情牵晾衣绳 1)Clothesline Memories
现代化的电器越来越多，现代人的生活却越来越繁忙。电器能为人们的生活带来便利，却永远无法带来那份闲适的心情。
晒过的衣服上有一股淡淡的香气，那是太阳的味道；雨后的草地上别有一股清新，那是青草和土地的味道；天高云淡，落叶纷飞，那是秋天的味道；寒气逼人，清爽凛冽，那是初雪的味道。
对每一点生活琐事的感触往往是因为对过往点滴记忆的眷恋。“刚洗好的毛巾散发出的清新气味”和普普通通的晾衣绳，勾起了本文的作者对已故祖母的深情怀念。那么在你的内心深处，又有什么记忆正在让你怦然心动呢？ —小狐
It’s July, mid-summer and it’s HOT.
盛夏七月，天气炎热。
I walk into my garage to do 2)laundry and am 3)bowled over by how 4)suffocating the air is in there! I feel guilty running the 5)dryer in such heat. I think of the commercials on TV asking me to “give your appliances the afternoon off”.
我走进车库去洗衣服时吃了一惊，那里的空气实在是闷得让人窒息。在这么高的气温下开动干衣机，让我觉得挺内疚的。我想起电视广告里说的那句话：“在下午的时候让你的电器放个假吧！”
Growing up, we never had a dryer in the house. My great-grandmother lived with us, and she wouldn’t have one. She thought dryers were for lazy people and a waste of money, and anyway, she liked how the laundry smelled so fresh hanging out on the line. Besides, it really wasn’t necessary to have a dryer in Southern California—there were always enough sunny days even in the winter to get the laundry done.
实际上，从小到大，我们家从来就没用过干衣机。因为我的曾祖母和我们住在一起，她不让我们用那种东西。她认为只有懒人才会去用干衣机，而且那玩意儿还挺浪费钱的。总之，她就是喜欢衣服晒在晾衣绳上散发出的那种清新的气味。另外，由于我们住在加利福尼亚州的南部，那里晴朗的日子多，即便是冬季也有充足的阳光能够晒干衣服，所以确实也没有必要用干衣机。
Now with three boys in my house I am washing at least one 6)load of beach towels, swimsuits and pool towels everyday. So, I decided to put up a clothesline in my backyard for the first time ever.
现在因为家里有3个孩子，每天我都要洗一大堆沙滩巾、游泳衣和浴巾。于是，我决定在后院里拉起一条晾衣绳，这可是个前所未有的决定呢！
I went down to the local 7)Kmart and looked for a clothesline and 8)clothespins.I wasn’t too sure they still made them, but I thought if they did they would surely have them at Kmart. I was pleased to find they did.
我来到本地的凯马特百货商店，想要买晾衣绳和夹子。我不太确定厂家们是否还生产这些东西，不过我想如果他们还在生产的话，那么在凯马特百货商店里一定能买到。我很高兴在那里买到了晾衣绳和夹子。
I don’t have the poles for the line in my yard like I did in my childhood home, so I set my clothesline up in the corner of the yard using the 45 degree angle of the fence to hang my line. When I was finished, I stepped back to admire my work and I was pleased with myself for thinking of it, 9)conserving energy, and 10)doing my part.
和我童年时的家里不一样的是，我现在这间房子的后院里没有能够拉晾衣绳的长竿，于是我就把绳子拴在院子的角落里，利用栅栏的45度角来撑起我的绳子。绳子绑好以后，我后退几步欣赏我的杰作，为自己能想到这个好主意而暗自得意——这个方法很省力，而且还是我亲自想出来的。
What I wasn’t prepared for were the feelings and the memories that came flooding back to me as I hung up that first load of laundry.
但让我意想不到的是，当我在绳子上挂起第一批衣服的时候，一些感触和记忆像潮水般向我涌来。
Being out in the yard, smelling freshly washed towels, and with the sun on my back, I was suddenly in my yard I grew up in—helping my grandmother hang out the clothes.
站在后院里，闻着刚洗好的毛巾散发出的清新气味，温暖的阳光照在我的后背上，突然间我仿佛又回到了童年记忆里的那个后院——在那里，我帮祖母晾衣服。
She was always barefoot, dressed in a 11)Hawaiian print 12)mumu with an 13)apron tied around her waist, safety pins on her dress front and a rubberband or two around her wrist (just in case someone needed one). She would have her 14)wicker basket full of clothes at her feet and a few wet items thrown over her shoulder as she hung clothes. Usually she would be singing a song or talking to the cats in the yard. Or sometimes she’d tell me a story about her childhood or her mother.
那时，祖母总是光着脚丫子，穿着一件夏威夷印花穆穆袍，腰上系着一条围裙，衣襟上别着几只夹状别针，手腕上缠着一两根橡皮筋（以防有人需要用）。她脚边的柳条篮子里装满了要晾的衣服，在她晾衣服的时候，她肩膀上还搭着一些湿的衣物。祖母通常都会边干活边哼歌，或者与院子里的小猫聊天。有时候她还会给我讲一个有关她的童年或她母亲的故事。
If she had a bad day or something was bothering her, I remember she would say, “I sure wish I could sit on my mama’s lap for a minute.”
如果哪天她心情不好，或者有什么事情让她觉得心烦，我记得她总会说：“我真希望能够在妈妈的腿上坐一会儿。”
All of that came rushing back to me 15)crystal clear, like it happened yesterday. I could see her, feel her standing there with me.
所有的一切都清晰地浮现于眼前，仿佛发生在昨天。我能够看见祖母，感觉到她就站在我的身边。
It has been at least 25 years since I have been in that yard with my grandma. I remember my grandmother often, think of her and miss her, but that first day in my backyard hanging clothes I felt like I had 16)visited with her.
时光飞逝，那些和祖母一起在后院晾衣服的日子已经过去25年了。我时常会想起我的祖母，想起她的音容笑貌，怀念她，但那天在自己家后院晾衣服的时候却是我第一次觉得自己仿佛又在和她聊天似的。
I’ve never had that feeling going to her 17)graveside or even looking at pictures. Hanging clothes used to feel like a 18)chore. But now, I look forward to it.
我去祖母的墓地拜祭，甚至是翻看以前的照片时，都从来没有这种感觉。以前我总觉得晾衣服是家务杂事，但是现在，我总是怀着期待的心情去做。
I enjoy going out in the yard to hang my laundry and use the time to just take a moment out of my busy day and think about things, or nothing at all—and have a little visit with my grandma.
我很享受去后院晾衣服的时刻，我会在晾衣服的这段时间里将自己从繁忙的日常生活中解脱出来去思考一些事情，或者干脆什么都不想—就是轻松地与祖母闲聊一会儿。
