For nearly twenty years I had been 1)patronizing a small video store on a country road near my home. Over the years I got to know the 2)proprietor, an 3)amiable, otherwise-retired 4)chap named Don. Don and I regularly5)schmoozed over the counter about movies, our families, our dogs, and philosophies of life. Don’s beloved 6)pooch had gone over the Rainbow Bridge注 a few years earlier, and when I introduced him to my dog, Jacky, Don lit up like a five-year-old boy at Christmas. He abruptly shifted from the checkout, 7)snuggled Jacky on the counter, and magically produced dried chicken-strip treats from behind his back. It didn’t take Jacky long to figure out Don’s 8)M.O., and whenever we came near the store, Jacky would make a wild dash behind the counter, where Don would lift him up and produce the 9)coveted 10)poultry reward. 
将近二十年来,我一直光顾我家附近的一间小音像品店,这间小店就在一条乡村公路边上。这些年来,我与店主日渐稔熟,他是一个已经退休的亲切家伙,名叫唐。唐和我常隔着柜台闲聊,聊聊电影、家人、我们的狗狗,还有人生哲学。唐心爱的狗狗多年前已经离他而去,而当我把我的狗狗杰奇介绍给他时,唐兴奋得像个过圣诞节的五岁小男孩似的。他立刻从柜台后面冲了出来,将杰奇一把搂上柜台,变魔术般地从身后拿出了干鸡肉条。不用多久,杰奇就记住了唐的把戏。每次我们来到小店附近时,它总会疯狂地冲到柜台后面,而唐则会抱起它,赏给它美味的肉块。
Once, when I was preparing to present a weekend 11)seminar, I took out about 20 films to show short clips to the participants. When I explained the project to Don at checkout, he refused to take my money. “It’s for educational purposes,” he noted. “They’re 12)on the house.” He also never charged me for late returns.
曾经有一次,我正为一场周末研讨会做准备,于是租借了20部电影准备放短片给与会者观看。当我在柜台边向唐讲述这一计划时,他拒不收钱。“这是为了教育嘛,”他说。“不收费。”我逾期归还碟片他也从不收钱。
Across from the counter, on the side of a display 13)rack was a tall, thin poster advertising an old Disney animated 14)flick. On it, the heights of customers’ kids were recorded with horizontal lines accompanied by their names. I found it touching to watch Jonah’s mark rising from year to year. Even though I never met the kid, it felt gratifying to know that somewhere out there a boy was becoming a young man.
在柜台后面的展示架旁边,贴着一张细长的海报,是一部迪士尼老动画片的宣传海报。海报上记录着顾客的孩子们的身高,每一道横线旁都写着他们的名字。当看到乔纳的记号一年年上升时,我感动莫名。尽管我从没见过这个孩子,但知道在某处有个男孩正在长大成人,足以让人心感满足。
A few months ago Don’s son announced that the family was selling the store. Don, now at age 86, otherwise in remarkably good health, had had a few knee surgeries and it was getting harder for him to 15)navigate the 16)terrain of the shop. Don would be moving far away to be with his family, and closing the chapter of his life that 17)interfaced him with the movies, kids, and dogs he loved, as well as the buttered popcorn smell that 18)permeated from the in-store microwave, and the array of candy and red 19)licorice at the checkout.
几个月前,唐的儿子宣布他们家打算卖掉这间小店。唐如今已经86岁了,尽管身体状况非常好,但做过几次膝部手术后,在店里到处走动对于他来说就越来越困难了。唐将要搬到很远的地方和家人一起住,告别人生的这一篇章,离开他心爱的电影、孩子和狗狗,还有从店里的微波炉中逸出的黄油爆米花的香味,以及柜台上成堆的糖果和红甘草。
Although saddened to hear of the end of an era, I was happy that Don’s family loved him enough to take him home and give him the support he needed. In front of the store hung a large sign inviting all the customers, “Come say 20)aloha to Don next Friday night, 6-8 pm.”
虽然得知一个时期将要结束让人心生伤感,但知道唐的家人这么爱他,接他回家并给他需要的照顾,我依然感到很开心。商店的门前挂着一幅巨大的牌子向所有顾客发出邀请:“来与唐说再见吧,下周五晚上6点至8点。”
That meeting was eventful for me. Don answered the door 21)spryly in his wheelchair and invited me to sit at a couch surrounded by cardboard moving boxes. As I sat in his home, I realized that I had a real relationship with this man. Our friendship had crept up on me gradually, until Don had a place in my heart equal to other people I loved. Now I was going to miss him.
那次相聚对我来说意义重大。坐着轮椅的唐敏捷地应声开门,请我坐在长沙发上,周围已经围满了活动纸板箱。坐在他家里时,我突然意识到原来我和这个人交情匪浅。我们的友情逐渐渗入到我的心灵,直到唐像其他我所爱的人一样,在心中占据了一席之地。我一定会想念他的。
Don proudly pulled out the photo album that recorded his going away party which I had missed. There were lots of people I knew: parents, kids, and dogs posing with their elder friend amid colorful balloons. Everyone contributed to a colorful 22)scrapbook with notes of thanks, poems, and little kids’ 23)crayon drawings of Don and the store. In his own quiet way Don had touched many lives. It wasn’t just the dogs who received treats when they entered. Everybody got a good feeling.
唐骄傲地拽出相册,里面记录着我错过的那场欢送会。那里面有许多我认识的人:家长、孩们,还有狗狗与他们的老朋友唐一起摆着各种姿势,身边满是五彩缤纷的气球。每个人都在七彩的剪贴画册上写下感谢的话语和诗歌,还有小孩们用彩色蜡笔描绘的唐和他的商店。唐用他那润物细无声的方式感动了许许多多的生命。进店后得到盛情款待的不只是狗狗。每个人都宾至如归。
The time came for me to leave, and though we tried to hold back, we all shed a tear. Don was moving far, far away, and we would most likely not see each other again. Goodbyes don’t come easily to me, especially maybe-not-again-in-this-life-goodbyes. Then Don told us in a 24)chipper tone, “Well, I guess I’ll see you in Heaven.”
我该走了,虽然我们都竭力忍住,但还是落泪了。唐要搬到很遥远的地方去,我们很可能再也见不到对方了。对于我来说,说再见绝非易事,尤其是这种今生今世可能再也不会相见的再见。然后唐以一种爽朗的口气对我说:“噢,我们以后在天堂见吧。”
I remained choked up for the entire ride home. I realized I had been 25)privileged to know a very holy man. Not holy in the sense that he wore robes, talked to or about God, or did miracles. Holy in that he had lived his life with extraordinary kindness, presence, and generosity. On second thought, I guess he did do miracles. In a world where fear, protectionism, and separateness seem to rule, Don reversed those conditions in his little shop on a country road. Maybe I don’t need to wait till we get to Heaven to see Don again, because he made the Earth a little more like Heaven, in his own quiet way.
开车回家的路上,我一直哽咽着。我意识到自己幸运地认识了一个非常虔诚的好人。他的虔诚并不在于身着长袍、与上帝交谈或谈论上帝,并彰显神迹。其虔诚在于他那非凡的友善、气度和慷慨。转念一想,我想他也彰显了神迹。在这个似乎被恐惧、保护主义和相互隔离所统治的世界里,唐在他那乡村公路旁的小店里依然保留了这些美好的品德。也许我不需要上天堂才能再次见到唐,因为他以那种润物细无声的方式,为人间添上了一笔天堂的色彩。
注:“彩虹桥”的说法出自一些写于1980年至1992年的匿名诗化散文,指的是宠物死后去到的神秘绿色草原。在那里,宠物们将最终与自己的主人重逢。
