga Choo Choo." I was so amused, I couldn't punish either of you."
她說：“我永遠不會忘記那天考試，巴斯特·馬丁伸出七根手指，很明顯他想問你第七個問題的答案，‘說出一種常見的運輸工具’。我現在都還清楚地記得你看了看試卷，然后小聲地哼起一小節‘查塔努加火車’。我被逗樂了，沒有懲罰你們倆。”
Miss Bessie was telling me that I had never fooled her for a moment.
貝茜老師是在告訴我我什么時候都蒙不了她。
