212: The Other Man - This American Life
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00:00 00:00 Transcript Share This American Life Life Partners How to Listen Episodes Recommended About Overview Staff Announcements Fellowships Jobs Music Make Radio On The Road FAQ Submissions Merch Contact Us Our Other Shows Merch Follow Us Life Partners Subscribe to our newsletter Full episode Toggle Audio and Transcript Sync Transcript | Episode #212 | April 3, 2026 212: The Other Man Note: This American Life is produced for the ear and designed to be heard.
00:00 00:00 文字记录 分享此 美国生活 生活伙伴 如何收听 剧集 推荐 关于 概述 员工公告 奖学金 工作 音乐 在路上制作电台 常见问题解答 提交 商品 联系我们 我们的其他节目 商品 关注我们 生活伙伴 订阅我们的时事通讯 整集 切换音频和文字记录同步 文字记录 | 内容第 212 集 | 2026 年 4 月 3 日 212:另一个人 注:《美国生活》是为耳朵而制作的,旨在让人们听到。
If you are able, we strongly encourage you to listen to the audio, which includes emotion and emphasis that's not on the page.
如果可以的话,我们强烈建议您收听音频,其中包括页面上没有的情感和重点。
Transcripts are generated using a combination of speech recognition software and human transcribers, and may contain errors.
文字记录是使用语音识别软件和人工转录员结合生成的,可能包含错误。
Please check the corresponding audio before quoting in print.
请在印刷版引用前检查相应的音频。
Prologue: Prologue Ira Glass When Sarah was a kid, the number of movie stars who came to stay at their house was exactly one.
Prologue: Prologue 艾拉·格拉斯 当莎拉还是个孩子的时候,来他们家住宿的电影明星正好只有一个。
And it was kind of a disaster.
这有点像一场灾难。
Robert Redford ended up at their house because he had heard about a book that Sarah's stepfather was writing about Leonard Peltier and the American Indian Movement.
罗伯特·雷德福最终来到了他们家,因为他听说莎拉的继父正在写一本关于伦纳德·珀尔帖和美国印第安人运动的书。
It was still just a manuscript, and the stepfather didn't want to send copies of it around.
这仍然只是一份手稿,继父不想将其副本发送出去。
So he told Redford that the only way that Redford could read it is if he would do it at their house in Long Island.
所以他告诉雷德福,雷德福能读到这本书的唯一方法就是他在长岛的家里做。
Redford agreed.
雷德福同意了。
Sarah says, the atmosphere in the house when he arrived was completely different from any other time in her childhood.
莎拉说,他到达时家里的气氛与她童年时期的任何时候都完全不同。
I remember mostly my mother consciously trying to be very charming, and being very charming, and talking to him a lot, and asking all sorts of questions, and laughing a lot at what he said, and kind of flitting about the house in a way that I hadn't remembered her doing before.
我记得大部分时候,我母亲有意识地努力表现得非常迷人,非常迷人,和他说了很多话,问了各种各样的问题,对他说的话笑了很多,并且以一种我以前不记得她做过的方式在房子里走来走去。
When Robert Redfored told stories, even the simplest story about his trip to the house, her parents nodded and smiled along with an enthusiasm that the stories did not necessarily seem to merit to 11-year-old Sarah.
当罗伯特·雷德福瑞讲故事时,即使是关于他回家的最简单的故事,她的父母也会点头微笑,并热情地表示这些故事似乎不一定适合 11 岁的莎拉。
I was really sullen.
我真的很闷闷不乐。
And I think I was making a really concerted effort not to be impressed.
我认为我正在尽全力不被打动。
Now, 20 years later, I think I was jealous that he was suddenly the star of the house, whereas I was used to being the star of the house.
20年后的现在,我想我很嫉妒他突然成为家里的明星,而我已经习惯了成为家里的明星。
I was the youngest kid.
我是最小的孩子。
And I was the one who amused my parents.
我是那个让我父母开心的人。
And here was this stranger coming in who had usurped my role.
这个陌生人进来了,他取代了我的角色。
And I remember when he came in, poor guy, the first night, my mother made this special dinner.
我记得当他进来的时候,可怜的家伙,第一天晚上,我妈妈做了一顿特别的晚餐。
And we ate in the kitchen.
我们在厨房吃饭。
We had this big wooden table.
我们有一张大木桌。
And it was definitely fancier than usual, or one more course than we usually had.
这绝对比平时更精彩,或者比我们平时多上一道菜。
Maybe we had an appetizer or something, which we never normally had.
也许我们吃了开胃菜什么的,这是我们平时从来没有吃过的。
And she had put down these place mats that were-- we only brought them out on special occasions.
她已经放下了这些餐垫——我们只在特殊场合才把它们拿出来。
It all looked really festive and nice.
一切看起来都非常喜庆和美好。
And so he sits down, and we start eating.
于是他坐下来,我们开始吃饭。
And Robert Redford says, oh, do you always eat like this?
罗伯特·雷德福说,哦,你总是这样吃吗?
This is so nice.
这真是太好了。
And I said, no. And my mother, at the same time, said, yes, we do.
我说,不。我母亲同时说,是的,我们愿意。
It was bad.
很糟糕。
And then another thing happened where the seats at that table were these benches.
然后另一件事发生了,那张桌子上的座位是这些长凳。
So I was sitting on the same bench as Robert Redford.
所以我和罗伯特·雷德福坐在同一张长凳上。
And I started rocking, partly unconsciously, because I always did that, but also just knowing, I'm sure, that it would be highly irritating to whoever is sitting on the bench with you.
我开始摇摆,部分是无意识的,因为我总是这样做,但我也知道,我确信,这会让和你一起坐在板凳上的人非常恼火。
So there poor Robert Redford was, rocking back and forth, trying to eat his dinner.
可怜的罗伯特·雷德福就在那里摇摇晃晃,试图吃晚饭。
And my mother said, Sarah, stop, stop rocking, and scolded me in front of Robert Redford.
我妈妈说,莎拉,停下来,别再摇晃了,然后当着罗伯特·雷德福的面骂了我。
The next day, a friend of Sarah's from down the street asked if she could come over and meet the house guest.
第二天,莎拉街那头的一位朋友问她是否可以过来见见房客。
So she comes over.
所以她就过来了。
And she reacts the way you are supposed to react.
她的反应就像你应该的反应一样。
Her eyes are opened wide.
她的眼睛睁得大大的。
And she's just smiling and talking, and saying, I am such a fan, and I love your movies, and can I have your autograph?
她只是微笑着说话,说,我是你的粉丝,我喜欢你的电影,我可以要你的签名吗?
And he's delighted.
他很高兴。
Finally, someone is showing the proper protocol.
最后,有人展示了正确的协议。
And he's like, sure, yeah, hey.
他就像,当然,是的,嘿。
And my mother is standing there smiling, and how sweet.
而我的妈妈则站在那里微笑着,多么甜蜜啊。
And she says, "Sarah, would you also like his autograph?" And I said, "No." That was the crowning blow.
她说:“莎拉,你也想要他的签名吗?”我说:“不。”那是决定性的打击。
It's like, somehow, if you picture your family as this little solar system, in and of itself, with its own set of normal gravitational fields and all that, suddenly-- I don't even know what-- another star, another planet entered in.
不知怎的,如果你把你的家庭想象成这个小太阳系,它本身有一套正常的引力场,突然间——我什至不知道是什么——另一颗恒星、另一颗行星进入了。
And it completely shifted everyone's orbit away from the way it normally is.
它完全改变了每个人的轨道,偏离了正常的轨道。
Right.
正确的。
And I couldn't handle it.
我无法处理它。
All my behavior, I think, was aimed at trying to get it back to the way I had wanted it, or the way I was comfortable.
我认为,我所有的行为都是为了让它回到我想要的方式,或者我舒服的方式。
Because in the old solar system, pretty much, you were the sun.
因为在旧太阳系中,你几乎就是太阳。
You were at the center.
你就在中心。
Yes, right.
是的,没错。
And he was so clearly a bigger sun.
他显然是一个更大的太阳。
He was literally a star.
他确实是一位明星。
He was a star.
他是一位明星。
Well today on our radio program, stories of what happens when an outsider arrives and changes everything, for better and worse.
今天在我们的广播节目中,讲述了当外来者到来并改变一切时所发生的事情,无论是好还是坏。
From WBEZ Chicago, it's This American Life, distributed by Public Radio International.
这是来自芝加哥 WBEZ 的《This American Life》,由国际公共广播电台发行。
I'm Ira Glass.
我是艾拉·格拉斯。
Our program today in three acts.
我们今天的节目分三幕。
Act One, Psychic Buddha, Qu'est-ce Que C'est, the story of what happens to an average American family when Mom, who is completely rational and charming and funny, starts to spend every day in direct contact with an ancient Buddhist monk who no one else can see, who last walked the earth hundreds of years ago.
第一幕,《心灵佛陀》,《Qu'est-ce Que C'est》,讲述了一个普通美国家庭发生的故事,母亲完全理性、迷人、风趣,开始每天与一位无人能见的古代佛教僧侣直接接触,他最后一次在地球上行走是在数百年前。
Act Two, The Jackson Two, the story of a politician whose life is shattered by two different men, both of whom share his same name.
第二幕《杰克逊二人》讲述了一位政客的故事,他的生活被两个同名的不同男人打碎。
Act Three, Mr. Fun, Jonathan Goldstein and Heather O'Neill tell the true story of what happened when he first arrived in her life, and why her little daughter explained to him that he is the daughter's 19th favorite person in the world, and not likely to rise.
第三幕,芬先生、乔纳森·戈德斯坦和希瑟·奥尼尔讲述了他第一次来到她的生活时发生的真实故事,以及为什么她的小女儿向他解释说,他是女儿在世界上第 19 个最喜欢的人,而且不太可能上升。
Stay with us.
留在我们身边。
Act One, Psychic Buddha, Qu'est-ce Que C'est.
第一幕,通灵佛,Qu'est-ce Que C'est。
A quick note before we start this next story, one of the people in this story, our reporter's mother, is completely deaf.
在我们开始下一个故事之前,请注意,这个故事中的一个人,我们记者的母亲,完全聋了。
She woke up one morning when she was 29, and her hearing was gone.
29 岁的一天早上,她醒来发现听力丧失了。
And so to communicate with her, the family uses sign language and finger spelling.
为了与她交流,家人使用手语和手指拼写。
She can read lips if you talk very, very slow.
如果你说得非常非常慢,她就能读唇语。
It sounds like this.
听起来是这样的。
Can I have $20?
我可以要 20 美元吗?
Davy Rothbart's Mother Can you have 20--
戴维·罗斯巴特的母亲 你能有 20 个——
This is a story where another man shows up in a family, and the other man is an ancient spirit named Aaron.
这是一个故事,一个家庭中出现了另一个男人,这个男人是一个名叫亚伦的远古精灵。
Mom started channeling Aaron years ago.
妈妈几年前就开始引导亚伦。
Aaron has been through lifetime after lifetime, going back a couple thousand years.
亚伦经历了生生世世,可以追溯到几千年前。
He instructs her in Buddhism and in meditation.
他指导她佛教和冥想。
Her son, Davy Rothbart, put together this story on what it has meant to have Aaron around all these years in their family.
她的儿子戴维·罗斯巴特 (Davy Rothbart) 整理了这个故事,讲述了这些年来亚伦在他们家里意味着什么。
But also, when he went to interview everybody in the house that he grew up in, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, he realized that they had never sat down as a family and actually discussed whether they thought Aaron was real, whether they actually believed in Aaron.
而且,当他去采访他在密歇根州安娜堡长大的房子里的每个人时,他意识到他们从来没有作为一个家庭坐下来真正讨论过他们是否认为亚伦是真实的,他们是否真的相信亚伦。
They got a chance to do that, too.
他们也有机会这样做。
Here's Davy.
这是戴维。
I was 12 when Aaron showed up.
亚伦出现时我才 12 岁。
My older brother, Mike, was 15.
我的哥哥迈克当时 15 岁。
My little brother, Peter, was seven.
我的弟弟彼得七岁。
I first found out about Aaron by reading through my mom's journals when she wasn't home.
我第一次知道亚伦是在我妈妈不在家的时候读她的日记。
What some people call dirty snooping, I call being curious.
有些人称之为肮脏的窥探,我称之为好奇。
And I was a curious kid.
我是一个好奇的孩子。
I remember reading about Aaron this, Aaron that, and all these long, incredible conversations my mom and Aaron had had.
我记得读过有关亚伦的这个、亚伦那个的故事,以及我妈妈和亚伦进行的所有这些漫长而令人难以置信的对话。
For a while, I thought Aaron was some dude my mom was sneaking around with.
有一段时间,我以为亚伦是和我妈妈一起偷偷摸摸的某个家伙。
Then one morning, in the dining room, she explained to me and my brothers about Aaron, how he just came to her one day.
然后有一天早上,在餐厅里,她向我和我的兄弟们解释了亚伦的事,以及他有一天如何来找她的。
She has always meditated every morning.
她每天早上总是冥想。
And I guess this one time in winter, while she sitting quietly in the living room, she felt the presence of someone.
我想这是冬天的一次,当她安静地坐在客厅里时,她感觉到有人的存在。
Then she saw him, a biblical-looking figure with blue eyes and a long white beard.
然后她看到了他,一个有着蓝眼睛和长长的白胡子的圣经人物。
At first, my mom thought she was hallucinating.
起初,我妈妈以为她产生了幻觉。
She asked the guy who he was.
她问那个人他是谁。
He said his name was Aaron.
他说他的名字叫亚伦。
He has never gone away.
他从未离开过。
I feel his presence there constantly.
我时常感觉到他的存在。
But it's like sitting in a room with somebody, and you're reading a book, and they're reading a book.
但这就像和某人坐在一个房间里,你在读一本书,他们也在读一本书。
And you don't always have to talk to each other.
而且你们并不总是需要互相交谈。
You just feel the other person's presence.
你只是感觉到对方的存在。
And if it's somebody you really love, there's a comfort in that presence.
如果这是你真正爱的人,那么他的存在会给你带来安慰。
It's not that kind of relationship.
不是那种关系。
Yes, he's a friend, a very dear friend.
是的,他是一个朋友,一个非常亲密的朋友。
But it's more a revered teacher than a pal.
但与其说他是朋友,不如说他是一位受人尊敬的老师。
What does Aaron do when we make love?
当我们做爱时,亚伦会做什么?
I've noticed that he averts his gaze.
我注意到他移开了视线。
That's the one time that he's really not around, although if I called on him, he would be.
那是他真的不在身边的一次,尽管如果我去拜访他,他就会在。
But I don't feel his presence or energy.
但我感觉不到他的存在或能量。
When Aaron showed up, one of the first things he did was dictate to my mom a piece of 2,500-year-old Buddhist scripture called the Satipatthana Sutta.
当亚伦出现时,他做的第一件事就是向我妈妈口授一部有 2,500 年历史的佛教经典,名为《四念处经》(Satipatthana Sutta)。
My mom says she had never heard of it before.
我妈妈说她以前从未听说过。
Aaron kept teaching her more scriptures, and coached her in meditation and the Buddhist traditions.
亚伦不断地教导她更多的经文,并指导她冥想和佛教传统。
After a while, a couple of my mom's friends wanted in on the teachings.
过了一段时间,我妈妈的几个朋友想要参与教导。
So she started showing them how to meditate, and began channeling Aaron for them.
所以她开始向他们展示如何冥想,并开始为他们引导亚伦。
It was strange.
很奇怪。
My mom and Aaron became these gurus, and more and more folks started coming by.
我妈妈和亚伦成为了这些大师,越来越多的人开始过来。
Every night of the week, we'd have a crowd of New Age types in the kitchen, grazing on vegan cookies and foraging through our herbal teas.
每周的每个晚上,厨房里都会有一群新时代的人,吃着纯素饼干,喝着我们的花草茶。
My mom and Aaron would lead meditation sessions out in our converted garage.
我妈妈和亚伦会在我们改建的车库里主持冥想课程。
Gently bring your attention to the touch of the breath.
轻轻地将注意力转移到呼吸的触感上。
Wherever my mom was, so was Aaron.
无论我妈妈在哪里,亚伦也在哪里。
And if you're wondering what it was like growing up in a house like this, the only way I can describe it is, it felt completely normal.
如果你想知道在这样的房子里长大是什么感觉,我能描述的唯一方式就是,感觉完全正常。
Aaron was just another member of the family.
亚伦只是这个家庭的另一名成员。
We'd be at breakfast or driving in the car, and my mom would tell us things that Aaron was saying to her.
我们吃早餐或开车时,我妈妈会告诉我们亚伦对她说的事情。
It was like he was an old college friend of hers who we all knew well.
就好像他是她的大学老朋友,我们都很熟悉。
He had a weakness for puns and dumb jokes.
他很喜欢双关语和愚蠢的笑话。
He was always marveling at new things that hadn't existed in his last lifetime.
他总是对上辈子不存在的新事物感到惊叹。
I remember how intrigued he was one time by the sight of a Ferris wheel at a school carnival.
我记得有一次他在学校嘉年华上看到摩天轮时感到多么好奇。
When kids from school came over, me and my brothers always explained about our mom and Aaron.
当学校的孩子们过来时,我和我的兄弟们总是向我们解释我们的妈妈和亚伦。
We never really felt embarrassed or weird about it.
我们从来没有真正为此感到尴尬或奇怪。
This was Ann Arbor, the Berkeley of the Midwest.
这里是安娜堡,中西部的伯克利。
Our friends' parents were ex-hippies and liberal professors.
我们朋友的父母是前嬉皮士和自由派教授。
Nobody thought channeling was that strange.
没有人认为通灵有那么奇怪。
Not long ago, on a winter weekend, my brother Mike was in town visiting.
不久前,在一个冬天的周末,我哥哥迈克来城里拜访。
And we went for a walk to the elementary school playground near the house.
我们去房子附近的小学操场散步。
I wish I could remember exactly the point when I started to believe that it really was channeling, and not just Mom going slightly psycho.
我希望我能准确地记得我开始相信这确实是通灵的那一刻,而不仅仅是妈妈有点神经质。
You know what I remember?
你知道我记得什么吗?
I just remembered.
我刚刚想起来了。
There was that Shirley MacLaine movie on TV, Out on a Limb.
电视上播放着雪莉·麦克雷恩的电影《断臂》。
And it was just the worst sappy, silly stuff ever.
这简直是有史以来最糟糕、最愚蠢的事情。
Right, but Mom loved it and wanted us all to watch it.
是的,但是妈妈喜欢它并希望我们都看。
Yeah.
是的。
She was eating it up.
她正在吃它。
And it was soon after that she met Aaron.
不久之后她遇到了亚伦。
And I was like, that's convenient.
我当时想,这很方便。
Mike is 30 years old and married now.
迈克今年 30 岁,现已结婚。
He lives in Madison, Wisconsin.
他住在威斯康星州麦迪逊市。
He's a professional photographer, and he's into the outdoors.
他是一名专业摄影师,热爱户外活动。
Out of me and my brothers, he's probably the most spiritual.
在我和我的兄弟中,他可能是最有灵性的。
When Mike started getting into Aaron and his teachings, I wasn't sure what to make of it.
当迈克开始了解亚伦和他的教义时,我不知道该怎么理解。
I just felt like, you and me and Peter used to all make fun of Mom's students and stuff like that.
我只是觉得,你、我和彼得过去常常取笑妈妈的学生之类的事情。
Mostly, you and Peter used to make fun of them.
大多数情况下,你和彼得常常取笑他们。
OK.
好的。
Yeah, me and Peter used to make fun of these weird people that come to the house.
是的,我和彼得过去常常取笑这些来到家里的奇怪的人。
But sometimes, you would try to be down with me and Peter.
但有时,你会试图贬低我和彼得。
And you would try to make fun of them, too.
你也会试图取笑他们。
But then you were up there doing all the voodoo stuff along with the rest of them.
但后来你和其他人一起在上面做所有巫毒的事情。
I did used to feel torn that I did want to be cool, or be accepted by you and Peter.
我曾经确实感到很痛苦,因为我确实想表现得很酷,或者被你和彼得接受。
But I was really interested in what they were doing.
但我对他们所做的事情真的很感兴趣。
Of everyone in the family, Mike has turned to Aaron the most.
在家里的每个人中,迈克最向亚伦求助。
In his freshman year of college, Mike basically had a breakdown.
在大学一年级的时候,迈克基本上崩溃了。
What happened was he started dealing with the fact that he'd gotten molested by a neighbor when he was little.
发生的事情是,他开始面对自己小时候被邻居猥亵的事实。
The emotional weight of that started tearing him apart.
这种情感上的沉重开始让他心碎。
He couldn't function.
他无法正常工作。
At first, I felt like I was sinking, like in a pit.
一开始,我感觉自己像掉进了一个坑,往下沉。
I was sinking further and further, getting depressed, not doing much of anything.
我越陷越深,心情郁闷,什么事也做不了。
And then, I don't know.
然后,我不知道。
I just basically-- eventually, it got so bad that I just called Mom and asked for help.
我基本上——最终,情况变得如此糟糕,所以我打电话给妈妈寻求帮助。
And basically, she said, well, I'll put Aaron on the line.
基本上,她说,好吧,我会让亚伦接电话。
Right.
正确的。
Some dude touched you improperly.
有些家伙不恰当地碰了你。
And that seems pretty [BLEEP] up.
这看起来相当[BLEEP]。
What can Aaron say that would make that better or go away?
亚伦能说什么才能让事情变得更好或者消失呢?
He can't take it back.
他无法收回。
I wish Aaron was more like the punitive type of spirit.
我希望阿龙更像是惩罚型的精灵。
And if you said, some dude improperly touched me, he would just put a bolt of lightning, and like, kshhh-kshhh.
如果你说,某个家伙不恰当地碰了我,他就会放出一道闪电,然后,kshhh-kshhh。
You know, we read about it in the paper the next day.
你知道,我们第二天在报纸上读到了这件事。
Then I would be like, yeah.
然后我会说,是的。
Right.
正确的。
Basically, when I would call, I would explain how I was doing.
基本上,当我打电话时,我会解释我的情况。
And Aaron would just really help me to see things from a more universal perspective.
亚伦真的会帮助我从更普遍的角度看待事物。
Like here I was--
就像我在这里——
Like your problems weren't really that big, or like--
好像你的问题并没有那么大,或者就像——
I remember when Mike would call from school to talk to my mom and Aaron.
我记得迈克会从学校打电话给我妈妈和亚伦。
She didn't have a deaf telephone back then, so Mike would talk to me, and I'd translate into sign language for my mom.
那时她没有聋哑电话,所以迈克会和我说话,我会翻译成手语给我妈妈。
And I remember there would be long stretches where I would just do the sign for crying, running my finger down my cheek, again and again.
我记得有很长一段时间,我会做哭泣的手势,用手指抚摸我的脸颊,一次又一次。
Over the past 12 years, I've watched my mom and Aaron help literally thousands of people.
在过去的 12 年里,我看到我的妈妈和亚伦帮助了成千上万的人。
Folks come to them in so much pain and seem to leave feeling so much calmer.
人们带着巨大的痛苦来到这里,离开时却感觉平静多了。
I have always felt really proud of my mom for all the work she's done to help people through their darkest times.
我一直为我的妈妈感到非常自豪,因为她为帮助人们度过最黑暗的时期所做的一切工作。
In fact, when Aaron first arrived at our house, things in our family were pretty miserable.
其实阿龙刚到我们家的时候,我们家的事情还挺惨的。
Both my mom and dad say that when my mom when deaf, it was incredibly difficult for them, and that it began to tear them apart.
我的妈妈和爸爸都说,当我妈妈失聪时,这对他们来说是非常困难的,这开始让他们心碎。
Here's my dad.
这是我爸爸。
I think one way to characterize it would be, just to show how tough it was, it was [SCREAMING]
我认为描述它的一种方式是,只是为了表明它有多么艰难,那就是[尖叫]
That's the way I felt every day, just about every minute, like screaming.
这就是我每天、几乎每分钟都有的感觉,就像尖叫一样。
And I think I did it frequently enough.
而且我认为我经常这样做。
When I first lost my hearing, it was devastating.
当我第一次失去听力时,这是毁灭性的。
It was totally cut off.
完全被切断了。
There was no communication at all, just a sense of being totally isolated from the world.
完全没有任何交流,只有一种与世隔绝的感觉。
When my mom first went deaf, she didn't read lips or use sign language.
当我妈妈第一次失聪时,她不会读唇语,也不会使用手语。
She lost her job teaching sculpture at the university.
她失去了在大学教授雕塑的工作。
She couldn't communicate with her friends.
她无法与朋友交流。
In fact, a lot of them just disappeared.
事实上,他们中的很多人就这样消失了。
My dad got frustrated and upset with her when she couldn't understand him.
当她无法理解他时,我父亲对她感到沮丧和不安。
He says he felt like she was taken from him, like his wife was gone.
他说他感觉她被从他身边夺走了,就像他的妻子消失了一样。
And he didn't handle it well.
而他处理得不好。
It was a big shock.
这是一个很大的震惊。
I had never met anybody that was deaf.
我从未见过聋子。
And I was concerned that maybe she had brought it on herself, because we went through a mall in Detroit one time on a very cold and windy day, and she refused to put on a jacket or a coat or anything.
我担心也许是她自找的,因为有一次我们在一个非常寒冷多风的日子经过底特律的一家购物中心,她拒绝穿夹克或外套或任何东西。
So I figured that it was her fault.
所以我认为这是她的错。
And I kept asking myself the question-- it seems strange now, but the question was, why is this happening to me?
我一直在问自己这个问题——现在看来很奇怪,但问题是,为什么这种事会发生在我身上?
And Dad was totally overwhelmed by it.
爸爸对此完全不知所措。
He couldn't talk to me.
他无法和我说话。
I could talk to him, because he could hear me.
我可以和他说话,因为他能听到我的声音。
He couldn't talk back to me.
他无法跟我顶嘴。
So we had so much anger.
所以我们有很多愤怒。
And this anger kept me out.
这种愤怒让我无法进入。
I would get mad.
我会生气的。
I would curse at her.
我会咒骂她。
I would yell at her.
我会对她大喊大叫。
Of course, she couldn't hear me cursing.
当然,她听不到我咒骂。
But then she told me that, yeah, she could tell the expression in my face, that I was saying something vile.
但后来她告诉我,是的,她可以看出我脸上的表情,我说的是一些卑鄙的话。
It was like this for 15 years.
就这样过了15年。
We could never tell when my dad was going to just blow up.
我们永远不知道我爸爸什么时候会爆发。
A couple of times, my mom packed me and my brothers into the station wagon, ready to leave.
有几次,妈妈把我和兄弟们塞进旅行车,准备出发。
My mom says, she was praying for some kind of relief.
我妈妈说,她正在祈祷某种缓解。
And then, Aaron it appeared.
然后,亚伦出现了。
And after that, things began to change.
从那以后,事情开始发生变化。
My mom got a focus and purpose in her life.
我妈妈的生活有了重点和目标。
People looked up to her.
人们都很尊敬她。
She wasn't isolated anymore.
她不再被孤立了。
And Aaron worked with my dad to help him learn how to manage his anger.
亚伦和我父亲一起帮助他学习如何控制愤怒。
It has always seemed to me that my little brother, Peter, is the one in my family most skeptical of Aaron's existence.
在我看来,我的弟弟彼得是我们家里最怀疑亚伦存在的人。
Growing up, me and him would tease our mom for talking to ghosts.
在成长过程中,我和他会嘲笑我们的妈妈与鬼魂交谈。
We used to mess around and do imitations of Aaron for our friends.
我们过去常常为我们的朋友胡乱模仿亚伦。
Our favorite thing was when salespeople called and asked for Aaron.
我们最喜欢的事情是当销售人员打电话询问亚伦时。
Usually, it's for Mr. Aaron Undetermined.
通常是给亚伦先生的,未定。
They ask for-- Peter Rothbart I guess that's-- yeah, they ask, is Mr. Aaron Undetermined there?
他们问——彼得·罗斯巴特,我想那是——是的,他们问,亚伦未定先生在吗?
I have to explain to them that Aaron is not of this world.
我必须向他们解释,亚伦不属于这个世界。
Do you believe in Aaron?
你相信亚伦吗?
Peter Rothbart In what sense?
彼得·罗斯巴特 在什么意义上?
Do I think that everything Mom says about Aaron is real?
我认为妈妈所说的关于亚伦的一切都是真的吗?
I don't pretend to know.
我不会假装知道。
I don't think it's important to me.
我认为这对我来说并不重要。
Like, is Aaron really a higher spirit that tells Mom all this stuff?
就像,亚伦真的是一个更高的灵魂,会告诉妈妈所有这些事情吗?
Or is it just some sort of imaginary friend that developed as a psychological tool for helping her figure out her own problems?
或者这只是某种想象中的朋友,作为帮助她解决自己问题的心理工具而发展起来的?
It's just like, it doesn't seem like something I can really figure out.
就好像,这似乎不是我能真正弄清楚的事情。
I've got to say, I completely understand Peter's agnostic stance.
我不得不说,我完全理解彼得的不可知论立场。
It's tough to start asking the question of whether or not Aaron is real when either answer you get could be pretty unsettling.
当你得到的任何一个答案都可能相当令人不安时,很难开始问亚伦是否真实存在。
I mean, say Aaron is real.
我的意思是,说亚伦是真实的。
Then all the stuff he talks about is real, too.
那么他所说的所有事情也是真实的。
It means God exists, and reincarnation, and that there really is this whole vast spirit world that most of us can't see.
这意味着上帝存在,轮回,并且确实存在着我们大多数人看不到的整个广阔的精神世界。
But all right, say Aaron's not real.
但好吧,说亚伦不是真的。
If Aaron's not real, either my mom is lying, or she's deluded.
如果亚伦不是真的,要么我妈妈在撒谎,要么她被迷惑了。
I know she wouldn't straight-up lie about this.
我知道她不会在这件事上直接撒谎。
She clearly believes in him.
她显然相信他。
Which means if Aaron's not real, then she's a crazy person, and that now, she has snookered thousands of followers into believing along.
这意味着如果亚伦不是真实的,那么她就是一个疯狂的人,而现在,她已经诱骗了数千名追随者相信。
I decided I should just go to Aaron directly.
我决定直接去找亚伦。
I asked my mom if he would take a meeting with me.
我问妈妈是否愿意和我见面。
She was down, and she said Aaron was down.
她情绪低落,她说亚伦情绪低落。
One snowy afternoon, we went for a walk in the woods behind our house and sat down to talk on a big, old fallen tree.
一个下雪的下午,我们在屋后的树林里散步,坐在一棵倒下的大树上聊天。
I had a list of questions.
我有一个问题清单。
Should I ask them one at a time, or should I ask them all?
我应该一次问一个人,还是应该问全部人?
OK.
好的。
First, could I ask Aaron, what other kinds of humans has Aaron been?
首先请问阿龙,阿龙到底是个什么样的人类呢?
Start there.
从那里开始。
Start there.
从那里开始。
Davy Rothbart My mom leans back slightly and closes her eyes.
戴维·罗斯巴特 我妈妈微微向后靠,闭上了眼睛。
She perches on the snowy log, breathing deeply and sitting completely still.
她栖息在积雪的原木上,深呼吸,一动不动地坐着。
I have lived in every color of body, male, female, arctic climates and tropic, in deserts and wilderness and mountains.
我生活过各种肤色的人,男性、女性,北极气候和热带气候,沙漠、荒野和山区。
And so have you.
你也一样。
But you don't remember them.
但你不记得他们了。
I do.
我愿意。
Aaron says he last walked the Earth in human form about 500 years ago in Thailand.
亚伦说,他最后一次以人类形态行走在地球上是在大约 500 年前的泰国。
In that lifetime, he was a Buddhist meditation master, and my mom was one of his prized students.
在那一世,他是一位佛教禅修大师,而我妈妈是他最得意的学生之一。
One night, a man attacked Aaron with a spear.
一天晚上,一名男子用长矛袭击了亚伦。
And my mom gave her life to protect him.
我妈妈为了保护他而献出了自己的生命。
Aaron says he and my mom have been together in many lifetimes as teacher and student.
亚伦说他和我妈妈作为老师和学生已经在一起很多世了。
In a couple of lifetimes, he's even been her father.
在几辈子的时间里,他甚至是她的父亲。
I have a question for you, Aaron.
我有一个问题要问你,亚伦。
Aaron, isn't it possible that my mom invented you, because she felt so alone and isolated with her deafness?
亚伦,有没有可能是我妈妈发明了你,因为她因耳聋而感到如此孤独和孤立?
I would not phrase it quite that way.
我不会这么说。
First, I can not prove that I'm real, and it's not necessary.
首先,我无法证明我是真实的,也没有必要。
Certainly, she could have invented me.
当然,她本可以发明我。
In my experience, that's not what happened, because I exist.
根据我的经验,事实并非如此,因为我存在。
Since it's not something one can prove either way, I tend to simply ask people, whether she invented me or I'm quote, "real," the ideas that I offer come from somewhere.
因为这不是人们可以用任何一种方式证明的东西,所以我倾向于简单地问人们,无论是她发明了我还是我引用的“真实的”,我提供的想法来自某个地方。
Are they useful to you?
它们对你有用吗?
Forget me.
忘记我吧。
Are the ideas useful to you, [INAUDIBLE]?
这些想法对您有用吗,[听不清]?
Baseball-- Mike Rothbart Davy, these are all baseball cards.
棒球——迈克·罗斯巴特·戴维,这些都是棒球卡。
Later that afternoon, Mike and I went up into the attic to look for some old pictures and things.
那天下午晚些时候,迈克和我走进阁楼寻找一些旧照片和东西。
Where do you think your-- wait, what's this one?
你认为你的——等等,这是什么?
At one point, my mom came up to help.
有一次,妈妈过来帮忙。
She started telling me about a weekend channeling workshop she gave a few years ago.
她开始告诉我她几年前举办的周末通灵研讨会。
She said that channeling is not some sacred gift, that even my brother Mike had channeled once.
她说通灵并不是什么神圣的天赋,就连我的兄弟迈克也曾经通灵过一次。
Mike channeled?
迈克通灵?
Davy Rothbart's Mother Mike channeled--
戴维·罗斯巴特的母亲迈克通灵——
Is that hereditary?
这是遗传的吗?
I thought channeling skips a generation.
我以为通灵会跨越一代人。
[LAUGHTER] Davy Rothbart's Mother No, my experience is that anybody can learn how to channel.
[笑声]戴维·罗斯巴特的母亲 不,我的经验是任何人都可以学习如何通灵。
As I said, it's like playing basketball.
正如我所说,这就像打篮球。
Doing it is easy.
做起来很容易。
Doing it well is hard.
做好它是很难的。
Davy, Dad was channeling too.
戴维,爸爸也在通灵。
Dad was channeling?
爸爸在通灵吗?
No. Davy Rothbart's Mother True.
不,戴维·罗斯巴特的母亲特鲁。
Dad was channeling.
爸爸正在通灵。
We had 20 people here, and about 18 of them ended up channeling by the end of the weekend.
我们这里有 20 个人,其中大约 18 个人在周末结束时完成了通灵。
Ask Dad.
问爸爸。
Is Hal down there?
哈尔在下面吗?
Hal, come on around here.
哈尔,过来一下。
What?
什么?
Davy Rothbart OK, a word about my dad.
戴维·罗斯巴特 好的,谈谈我的父亲。
He's a real performer, the kind of dad who will improvise Gilbert and Sullivan songs with new lyrics, always willing to entertain.
他是一位真正的表演者,是那种会用新歌词即兴创作吉尔伯特和沙利文歌曲的父亲,总是愿意娱乐。
Yes.
是的。
Davy Rothbart's Mother So you remember channeling?
戴维·罗斯巴特的母亲 那么你还记得通灵吗?
Sure, I took the channeling class through your mother.
当然,我通过你母亲参加了通灵课程。
You channeled?
你通灵了?
Davy Rothbart's Father I channeled, yeah.
我通灵了戴维·罗斯巴特的父亲,是的。
Beautiful, was it?
很漂亮,是吗?
Davy Rothbart's Father Oh yeah.
戴维·罗斯巴特的父亲哦,是的。
I have a tape of it.
我有一盘磁带。
Who'd you channel?
你引导了谁?
Davy Rothbart's Mother You're saying?
你是说戴维·罗斯巴特的母亲?
I channeled Munga, Munga.
我引导了蒙加,蒙加。
Davy Rothbart Who did he channel?
戴维·罗斯巴特 他引导了谁?
Can you channel Munga right now?
你现在可以引导蒙加吗?
I'm asking Dad to channel Munga.
我请爸爸引导蒙加。
My dad stands there on the pull-down attic steps and closes his eyes, while my mom gets an increasingly worried look on her face.
我爸爸站在下拉式阁楼台阶上闭上眼睛,而我妈妈脸上的表情越来越担心。
Hal, I would strongly suggest that you not take Davy up on that challenge.
哈尔,我强烈建议你不要接受戴维的挑战。
Not unless you sit down and meditate and get yourself into a stupendous bliss.
除非你坐下来冥想并让自己进入一种巨大的幸福之中。
Dad, just don't worry about it.
爸爸,别担心这个。
She's crazy.
她疯了。
She's channels.
她是频道。
OK.
好的。
I can sit down.
我可以坐下来。
If I sat down-- I'd have to be more comfortable.
如果我坐下来——我会更舒服。
I think my mom hoped that that would be the end of it.
我想我妈妈希望事情就这样结束。
Hey, Big Papa.
嘿,大爸爸。
The next morning, I got my dad alone while he was shaving in the bathroom.
第二天早上,我和爸爸单独在一起,他正在浴室里刮胡子。
How come Mom wouldn't let you channel Munga earlier?
为什么妈妈不让你早点引导蒙加?
Here's my feeling about it.
这是我的感受。
I think she felt that it wasn't sincere, but it was real.
我想她觉得这不是真诚的,但却是真实的。
It was real.
这是真的。
Could you do Munga now?
你现在可以做蒙加吗?
Can you try?
你能尝试一下吗?
I know sometimes you feel him closer than others, but--
我知道有时候你会觉得他比其他人更亲近,但是——
I could do it.
我能做到。
I feel his presence.
我感觉到他的存在。
I won't be able to shave.
我将无法剃须。
I'd have to stop shaving.
我必须停止刮胡子。
But I could do it.
但我能做到。
I feel him around.
我感觉到他在身边。
I have to close my eyes and concentrate a little bit.
我必须闭上眼睛,集中注意力。
Hello.
你好。
My name is Munga, and I come from India.
我叫蒙加,来自印度。
I'm here now.
我现在在这儿。
Now I'm speaking.
现在我说话了。
And--
还有——
Not to be disrespectful, and not to focus on Munga's accent, but I just didn't find this as believable as my mom's channeling.
并不是要无礼,也不是要关注蒙加的口音,但我只是觉得这不像我妈妈的通灵那么可信。
Still, though, there's my dad, standing there at the sink in a bright green bathrobe, his glasses on and shaving cream all over his face, channeling.
尽管如此,我的父亲仍然站在水池边,穿着亮绿色的浴袍,戴着眼镜,脸上涂满了剃须膏,正在引导。
Already, this was turning into one my favorite memories of my dad ever.
这已经成为我对父亲最喜爱的回忆之一。
Munga, this is Davy.
蒙加,这是戴维。
And can I ask you--
我可以问你吗——
Davy is number two son, born April 11, 1975.
戴维是二号儿子,出生于 1975 年 4 月 11 日。
5 foot 11, 152, I believe, 142.
5英尺11英寸,152,我相信,142。
I have these feelings about your physical appearance.
我对你的外表有这些感觉。
Munga was like one of those carnival barkers that try and guess your exact height and weight, or you win a giant pencil.
蒙加就像那些狂欢节叫卖者,试图猜测你的确切身高和体重,否则你就会赢得一支巨大的铅笔。
Why didn't Aaron ever entertain like this?
为什么阿龙从来没有这样招待过呢?
I have no more to say.
我没有更多可说的了。
And peace to all human beings on planet Earth, you call it.
你称之为地球上所有人类的和平。
I never really realized my dad was so cool with the whole spirit world thing.
我从来没有真正意识到我父亲对整个精神世界的事情如此冷静。
He was always a gracious host at all the meditation classes and channeling sessions.
在所有冥想课程和通灵课程中,他总是一位亲切的主人。
But sometimes he also seemed to resent how wrapped up in Aaron and her work my mom had become.
但有时他似乎也对我妈妈如此沉迷于亚伦和她的工作感到不满。
She was always going out of town to lead meditation retreats and workshops around the country.
她总是出城去全国各地主持冥想静修和研讨会。
And I don't think he liked being home alone so much of the time.
而且我认为他不喜欢大部分时间独自在家。
And sometimes my dad would get annoyed by all the students constantly coming in and out of the house.
有时,我爸爸会对不断进出房子的所有学生感到恼火。
Honestly, I thought Aaron was just something he tolerated.
老实说,我以为Aaron只是他所容忍的。
But listening to him and Munga, I felt moved.
但听他和蒙加的讲述,我感到很感动。
Really, what could be a sweeter way for him to show acceptance of my mom's work than for him to channel his own spirit?
真的,对于他来说,还有什么比表达自己的精神更甜蜜的方式来表达对我妈妈工作的接受呢?
Is Aaron just a part of you?
亚伦只是你的一部分吗?
Davy Rothbart's Mother I have no idea.
戴维·罗斯巴特的母亲我不知道。
I don't experience him as a part of me.
我没有把他当作我的一部分。
There were still a couple of questions I had left for my mom.
我还有几个问题要问妈妈。
I know Aaron has dictated entire books to her, interpretations of ancient Buddhist writings.
我知道亚伦向她口述了整本书,对古代佛教著作的解释。
Scholars who've read them have been impressed.
读过它们的学者都留下了深刻的印象。
With Aaron's teachings, she's become a widely known and respected meditation teacher.
在亚伦的教导下,她已成为一位广为人知且受人尊敬的冥想老师。
Even the most established Buddhist bigwigs admit that the depth of her knowledge is astounding.
即使是最有名望的佛教大佬也承认她的知识渊博令人震惊。
But then there's sketchy things, too.
但也有一些粗略的事情。
Like one time, when Aaron said the thing he missed most about being an actual human being was the taste of cognac.
就像有一次,亚伦说,作为一个真正的人,他最怀念的就是干邑白兰地的味道。
Aaron's last lifetime was supposedly more than 500 years ago.
亚伦的最后一世据说是五百多年前。
And I checked it out.
我查了一下。
Cognac was barely invented then.
那时干邑白兰地还没有被发明出来。
And the only people drinking it were a few dudes in France, not Buddhist monks in Thailand.
喝它的人只有法国的一些人,而不是泰国的佛教僧侣。
And then there's the fact that Aaron says he can read minds and see the future, but then refuses to demonstrate these powers.
还有一个事实是,亚伦说他可以读心术并预见未来,但随后拒绝展示这些能力。
Why won't he just prove himself?
他为什么不去证明自己呢?
It's so easy.
太容易了。
I have a number between 1 and 100.
我有一个 1 到 100 之间的数字。
So he's not real.
所以他不是真实的。
Davy Rothbart's Mother That's for you to decide.
戴维·罗斯巴特的母亲 这由你决定。
Does he know the number?
他知道号码吗?
He doesn't have to say it.
他不必说出来。
I just want him to know the number.
我只是想让他知道号码。
Does he know it?
他知道吗?
He says he is averting his eyes.
他说他正在移开目光。
He is choosing not to look at it.
他选择不看它。
I'm begging him, please, I just want to know.
我求求他,求你了,我只是想知道。
And then, I know it doesn't matter.
然后,我知道这并不重要。
His teachings are pretty cool.
他的教诲非常酷。
It doesn't matter if he's real or not.
他是否真实并不重要。
But I just want to know.
但我只是想知道。
So just look.
所以就看看吧。
Aaron, I'm asking you for one second, just look.
亚伦,我请你稍等一下,看看。
If you want to understand what having Aaron in our lives has really done for my family, here's something that happened while I was home to work on this story.
如果你想了解亚伦在我们的生活中真正为我的家庭带来了什么,可以看看我在家写这个故事时发生的事情。
We went out to dinner on Valentine's Day.
情人节那天我们出去吃饭。
My dad met us at the restaurant, and when he walked in, he said, Happy Valentine's Day to my mom.
我爸爸在餐厅遇见了我们,当他走进来时,他对我妈妈说,情人节快乐。
But she had just turned away and didn't see him say it.
但她刚刚转身,并没有看到他说这句话。
My dad got kind of agitated, as though she was ignoring him by choice.
我爸爸有点焦躁,好像她故意无视他一样。
He still hasn't fully gotten over her deafness.
他还没有完全克服她的耳聋。
A minute later, he said something else to her, but now he was sore at her, and he didn't use sign language, and barely moved his lips.
一分钟后,他又对她说了些什么,但现在他对她很生气,而且他没有使用手语,嘴唇几乎没有动一下。
My mom said, I can't understand you.
我妈说,我听不懂你的意思。
And my dad, getting more upset, repeated himself even faster, way too fast to lip-read.
我的父亲变得更加不安,他重复得更快了,快得根本无法读唇语。
This used to be how it would all start with them.
这曾经是他们一切的开始。
My dad's anger at my mom's deafness would bring out her unhappiness over it.
我爸爸对妈妈耳聋的愤怒会引起她的不满。
Soon they'd be shouting at each other.
很快他们就会互相大喊大叫。
But Aaron's influence has changed everything.
但阿伦的影响力改变了一切。
On Valentine's Day, when my dad started freaking out, my mom just smiled at him and shrugged, like, this is your problem, not mine.
情人节那天,当我爸爸开始抓狂时,我妈妈只是对他微笑,耸耸肩,好像,这是你的问题,不是我的。
Things don't escalate the way they did before Aaron came around.
事情并没有像亚伦出现之前那样升级。
He's helped my mom discover a total sense of calm.
他帮助我妈妈找到了一种完全平静的感觉。
Aaron came in peace, and that's what he brought us.
亚伦带着平安来了,这就是他给我们带来的。
I think Dad and I would have been divorced.
我想我和爸爸早就离婚了。
I'm not sure.
我不知道。
Maybe not.
也许不是。
I'm not sure.
我不知道。
I understand why my mom believes in Aaron.
我明白为什么我妈妈相信亚伦。
As for me, I think believing in Aaron is a lot like believing in God.
至于我,我认为相信亚伦很像相信上帝。
I have a hard time having an unswerving faith in something you can't see or prove exists.
我很难对你无法看到或证明存在的东西抱有坚定不移的信念。
But I do have that kind of faith in my mom.
但我确实对我的妈妈有这样的信心。
That's why I believe in Aaron.
这就是为什么我相信亚伦。
You, you'll have to make your own decision.
你,你必须做出自己的决定。
Davy Rothbart is the creator of foundmagazine.com.
戴维·罗斯巴特 (Davy Rothbart) 是foundmagazine.com 的创建者。
Now here's Davy's dad, using his improvisatory powers.
现在戴维的父亲正在使用他的即兴发挥能力。
Hey Pete, hurry down.
嘿皮特,快点下来。
Dad's going to sing.
爸爸要唱歌了。
[SINGING] If you're a God-fearing man, and you're trying to answer all the personal questions that you can, I suggest you call A-A-R-O-N.
[唱歌] 如果您是一个敬畏上帝的人,并且您正在尽力回答所有个人问题,我建议您致电 A-A-R-O-N。
Aaron is the man that can solve your problems.
亚伦是可以解决你的问题的人。
Do you have any today?
今天有吗?
It's the way to live in the world today.
这是当今世界的生活方式。
Can you solve your problems?
你能解决你的问题吗?
If you can't, let me remind you, there's a wonderful spirit in the world.
如果你不能,让我提醒你,世界上有一种奇妙的精神。
And his sayings are good as gold.
而他的言语,金字如金。
Some are modern, and some are pretty old.
有些是现代的,有些是相当古老的。
So my response to you--
所以我对你的回应——
Coming up, the difficult task of running for Congress against someone with your exact same name.
即将到来的是,与与你同名的人竞选国会议员的艰巨任务。
And a seven-year-old explains a few things to a grown-ass man, in a minute, from Chicago Public Radio and Public Radio International, when our program continues.
当我们的节目继续进行时,一名七岁的孩子在芝加哥公共广播电台和国际公共广播电台的一分钟内向一名成年男子解释了一些事情。
It's This American Life.
这就是美国生活。
I'm Ira Glass.
我是艾拉·格拉斯。
Each week, of course, we choose some theme, bring you a variety of different kinds of stories on that theme.
当然,每周我们都会选择一些主题,为您带来关于该主题的各种不同类型的故事。
Today's program, The Other Man, stories in which some outsider arrives on the scene, disturbing the normal orbits of the planets, disrupting how everyone deals with everyone else.
今天的节目《另一个人》讲述了一些局外人来到现场,扰乱了行星的正常轨道,扰乱了每个人与其他人打交道的方式。
We have arrived at the second act of our show, Act Two, The Jackson Two.
我们已经到了节目的第二幕,第二幕,杰克逊二号。
Imagine for a second what it would mean to grow up with the name Jesse Jackson if you weren't the Jesse Jackson.
想象一下,如果你不是杰西·杰克逊,那么以杰西·杰克逊这个名字长大意味着什么。
With me so far?
到目前为止和我在一起吗?
Now imagine if you grew up with the name Jesse Jackson, and you were Jesse Jackson's son, and you wanted to go into public service of some kind.
现在想象一下,如果您以杰西·杰克逊的名字长大,并且您是杰西·杰克逊的儿子,并且您想从事某种公共服务。
Your dad would forever be the other man in your life.
你的父亲将永远是你生命中的另一个人。
His shadow would always be there, his presence an invisible boulder in any room you walk into.
他的影子永远在那里,他的存在在你走进的任何房间里都是一块看不见的巨石。
Run for office, there are going to be some people who love you, and some people who dismiss you, because of your dad, whose name you share.
竞选公职,会有一些人爱你,也有一些人会解雇你,因为你的父亲,你和他同名。
OK.
好的。
So after 34 years of living with the name Jesse L.
因此,在以 Jesse L. 的名字生活了 34 年之后。
Jackson, Jr., and seven years of living as Congressman Jesse L.
小杰克逊和作为国会议员杰西·L·杰克逊的七年生活。
Jackson, Jr., for Illinois's second district, here in Chicago, Jesse L.
小杰克逊 (Jesse L. Jackson, Jr.),代表伊利诺伊州第二选区,位于芝加哥。
Jackson was in a meeting with campaign workers, when somebody told him about this strange turn of events.
杰克逊正在与竞选工作人员开会,有人告诉他这一奇怪的事件。
And he said, have you heard the news?
他说,你听到这个消息了吗?
Have you heard the news?
你听到这个消息了吗?
I said, no, what's the news?
我说没有啊,有什么消息吗?
He said, at 11:59, the last minute of filing for Congress in the second district of Illinois, you now have another Jesse L.
他说,在 11 点 59 分,也就是伊利诺伊州第二选区向国会提交申请的最后一分钟,你现在有了另一个杰西·L·肯尼迪 (Jesse L.
Jackson running against you.
杰克逊与你对抗。
I think at first, people were questioning whether there really was such a person.
我想一开始,人们都在质疑是否真的有这样一个人。
Oh, I didn't realize that, that there was an actual question of if he even existed.
哦,我没有意识到,存在一个真正的问题:他是否存在。
Yes.
是的。
Ira Glass Mike Brown covered all this for the Chicago Sun-Times.
艾拉·格拉斯·迈克·布朗为《芝加哥太阳时报》报道了这一切。
He says that the other Jesse L.
他说另一个 Jesse L.
Jackson turned out to be a retired truck driver who lived in a suburb called Robbins, 68 years old, no previous political experience.
杰克逊原来是一位退休的卡车司机,住在一个叫罗宾斯的郊区,今年68岁,以前没有从政经验。
At first, we couldn't even find him.
起初,我们甚至找不到他。
He was ducking everybody.
他躲开了所有人。
And then they produced him for a little dog and pony show, where he came out in front of the microphones and read a statement that said he really does exist.
然后他们让他参加了一场小狗和小马表演,他站在麦克风前宣读了一份声明,说他确实存在。
Indeed, he was a real person.
确实,他是一个真实的人。
And he was just a regular guy, who clearly had somehow been recruited to get into this race.
他只是一个普通人,显然是被招募来参加这场比赛的。
But recruited by whom?
但由谁招募呢?
Well, nobody was admitting anything.
好吧,没有人承认任何事情。
But for weeks, news reports were featuring gleeful quotes from two local politicians, Robert and William Shaw.
但几周来,新闻报道中都引用了两位当地政治家罗伯特·肖和威廉·肖的兴高采烈的言论。
They're twin brothers, old-school operators who came up through the rank and file of the black Democratic organization, who reportedly resent the relative ease with which Jesse, Jr., became a congressman.
他们是双胞胎兄弟,是从黑人民主党组织的普通人员中晋升的老派经营者,据报道,他们对小杰西成为国会议员的相对轻松感到不满。
After all, he started at the top.
毕竟,他是从高层开始的。
It was his first elected office.
这是他的第一个当选职位。
They call him a brat and a crybaby.
他们称他为顽童和爱哭鬼。
And as soon as this other Jesse L.
一旦另一个杰西·L.
Jackson appeared on the ballot, they were merrily telling reporters and anyone who would listen that it only seemed fair that Congressman Jackson realized that he wasn't the only one who could run for office on his father's name.
杰克逊出现在选票上,他们高兴地告诉记者和任何愿意听的人,杰克逊议员意识到他并不是唯一一个可以以父亲的名义竞选公职的人,这似乎是公平的。
THE only way he got in public office is through his daddy's name.
他获得公职的唯一途径是通过他父亲的名字。
But this other Jackson has had the name long before this young boy had it, the congressman.
但另一个杰克逊早在这个小男孩有了国会议员这个名字之前就已经有了这个名字。
Senator William Shaw talked to me from his office.
参议员威廉·肖在他的办公室与我交谈。
You know, I'm so happy, looking back at history, that Andrew Jackson didn't come along in this time.
你知道,回顾历史,我很高兴安德鲁·杰克逊这次没有出现。
He never would have been the president, if it had been left up to this guy.
如果由这个人决定,他永远不会成为总统。
Wait, wait, Andrew Jackson?
等等,等等,安德鲁·杰克逊?
Explain what you mean.
解释一下你的意思。
You know Andrew Jackson?
你认识安德鲁·杰克逊吗?
Ira Glass Yeah, of course.
艾拉·格拉斯 是的,当然。
Right, right, of course.
对,对,当然。
He's on the money.
他靠的是钱。
But listening to Congressman Jackson, anybody with the Jackson name, he feels as though they shouldn't run.
但听杰克逊国会议员,任何有杰克逊名字的人,他觉得他们不应该参选。
This guy's out of his mind.
这家伙疯了。
He thinks he has a patent on the Jackson name.
他认为他拥有杰克逊名字的专利。
From the congressman's point of view, this is all pretty much exactly what you do not want people talking about in the newspapers and on television.
从国会议员的角度来看,这几乎正是您不希望人们在报纸和电视上谈论的事情。
Again, imagine you have spent your whole life trying to get out from under the shadow of that other Jesse Jackson, your father, and now there is yet another Jesse Jackson.
再次想象一下,你一生都在努力摆脱另一个杰西·杰克逊(你的父亲)的阴影,而现在又出现了另一个杰西·杰克逊。
And the main story about your reelection is not what you've accomplished for your district, or what you hope to accomplish, but once again, did you get your job on your daddy's name.
关于你连任的主要故事不是你为你所在的地区取得了什么成就,或者你希望实现什么,而是你是否再次以你父亲的名义获得了工作。
You know, and for someone who takes the process very seriously, it has been annoying.
你知道,对于那些非常认真对待这个过程的人来说,这很烦人。
In the last six years, I have had eight press conferences.
在过去的六年里,我召开了八次新闻发布会。
Two of them have been on this subject.
其中有两个人讨论过这个话题。
To give you some idea that I don't run to the media, to show you some difference between me and my father, my dad might have had eight yesterday.
为了让你知道我不会跑向媒体,为了向你展示我和我父亲之间的一些差异,我父亲昨天可能有八个。
I'm not anti-press.
我并不反对媒体。
I'm prepared to do press.
我准备好做新闻了。
But when I do press, I want it to be about issues of concern to my constituents.
但当我确实施压时,我希望它是关于我的选民关心的问题。
And so rather than running a race on a third airport in Peotone, or discussing O'Hare expansion, or how to get more jobs, I'm caught in a fight with people who aren't even running for Congress in my race.
因此,我没有在佩奥托内的第三个机场参加比赛,也没有讨论奥黑尔机场的扩建,也没有讨论如何获得更多工作,而是陷入了与那些甚至没有在我的竞选中竞选国会议员的人的斗争中。
The people he refers to, of course, are the Shaw brothers.
他所指的人,当然就是邵氏兄弟。
They deny having anything to do with Jesse Jackson of Robbins, the truck driver.
他们否认与卡车司机罗宾斯的杰西·杰克逊有任何关系。
But Congressman Jackson started investigating the petition drive that put Jesse Jackson of Robbins onto the ballot.
但国会议员杰克逊开始调查请愿活动,该活动将罗宾斯的杰西·杰克逊送上选票。
He found that many people who signed the petitions had been told specifically that they were signing for the congressman, who enjoys a 90% approval rating in the district.
他发现,许多签署请愿书的人都被明确告知,他们是在为这位在该选区享有 90% 支持率的国会议员签名。
Further investigation showed that those petitions were notarized by a political ally of the Shaws.
进一步调查显示,这些请愿书经过了邵氏政治盟友的公证。
The 4,400 signatures were gathered by men who came from a homeless shelter, one of whom has testified that they got the jobs gathering signatures one day when Senator Shaw's chief of staff came by and took them to the Shaws' office at 144th street.
这 4,400 个签名是由来自无家可归者收容所的男子收集的,其中一名男子作证说,有一天,肖参议员的幕僚长过来并把他们带到位于 144 街的肖氏办公室,他们得到了收集签名的工作。
In an affidavit, this man said that both William and Robert Shaw were there in the room, and sent them out to get the signatures.
该男子在一份宣誓书中说,威廉·肖和罗伯特·肖都在房间里,并派他们出去获取签名。
Not only there and sent them out, but there eating catfish and sent them out.
不仅在那里把他们送出去,而且在那里吃鲶鱼也把他们送出去。
And specifically said, "Go help the congressman.
并特别说道:“去帮助国会议员。
We don't get along with the congressman.
我们与国会议员合不来。
We don't care much for the congressman.
我们不太关心国会议员。
But we're going to help him get back on the ballot."
但我们将帮助他重新获得选票。”
Now, the congressman is saying that he's got affidavits from people who went around and got signatures to get this other Jesse Jackson-- the one from Robbins-- onto the ballot.
现在,这位国会议员说,他已经得到了一些人的宣誓书,这些人四处走动并签名,让另一位杰西·杰克逊——罗宾斯的那个——进入选票。
He says he has got affidavits from some of those people, saying that they met, they were organized, in Shaw headquarters.
他说,他已经从其中一些人那里得到了宣誓书,称他们是在Shaw总部见面、组织起来的。
What do you all say to that?
大家对此有何看法?
I don't say anything.
我什么也没说。
You know, anything might have happened.
你知道,任何事情都可能发生。
I have hundreds of people in my headquarters coming in and out.
我的总部有数百人进出。
We're involved in a campaign here.
我们在这里参与了一场活动。
And to my knowledge, I don't know anything about that.
据我所知,我对此一无所知。
And I think that the congressman, he's drinking some water probably out of DC.
我认为国会议员可能正在喝一些来自华盛顿特区的水。
We have better water than that in Chicago.
我们的水比芝加哥更好。
Wait, wait, and what does the water from DC do to you?
等等,等等,华盛顿特区的水对你有什么作用?
The water is making him delirious.
水让他神志不清。
That's what I think.
我就是这么认为的。
For a while, there were not only two Jesse L.
有一段时间,杰西·L.
Jacksons on the ballot.
杰克逊在选票上。
The Shaw brothers officially supported a candidate in the primary named Yvonne Williams.
邵氏兄弟正式支持初选候选人伊冯·威廉姆斯。
And at some point, another Williams turned up on the ballot as well, Anthony Williams.
在某个时候,另一个威廉姆斯也出现在选票上,安东尼·威廉姆斯。
And of course, this happens on ballots all over the country.
当然,这种情况发生在全国各地的选票上。
If you're running against an Irish politician, you get another Irish name on the ballot.
如果你的对手是一位爱尔兰政客,那么你的选票上就会出现另一个爱尔兰名字。
If you're running against a woman, you get another woman.
如果你和一个女人竞选,你就会得到另一个女人。
If you're running against Jesse Jackson, you get another Jesse Jackson.
如果你与杰西·杰克逊竞选,你就会得到另一个杰西·杰克逊。
Again, William Shaw.
又是威廉·肖。
Yeah, that has happened many, many times.
是的,这样的事已经发生过很多很多次了。
And people just take it with a grain of salt.
人们只是持保留态度。
It's not such a big deal.
这没什么大不了的。
Yeah, I was wondering if you think we should think it's tragic or just funny.
是的,我想知道你认为我们应该认为这是悲剧还是只是有趣。
Well, I don't know.
嗯,我不知道。
I guess it's funny to everybody but the congressman.
我想除了国会议员之外,每个人都觉得这很有趣。
Well, it is kind of funny.
嗯,这有点有趣。
Ira Glass Again, Congressman Jackson.
艾拉·格拉斯(Ira Glass) 又是杰克逊国会议员。
But there are political forces in my congressional district that are notorious for election shenanigans, for deceiving voters, and even having the reputation of stealing voters.
但我所在的国会选区有一些政治势力因选举恶作剧、欺骗选民、甚至享有窃取选民的名声而臭名昭著。
And after deploying seven lawyers, two private eyes, and $150,000 to investigate how Jesse L.
在部署了 7 名律师、两名私人侦探和 15 万美元后,调查 Jesse L.
Jackson of Robbins got onto the ballot, the congressman is pursuing legal action.
罗宾斯的杰克逊参加了投票,这位国会议员正在采取法律行动。
And if he can prove that the Shaw brothers intentionally deceived voters, intentionally tried to convince voters that they were signing petitions for the congressman, when in fact they were signing for the other Jesse L.
如果他能证明肖氏兄弟故意欺骗选民,故意试图让选民相信他们是在为国会议员签署请愿书,而实际上他们是在为另一位杰西·L·肖恩签署请愿书。
Jackson, then this entire incident will move out of the category of political prank, and into the rather more serious category of political fraud, a criminal offense.
杰克逊先生,那么整个事件就脱离了政治恶作剧的范畴,而进入了更为严重的政治欺诈范畴,即刑事犯罪。
The Shaw brothers could end up out of office, or far worse.
邵氏兄弟最终可能会下台,或者更糟。
Rabbit hunting is fun until the rabbit gets the gun.
狩猎兔子很有趣,直到兔子拿到枪。
And so what happens when you come up against another big bear in politics, who has the resources and the capability of pursuing it to the nth degree of the law, and starts demanding justice?
那么,当你在政治上遇到另一位大熊,他有资源和能力将其诉诸法律,并开始要求正义时,会发生什么呢?
And I saw the same Eddie Murphy movie that they saw, and I'm determined not to let it happen in our district.
我和他们看过同一部艾迪·墨菲的电影,我决心不让这种事在我们地区发生。
The Distinguished Gentleman.
尊贵的绅士。
A gentleman who gets elected to Congress by the name of Jefferson Johnson.
一位当选国会议员的绅士,名叫杰斐逊·约翰逊。
After the congressman dies-- his name is Jeff Johnson-- he runs for Congress, and he gets elected.
国会议员——他的名字叫杰夫·约翰逊——去世后,他竞选国会议员,并当选。
He's a felon, by the way.
顺便说一句,他是个重罪犯。
You think that actually they saw the movie?
你认为他们真的看过这部电影吗?
I'm pretty sure someone saw it.
我很确定有人看到了。
And I think what's also becoming clear is that many people forgot how the movie ended, and that is that some people went to jail.
我认为越来越清楚的是,很多人忘记了电影的结局,那就是有些人进了监狱。
After several weeks on the ballot, Jesse L.
经过几周的投票后,杰西·L.
Jackson of Robbins dropped out of the race after his wife died.
罗宾斯的杰克逊在妻子去世后退出了竞选。
In the March primary, the congressman took 85% of the vote.
在三月份的初选中,国会议员获得了 85% 的选票。
Hearings, depositions, and testimony continue to wind their way through the courts.
听证会、证词和证词继续在法庭上进行。
[MUSIC PLAYING - "NUDE AS THE NEWS" BY CAT POWER]
[音乐播放 - CAT POWER 的“裸体新闻”]
Act Three, Mr. Fun.
第三幕,有趣先生。
We have this story on what it is like to intrude on a perfectly happy, perfectly idyllic family of two, when one of the two falls in love with you, and the other most definitely does not.
我们有这样一个故事,讲述的是当两个人中的一个爱上你,而另一个绝对不爱你时,闯入一个完美幸福、完美田园诗般的二人家庭是什么感觉。
Heather O'Neill and Jonathan Goldstein explain what happens.
希瑟·奥尼尔和乔纳森·戈德斯坦解释了发生的情况。
I was 20 years old when Arizona was born.
亚利桑那出生时我20岁。
I thought I could just put her in a little suitcase, and that would be her bed.
我想我可以把她放在一个小手提箱里,那就是她的床。
I figured now that I had given birth, the hard part was over.
我想现在我已经生了孩子,困难的部分已经过去了。
I moved into a big building over a laundromat, where they didn't ask for any references.
我搬进了自助洗衣店上方的一栋大楼,他们没有要求任何推荐信。
People left their apartment doors open and waved to you from their couches when you walked down the hall.
当你走过大厅时,人们会把公寓门开着,坐在沙发上向你挥手。
The apartment was our own cozy little universe of porcelain dolls, posters of Hong Kong, and tiny, colorful paper umbrellas.
公寓是我们自己舒适的小宇宙,里面有瓷娃娃、香港海报和色彩缤纷的小纸伞。
It was a universe of two plates, two cups, and two toothbrushes, until I met Johnny.
这是一个由两个盘子、两个杯子和两把牙刷组成的宇宙,直到我遇到约翰尼。
I was introduced to Heather by some friends over drinks.
一些朋友在喝酒时向我介绍了希瑟。
I was impressed by how fast she drank her beer.
她喝啤酒的速度给我留下了深刻的印象。
And she was impressed by the fact that there was only one arm on my eyeglasses.
我的眼镜上只有一只手臂,这一事实给她留下了深刻的印象。
From the side, you look like a cartoon doctor, she said.
从侧面看,你就像一个卡通医生,她说。
She looked like she was from some bygone era, where women worked with their hair tied up in kerchiefs on assembly lines, to help the war effort.
她看起来就像来自某个过去的时代,那时,女人们在装配线上用头巾扎起头发,为战争提供帮助。
By all of this, I mean to say that I was smitten by her.
通过这一切,我的意思是说我被她迷住了。
I knew that Heather had a little girl.
我知道希瑟有一个小女孩。
And I also knew that I wasn't very good with children.
我也知道我不太擅长与孩子相处。
Ironically, my job at the time was teaching after-school magic classes to kids in elementary schools.
讽刺的是,我当时的工作是为小学的孩子们教授课后魔术课程。
I wasn't that great a magician to begin with, and kids made me nervous.
我本来就不是一个伟大的魔术师,孩子们让我感到紧张。
My hands were always sweaty, and I was always dropping coins all over the place.
我的手总是出汗,硬币总是掉得到处都是。
One time, I was really losing the attention of a classroom of sixth graders while teaching them the jumping rubber band.
有一次,我在教六年级学生跳橡皮筋时,真的失去了他们的注意力。
So I told them that if they listened quietly, at the end of the class, I would walk through a wall.
所以我告诉他们,如果他们安静地听,在课程结束时,我会穿过一堵墙。
Immediately, they all shut up.
顿时,他们都闭嘴了。
At the end of the class, I took about two full minutes where I just stared at the wall at the back of the classroom.
课程结束时,我花了大约两分钟的时间盯着教室后面的墙。
If any of them said a word, I would reprimand them for breaking my concentration and start all over again.
如果他们中的任何一个人说了一句话,我就会斥责他们分散了我的注意力,然后重新开始。
Finally, I slowly started walking towards the wall.
最后,我慢慢地向墙壁走去。
The way the kids were looking at me, all open-mouthed and expectant, I almost felt like I could actually pull this off.
孩子们看着我的样子,张大了嘴,充满期待,我几乎觉得我真的能成功。
When I smacked into the wall, I turned to them and said, "You didn't really think I could walk through a wall, did you?" They all looked at the wall, then they looked at me.
当我撞到墙上时,我转身对他们说:“你们不会真的认为我能穿过墙吧?”他们都看着墙壁,然后又看着我。
Then slowly, reluctantly, they all shook their heads no. I hoped I would have better luck with Heather's daughter.
然后慢慢地、不情愿地,他们都摇摇头说“不”。我希望我能和希瑟的女儿相处得更好。
Over drinks, I had told Johnny that Arizona had shoved our TV set off the coffee table.
喝酒时,我告诉约翰尼,亚利桑那州把我们的电视机从咖啡桌上推了下来。
And now-- surprise, surprise-- here he was, carefully winding his way up the staircase to our house, with an old RCA in his arms, the old-fashioned antenna still attached and dragging behind him on the floor.
现在——令人惊讶,令人惊讶——他就在这里,小心翼翼地蜿蜒爬上楼梯,来到我们家,怀里抱着一台旧RCA,老式天线仍然连着,拖在他身后的地板上。
When he came in, Arizona was over at the neighbors', a Greek family who liked to give her a good bath every now and then.
当他进来时,亚利桑那正在邻居家,那是一个希腊家庭,他们时不时地给她好好洗个澡。
It was a family event for them, with shish kabobs, and an uncle who played accordion on the closed lid of the toilet.
这对他们来说是一场家庭活动,有烤肉串,还有一位叔叔在紧闭的马桶盖上拉手风琴。
As me and Johnny sat on the couch, Arizona walked into the apartment, freshly scrubbed, smelling of baby powder and Greek food, with four bows in her hair.
当我和约翰尼坐在沙发上时,亚利桑那走进公寓,她刚刚擦洗过,身上有婴儿爽身粉和希腊食物的味道,头发上扎着四个蝴蝶结。
Johnny kept clapping his hands together and going on about how she looked just like Shirley Temple.
约翰尼不停地拍手,并继续说她看起来就像秀兰·邓波儿。
She stopped dead in her tracks and gave me a confused look.
她突然停了下来,困惑地看了我一眼。
Before he left, he asked me if I wanted to come to his house for dinner that weekend, and I said, sure.
在他离开之前,他问我那个周末是否想去他家吃晚饭,我说当然。
I called my sister and asked if she would babysit.
我打电话给姐姐,问她是否愿意照顾孩子。
She begged me not to have another boyfriend.
她求我不要再交男朋友了。
In other words, no babysitting.
换句话说,没有保姆。
So I took Arizona along on my date with Johnny.
所以我带着亚利桑那一起去和约翰尼约会。
I stood on my front steps waiting for her to get there.
我站在门前的台阶上等她过来。
And when I saw her coming down the street, pushing a stroller, I wondered if I had any juice in the house.
当我看到她推着婴儿车沿着街道走来时,我想知道家里是否还有果汁。
We sat down at my kitchen table, and I brought out a big pot of curried vegetables and rice.
我们在厨房的桌子旁坐下,我拿出一大锅咖喱蔬菜和米饭。
Arizona climbed up on the table, opened the lid, and wrinkled her nose.
亚利桑那爬上桌子,打开盖子,皱起鼻子。
I picked her up and put her back down in her chair.
我抱起她,把她放回椅子上。
But as soon as I did, she would get right back up and roll around all over the plate, most of the time while pointing at me with an angry look on her face.
但我一这么做,她就会立刻站起来,在盘子上打滚,大多数时候,她脸上带着愤怒的表情指着我。
She wasn't like Shirley Temple at all.
她一点也不像秀兰·邓波儿。
She was like the Muppet Baby Joe Pesci.
她就像布偶婴儿乔·佩西。
After dinner, Johnny walked into his living room and saw the word "Arizona" written in pen with a backwards R on his desk.
晚饭后,约翰尼走进客厅,看到桌子上用钢笔写着一个倒R字“亚利桑那”。
At first, I was sort of delighted.
起初,我有点高兴。
It was the first time she had ever written her name without me coaching her.
这是她第一次在没有我指导的情况下写出自己的名字。
But I kind of felt for Johnny, whose apartment was all full of neatly arranged furniture and superhero figurines that stayed exactly where they had been placed.
但我对约翰尼有某种感觉,他的公寓里摆满了排列整齐的家具和超级英雄雕像,而且它们都保持在原来的位置。
Johnny walked around the apartment with his head down and an expression on his face like he was a seven-year-old reviewing times tables in his head.
约翰尼低着头在公寓里走来走去,脸上的表情就像一个七岁的孩子在脑子里复习乘法表。
He tried to ease into our lives with grace.
他试图优雅地融入我们的生活。
After the first time he slept over, he got up in the morning, before Arizona woke.
第一次睡过之后,他早上就在亚利桑那州醒来之前起床。
He put on his jacket and went outside into the hallway and knocked on the front door, pretending he had just arrived.
他穿上夹克,走到外面的走廊上,敲了敲前门,假装他刚到。
"We don't want to damage the child's psyche," Johnny said.
“我们不想伤害孩子的心灵,”约翰尼说。
Arizona's bedroom was closest to the front door, so she got up and let him in.
亚利桑那的卧室离前门最近,所以她起身让他进来。
"Hi," he said.
“嗨,”他说。
"I was just in the neighborhood." He walked in without shoes and his belt undone.
“我就在附近。”他光着脚走进来,腰带也解开。
He dropped onto the couch and fell back asleep.
他倒在沙发上又睡着了。
Arizona looked at him.
亚利桑那看着他。
"Why do you even come by," she said angrily, "if all you're going to do is go to sleep."
“你为什么还要过来,”她生气地说,“如果你只想睡觉的话。”
Johnny and I had very different ideas about the environment in which one should raise a kid.
约翰尼和我对于抚养孩子的环境有着截然不同的想法。
"The stove needs to be fixed," he complained.
“炉子需要修一下,”他抱怨道。
"You can't cook meals over a hot plate.
“你不能在电炉上做饭。
Ratso Rizzo cooks meals over a hot plate.
Ratso Rizzo 用电炉做饭。
And who, in God's name, puts laundry out on the line at midnight?" "Children need discipline.
看在上帝的份上,谁会在半夜把要洗的衣服放到晾衣绳上呢?” “孩子们需要纪律。
They like it," was a favorite banner of project Goldstein.
他们喜欢它”,这是戈德斯坦项目最喜欢的横幅。
Heather called all of my domestic tips "bourgeois." "How is cleaning the crisper bourgeois?" I asked.
希瑟称我所有的家庭小窍门都是“资产阶级的”。 “保鲜盒清洁得怎么样了?”我问。
"How in the world is keeping your child from running naked through the halls of the apartment building wearing my boots a symptom of the bourgeoisie?"
“阻止你的孩子穿着我的靴子在公寓楼的大厅里裸奔到底怎么会成为资产阶级的症状呢?”
Arizona could tell that Johnny was trying to change things, and everything between them became a battle of wills.
亚利桑那看得出来约翰尼正试图改变事情,他们之间的一切都变成了一场意志之战。
She would reach over and squeeze the Indiglo button on his watch.
她会伸手按下他手表上的 Indiglo 按钮。
And he would chastise her, telling her that Indiglo was used only in emergency situations, like if you were in a blackout, or stuck in a cave.
他会惩罚她,告诉她 Indiglo 只在紧急情况下使用,比如停电或被困在山洞里。
But as soon as his head was turned, she pushed the button again.
但当他转过头来时,她又按下了按钮。
In what I considered a bit of cultural exchange, I had her sit on the couch and listen to the soundtrack from Fiddler on the Roof.
在我看来是一种文化交流,我让她坐在沙发上听《屋顶上的小提琴手》的配乐。
Arizona, all of six years old, turned to me in the middle of "If I Was a Rich Man" and said, "That's what you do all day long.
六岁的亚利桑那州在《如果我是一个有钱人》中间转向我说:“这就是你整天做的事。
You biddy biddy bum." She paused for a moment, and then, just to make sure the point wasn't being lost on me, she added, "That means you're lazy." When the three of us walked down the street, Arizona would say, "My mom's shadow is longer than yours.
你这个卑鄙卑鄙的混蛋。”她停顿了一会儿,然后,为了确保我没有听错,她补充道,“这意味着你很懒。”当我们三个人走在街上时,亚利桑那会说:“我妈妈的影子比你的长。
That means you're short."
那说明你个子矮。”
She was starting to like him less and less.
她开始越来越不喜欢他了。
One day, he made her list all the people that she loved most in order.
有一天,他让她按顺序列出她最爱的人。
"And who do you love next best?" he would ask, hopefully.
“那你最喜欢谁呢?”他满怀希望地问道。
"And the next?
“那么下一个呢?
And the next?" He came in at number 19.
那么下一个呢?”他排在第19位。
He actually ranked below the neighbor's dog, and the plumber who drank two-gallon bottles of Pepsi while he worked, and let Arizona hand him wrenches.
事实上,他的地位低于邻居的狗,以及工作时喝两加仑瓶百事可乐的水管工,并让亚利桑那州递给他扳手。
Every time I tried to kiss Arizona, she would pull back, insisting that my beard was too scratchy.
每次我试图亲吻亚利桑那州时,她都会退缩,坚持认为我的胡子太痒了。
It got so that I was shaving twice a day.
结果我一天刮两次胡子。
But still, she would wave me off.
但她仍然会挥手让我离开。
I would stand in front of the mirror like an obsessive compulsive, desperately scraping the blade across my cheeks, the word "scratchy" ringing in my head like the raven's nevermore.
我会像强迫症一样站在镜子前,拼命地用刀片刮过我的脸颊,“刮擦”这个词在我的脑海里响起,就像乌鸦再也没有响起过一样。
One time, we had some friends over at Heather's, and someone started playing the guitar, and Arizona started to dance.
有一次,我们有一些朋友在希瑟家,有人开始弹吉他,亚利桑那州开始跳舞。
It struck me as one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen.
它给我留下了深刻的印象,这是我见过的最美丽的事物之一。
Everyone stood around and clapped their hands while Arizona spun around with her arms over her head.
每个人都站起来拍手,而亚利桑那则旋转着,双臂举过头顶。
Before I knew it, I was walking over and taking her hands to dance with her.
不知不觉间,我已经走过去,拉着她的手,和她一起跳舞。
I wasn't the type to dance with kids, or to even dance at all, for that matter.
我不是那种会和孩子们跳舞的人,甚至根本不会跳舞。
But I just couldn't help myself.
但我就是控制不住自己。
When I touched her, she whipped her hands away and stopped cold.
当我碰触她时,她猛地甩开双手,冰冷的动作停止了。
I retreated back to my seat as the music continued to play.
当音乐继续播放时,我退回到座位上。
All the while, Arizona stared me down like her prison bitch.
亚利桑那州一直像监狱里的贱人一样盯着我。
He tried buying her love with really inappropriate gifts, things that he liked that he thought she might learn to like.
他试图用非常不合适的礼物来换取她的爱,他喜欢一些他认为她可能会喜欢的东西。
He bought them matching wallets and a mood ring that wouldn't fit her for at least another five years.
他给他们买了配套的钱包和一枚心情戒指,但至少在五年内都不适合她。
He got her a pop-up book of nightmare analysis that included a chapter on giving birth to aliens.
他给她买了一本噩梦分析立体书,其中有一章是关于外星人诞生的。
In the best of times, she treated him as something that made me happy, and she quietly tolerated him, like the way she sat through a Hitchcock documentary at the museum.
在最好的时候,她把他当作让我快乐的东西,她静静地容忍他,就像她坐在博物馆里观看希区柯克纪录片一样。
But then sometimes, she would just explode.
但有时候,她就会爆发。
One day at Burger King, he refused to let me bring her hamburger back to the counter for a third time to ask for even more pickles.
有一天,在汉堡王,他第三次拒绝让我把她的汉堡带回柜台,要求更多的泡菜。
And she started screaming.
她开始尖叫。
She pounded the hamburger with her fists.
她用拳头捶打汉堡。
"I can't stand him," she said.
“我受不了他,”她说。
"Why did we have to go out with him today?
“今天为什么要跟他出去?
Tell me why." "He's my friend," I said, "and you have to pretend to like him." She had a little friend who would come over and bite his own toes while they watched TV, and I never said a thing.
告诉我为什么。” “他是我的朋友,”我说,“你必须假装喜欢他。”她有一个小朋友,他们看电视时,他会过来咬自己的脚趾,而我什么也没说。
I figured it was the least she could do for me.
我想这是她能为我做的最起码的事了。
One day, I was trying to finish my dad's income tax, and Arizona was bored.
有一天,我正试图完成我父亲的所得税,而亚利桑那州很无聊。
She was whacking the wind chimes with the broom.
她正在用扫帚敲打风铃。
She was all out of ideas when Johnny asked her if she wanted to take a walk with him.
当约翰尼问她是否想和他一起散步时,她完全没有想法。
She sighed and got her jacket.
她叹了口气,拿起外套。
Before they left, he explained that the plan was to walk to a bank to cash his check, and then find a barber that would cut his hair for a reasonable price.
在他们离开之前,他解释说,他的计划是步行到一家银行兑现支票,然后找一个理发师以合理的价格理发。
We were walking along when Arizona came to an abrupt stop, and so I stopped, too.
我们正走着,亚利桑那突然停了下来,我也停了下来。
She looked up at me, and in this tone that I had never heard her use before, she said, "This isn't what you do to have a good time." It was like she had summoned up every little bit of maturity she had, and some she didn't even have.
她抬头看着我,用我以前从未听过她用过的语气说:“这不是你为了玩得开心而做的事。”就好像她已经唤起了她所拥有的每一点成熟,有些甚至是她所没有的。
And she used her words to let me know something that she felt was really important for me to know, that I just wasn't any fun.
她用她的话让我知道一些她认为对我来说非常重要的事情,我只是一点也不有趣。
And she told it to me in this way that was like, maybe it just wasn't something I knew, and that maybe I just had to be told, and then everything would be OK.
她以这样的方式告诉我,也许这不是我知道的事情,也许我只需要被告知,然后一切都会好起来的。
Like maybe it could all be that easy.
也许一切都可以这么简单。
We went back to the apartment and got our bathing suits.
我们回到公寓拿了泳衣。
Arizona wanted to go to the beach.
亚利桑那想去海滩。
Arizona treated me like I had never been to a beach before.
亚利桑那州对待我就像我以前从未去过海滩一样。
"This is sand," she said, "and people like to dig in it.
“这是沙子,”她说,“人们喜欢在里面挖洞。
Beside the sand is the water, but it's not the drinking kind." She treated me like she was nursing me back to health.
沙子旁边是水,但不是喝的。”她对待我就像她在护理我恢复健康一样。
For my part, I tried my best to live up to what a six-year-old's vision of fun would be.
就我而言,我尽力实现六岁孩子对乐趣的憧憬。
I bought every single thing the vendors had to offer.
我买了供应商提供的所有东西。
I even got us these overcooked, mushy corn cobs on a stick that were smothered in butter and mayonnaise.
我什至给我们买了这些煮过头的、糊状的玉米棒子,放在一根棍子上,上面涂满了黄油和蛋黄酱。
Mayonnaise.
蛋黄酱。
And when she went into the water past her knees, I bit my fist and kept my panic to myself.
当她进入没过膝盖的水中时,我咬住拳头,忍住内心的恐慌。
At the end of the day, Arizona persuaded me to buy a watermelon that some men were selling off the back of a truck.
最终,亚利桑那州说服我买了一些人在卡车后面出售的西瓜。
As we rode the bus back home, tired, looking out the windows in silence, Arizona suddenly turned to me and said, "Why did I ever marry you?" I sat there, completely tongue-tied on so many levels.
当我们坐公共汽车回家时,疲惫不堪,默默地望着窗外,亚利桑那突然转向我说:“我为什么要嫁给你?”我坐在那里,在很多层面上都完全张口结舌。
"Tell me why," she demanded, over and over, getting louder and louder, until the six or seven people on the bus turned to hear how I was going to defend myself.
“告诉我为什么,”她一遍又一遍地要求,声音越来越大,直到公共汽车上的六七个人转过头来听我将如何为自己辩护。
"Why did I ever marry you?" All the way home, the question just sat there, big and awkward, like the watermelon on my lap that we would have for dessert that night.
“我为什么要嫁给你?”回家的路上,这个问题一直摆在那里,又大又尴尬,就像那天晚上我们作为甜点放在我腿上的西瓜一样。
Around that time, Johnny and Arizona invented this game where they pretend to be two old-time vaudeville partners who can't get along.
大约在那个时候,约翰尼和亚利桑那发明了这个游戏,他们假装是两个无法相处的老歌舞搭档。
She is always the wiser, burnt-out one.
她总是最聪明、最精疲力竭的那个。
And he is always the mincing boot lick who wants to please the producers and the audience.
他总是装腔作势,想要取悦制片人和观众。
They pretend they're backstage, yelling at each other, as the audience hollers for them to come out.
他们假装在后台,互相大喊大叫,而观众则呼喊着让他们出来。
"Let's get out there," Johnny yells.
“我们出去吧,”约翰尼喊道。
"They're waiting for us.
“他们在等我们。
They paid a lot of money for those seats.
他们为这些座位花了很多钱。
We'll be sued, damn it.
我们会被起诉的,该死。
We'll be finished in this town." "This is my last show," Arizona says every time, shaking her weary head, "and then I'm through.
我们将在这个小镇完蛋了。” “这是我的最后一场演出,”亚利桑那州每次都会说,摇着疲倦的头,“然后我就结束了。
I can't do this anymore."
我不能再这样做了。”
They come out into the hallway nervously.
他们紧张地来到走廊。
They stand in front of the record player, Arizona on top of a Webster's dictionary, to be taller.
他们站在电唱机前面,亚利桑那州站在韦氏词典的上面,显得更高。
Johnny starts singing "A Bicycle Built for Two." And Arizona is supposed to be the bicycle bell and sing "Ding, ding." But she doesn't.
约翰尼开始唱“为两人打造的自行车”。而亚利桑那州应该是自行车铃并唱着“叮,叮”。但她没有。
Johnny starts the song over again.
约翰尼又开始唱这首歌。
Still Arizona ignores her cue, staring blankly ahead in the throes of a showbiz meltdown.
亚利桑那州仍然无视她的暗示,在演艺界崩溃的阵痛中茫然地盯着前方。
The audience starts throwing tomatoes, and Arizona ducks behind Johnny.
观众开始扔西红柿,亚利桑那躲在约翰尼身后。
He holds out his arms to protect her from the crowd.
他伸出双臂保护她免受人群的伤害。
She crouches in back of him, laughing her head off, as the angry mob covers him from head to toe in imaginary rotten fruit.
她蹲在他身后,笑得前仰后合,而愤怒的暴民则用想象中的腐烂水果把他从头到脚覆盖起来。
Heather O'Neill is the author of Two Eyes Are You Sleeping, a book of poetry.
希瑟·奥尼尔是诗集《两只眼睛你在睡觉吗》的作者。
Jonathan Goldstein is one of the producers of our program, and the author of the funny and surprising novel Lenny Bruce is Dead.
乔纳森·戈尔茨坦是我们节目的制作人之一,也是有趣而令人惊讶的小说《莱尼·布鲁斯已死》的作者。
Well, our program was produced today by Jonathan Goldstein and myself with Alex Blumberg, Wendy Dorr, and Starlee Kine.
好吧,我们今天的节目是由乔纳森·戈德斯坦和我与亚历克斯·布隆伯格、温迪·多尔和斯塔莉·凯恩共同制作的。
Senior producer Julie Snyder.
高级制片人朱莉·斯奈德。
Elizabeth Meister runs our website.
伊丽莎白·梅斯特 (Elizabeth Meister) 负责运营我们的网站。
Production help from Todd Bachmann and Maria Schell.
托德·巴赫曼 (Todd Bachmann) 和玛丽亚·谢尔 (Maria Schell) 为制作提供帮助。
[ACKNOWLEDGMENTS] This American Life is distributed by Public Radio International.
[致谢]《美国生活》由国际公共广播电台发行。
[FUNDING CREDITS] WBEZ management oversight by Torey Malatia, who describes what it was like the first few years hearing us talk about him like we do at the end of our program.
[资金来源] WBEZ 管理监督由 Torey Malatia 负责,他描述了最初几年听到我们谈论他的感觉,就像我们在项目结束时所做的那样。
I think one way to characterize it would be, just to show how tough it was, it was-- [SCREAMING]
我认为描述它的一种方式是,只是为了表明它有多么艰难,它是——[尖叫]
Torey [UNINTELLIGIBLE].
托雷[听不清]。
I'm Ira Glass.
我是艾拉·格拉斯。
Back next week with more stories of This American Life.
下周我们将带来更多《美国生活》的故事。
This American Life is produced in collaboration with WBEZ Chicago and delivered to stations by PRX The Public Radio Exchange.
《This American Life》与 WBEZ Chicago 合作制作,并由 PRX 公共广播电台传送到各电台。