The Fifth Tuesday第五個星期二We Talk About Family我們聊了聊家庭It was the first week in September, back-to-school week, and after thirty-five consecutive autumns,my old professor did nothave a class waiting for him on acollegecampus.那是9月的第一週，也是返校週，在從没間斷的35載秋天之后，在大學校園里再也没有任何課程等著我的老教授去上了。Boston wasteemingwith students,double-parked on side streets, unloading trunks.波士頓擠滿了學生，小路上並排停著車，還有很多卸下的行李箱。And herewas Morrie in his study.然而莫瑞只能呆在他的書房里。It seemed wrong, like those foot-ball players who finally retire and have to face that firstSunday at home, watching on TV, thinking, I could still dothat.這一切像是搞錯了，就像那些終於退休在家的橄欖球運動員不得不面對在家的第一個星期日，一邊看著電視上的比賽，一邊想著，我仍然可以重操舊業的。I have learned from dealing with those players thatitis best to leave them alone when their old seasons comearound.我從應對那些運動員所學到的經驗就是在他們以前賽季快來的時候最好不要去打擾他們。Don't say anything.什麼也不要說。But then, I didn't need toremind Morrie of his dwindling time.但話說回來，我並不需要提醒莫瑞他那日漸所剩無幾的時光。For our taped conversations, we had switched from handheldmicrophones because it was too dificult now for Morrie to hold anything that long—to thelavaliere kind popular with TV newspeople.為了錄下對話，我們從手持麥克風換到了那種頗受電視新聞工作者歡迎的領夾式麥克風，因為現在對於莫瑞來說用手拿任何長的東西都很困難了。You can clip these onto a collar or lapel.你可以把這種麥克風夾在領子或者西裝翻領上。Of course, since Morrie only wore soft cotton shirts that hung looselyon his ever-shrinking frame, the microphone sagged and fopped, andlhad to reach over and adjust it frequently.當然，因為莫瑞只穿那種寬鬆的掛在他那日漸消瘦的身形上的柔軟棉襯衫，領夾式麥克風就會垂下來耷拉著，我就得常常伸手過去幫他調整。Morrieseemedtoenjoy thisbecause itbroughtme close to him, inhugging range, and his need for physical affection was stronger than ever.莫瑞看起來很喜歡我的這個動作，因為這會讓我靠近他，近到擁抱的距離，他此時對於物理接觸的渴望比任何時候都強烈。When I leaned in, I heard his wheezing breath and his weak coughing, and he smackedhis lips softly before he swallowed.在我俯身靠近的時候，我能聽到他的喘息聲和微弱的咳嗽聲，他還會在吞咽前輕輕拍打嘴唇。“Well, my friend, ”he said, “what are we talking about today?”“那麼，我的老朋友，”他開口道，“今天我們聊點什麼呀？”How about family?聊聊家庭怎麼樣？“Family.”“家庭。”He mulledit over for a moment.他深思了好一會兒。“Well,you see mine, all around me.”“好吧，我的家庭呢，你也都見到了，就在我週圍。”He nodded to photos on his bookshelves, of Morrieasa child with his grandmother; Morrie as a youngmanwith his brother, David; Morrie with his wife, Charlotte;Morrie with his two sons, Rob, a journalist in Tokyo, andJon, a computer expert in Boston.他向著擺放在書架上的照片點了點頭，有孩童時期的莫瑞和他祖母的；有青少年時期的莫瑞和他弟弟大衛的；有莫瑞和他妻子夏洛特的；也有莫瑞和他兩個兒子，一個是在東京當記者的羅博和另一個在波士頓當電腦專家的喬恩的照片。“I think, in light of what we've been talking about allthese weeks, familybecomes even more important," hesaid.“我認為，鑒於我們這幾個星期已經談論到的東西，家庭顯得更加重要，”他繼續說。“The fact is, there is no foundation, no secureground, upon which people may stand today if it isn't thefamily. It's become quite clear to me as I’ve been sick.Ifyou don't have the support and love and caring and concern that you get from a family, you don't have much atall. Love is so supremelyimportant. As our great poetAudensaid, 'Love each other or perish.' "“事實就是，如果不是有家庭，那麼世上也就没有所謂基石，没有所謂安全之地能夠讓人們立足至今。在我生病的時候這一點體現得更加清楚。如果没有從家庭中獲得的支持、愛、在意與關心，那你恐怕一無所有。愛是如此極端的重要。就像偉大的詩人奧登說的那樣，‘要麼彼此相愛要麼就此滅亡...
The Fourth Tuesday第四個星期二We Talk About Death(24)我們聊了聊死亡"The things you spend so much time on—all this work you do—might not seem as important. You might have to make room for some more spiritual things."“那些你花了如此之多的時間所做的事情——你的所有工作——很可能看起來没那麼重要。你可能需要為一些更加精神層面的東西騰出空間。”Spiritual things?精神層面的東西？"You hate that word, don't you? 'Spiritual.' You think it's touchy—feely stuff."“你討厭那個字眼，對吧？‘精神的。’ 你覺得就是哭哭啼啼情緒化的東西。”Well, I said.好吧，其實... 我開口想說些什麼。He tried to wink, a bad try, and I broke down and laughed.莫瑞試著對我擠了擠眼睛，但是没成功，我破功地笑了起來。"Mitch," he said, laughing along, "even I don't know what'spiritual development' really means. ButI do know we're deficientin some way. We are too involved in materialistic things, and they don't satisfy us. The lovingrelationships we have, the universe around us, we take thesethings for granted."“米契，”他繼...
The Fourth Tuesday第四個星期二We Talk About Death(23)我們聊了聊死亡"Let's begin with this idea," Morrie said.“讓我們先來以這樣一個構思為出發點，”莫瑞說道。"Everyone knows they're going to die, but nobody believes it."“每個人都知道人終有一死，但没人願意真的相信這件事。”He was in a businesslike mood this Tuesday.莫瑞這週二處於一種高效且有條理的心情。The subject was death, the first item on my list.我們（對話）的主題是死亡，列在我名單上的首條。Before I arrived,Morrie hadscribbleda few notes on small white pieces ofpaper so that he wouldn't forget.在我到他家之前，莫瑞在一些小白紙片上草草寫下了不少筆記以防止忘記。His shaky handwritingwas nowindecipherableto everyone but him.他顫顫巍巍的筆跡現在除了他自己别人已經無法辨認了。It was almost Labor Day, and through the office window Icouldsee the spinach-colored hedges of the backyard and hearthe yells of children playing down the street, their lastweek of freedom before school began.那時已經快到勞工節（在美國和加拿大為九月的第一個星期一）...
The Professor（22）關於教授But a savingembracecame into Morrie's life thefollowing year: his new stepmother, Eva.但在第二年，莫瑞的新繼母伊娃如同一個拯救的擁抱來到了莫瑞的生活。She was a shortRomanian immigrant with plain features, curly brownhair, and the energy of two women.她是一個矮個子的羅馬尼亞移民，有著扁平的身材、卷曲的頭發和一身相當於兩個女人的能量。She had a glow thatwarmed the otherwise murky atmosphere his father created.她渾身自帶的光環溫暖著莫瑞父親帶來的其余暗沉氛圍。She talkedwhen her newhusband was silent, shesang songsto the children atnight.當她的新婚老公沉默時她則會滔滔不絕，夜晚時她還會給孩子們唱歌。Morrie took comfort in her soothingvoice,her school lessons,her strong character.莫瑞能夠從她撫慰的聲音，她的學校功課，她充滿力量的人格中獲得慰藉。When his brother returnedfrom the medical home,still wearing legbraces from the polio, the two of themshareda rollaway bed in the kitchen of their apartment, and Eva would kiss them good-night.他弟弟從診所回來以后，還帶著...
The Professor（21）關於教授He was eight years old.他那時8歲。A telegram came from thehospital, and since his father, a Russian immigrant, couldnot read English, Morrie had to break the news, readinghis mother's death notice like a student in front of theclass.一封電報從醫院發來，因為他的父親，一個俄羅斯移民，不認得英文，莫瑞不得不代為告知這個消息，像一個站在全班同學面前朗讀的學生閱讀著他媽媽的死亡通知。"We regret to inform you..." he began.“我們很抱歉地通知您... ”他從頭開始讀著。On the morning of the funeral, Morrie's relativescame down the steps of his tenementbuilding on the poorLower East Side of Manhattan.葬禮的清晨，莫瑞的親戚們從他家在窮困的曼哈頓下東區租住的公寓大樓臺階上陸陸續續走出來。The men wore dark suits,the women wore veils.男人們穿著黑西裝，女人們戴著面紗。The kids in the neighborhoodwere going off to school, and as they passed, Morrielooked down, ashamed that his classmates would see himthis way.鄰居家的孩子們都開始出發上學了，在他們經過的時候，莫瑞頭低低地看著地面...
The Audiovisual, Part Two視聽教學，第二部分The"Nightline"show had done a follow-upstory on Morrie—— partly because the reception for thefirst show had been so strong.部分是因為第一次節目獲得非常熱烈的反響，所以“晚間專線”節目對莫瑞進行了后續報道。This time, when the cameramen and producers came through the door, they already felt like family.這次，當攝影師們和制片人們走進莫瑞家的時候，他們已經感覺像家人一樣。And Koppel himself was noticeablywarmer.科佩爾本人明顯地變得更加友好熱心。There was no feeling-out process, no interviewbefore the interview.這次不需要試探的過程，也不需要訪談前再來一個訪談。As warm-up, Koppel and Morrieexchanged stories about their childhood backgrounds:Koppel spoke of growing up in England, and Morriespoke of growing up in the Bronx.作為開場熱身，科佩爾和莫瑞互換分享了他們各自童年背景的故事：科佩爾講了在英格蘭長大的經歷，莫瑞講了在紐約布朗克斯區長大的故事。Morrie wore a long-sleeved blue shirt——he was almost always chilly, evenwhen it was ninety degrees o...
The Third Tuesday第三個星期二We Talk About Regrets我們聊了聊悔恨On the plane ride home that day, I made a small liston a yellow legal pad, issues and questions that we allgrapple with, from happiness to aging to having childrento death.那天在坐飛機回家的途中，我在一個小小的信箋簿上寫了一個清單，列出了我們都需要努力應對的一些擔憂和問題，從快樂到衰老到孩子直至死亡。Of course, there were a million self-help bookson these subjects, and plenty of cable TV shows, and $90-per-hour consultation sessions.當然，市面上關於這類話題有數以百萬計的勵志書籍教你怎麼做，也有數不清的有線電視節目去看，90美金一小時的心理谘詢課可以去上。America had become aPersian bazaar of self-help.美國已經變成了一個充斥自我勵志的獵奇市場。But there still seemed to be no clear answers.但這些似乎仍然都不能給出清晰的答案。Do youtake care of others or take care of your "inner child"?你是更在乎照顧别人呢還是更在乎照顧自己的“內在小孩”？Return to traditional values or reject tradition as useless?向傳統價值觀回歸呢還是因為...
The Third Tuesday第三個星期二We Talk About Regrets我們聊了聊悔恨The next Tuesday, I arrived with the normalbags of food——pasta with corn, potatosalad, apple cobbler——and something else: a Sony tape recorder.接下來的一個星期二，我帶著正常份量的食物到了莫瑞家——有拌著谷物的意大利面，土豆沙拉，蘋果酥皮餡餅以及另外一樣東西：一臺索尼錄音機。I want to remember what we talk about, I told Morrie.我想記住我們說過的話，我告訴莫瑞。I wantto have your voiceso I can listen toit...later.我想記錄下你的聲音，這樣以后我也可以聽了。"When I'm dead."“當我死了以后。”Don't say that.别這麼說，不是這個意思。He laughed.莫瑞笑起來。"Mitch, I'm going to die. And sooner,not later."“米契，我是要死了呀。而且並不是以后而是很快就會死。”He regarded the new machine.他打量著這臺新奇的機器。"So big," he said.“真大。”他說道。Ifelt intrusive, as reporters often do, and I began to thinkthat a tape machine between two people who were supposedly friends was a foreign object, an artificial ear.我有種冒犯人的感覺...
The Second Tuesday第二個星期二We Talk About Feeling Sorry for Yourself我們聊了聊自憐情緒I came back the next Tuesday.接下來的星期二我又返回去看了莫瑞。And for manyTuesdays that followed.以及后面的很多個星期二。I looked forward to these visitsmore than one would think, considering I was flyingseven hundred miles to sit alongside a dying man.考慮到我是飛越700多英里的路程去坐在一個將死之人的身邊陪伴他，所以我比一個人所能想象到的更加期待對莫瑞的拜訪。But Iseemed to slip into a time warp when I visited Morrie,and I liked myself better when I was there.不過當我去看望莫瑞的時候，我就像是進入了一個時間靜止的空間，並且我更喜歡跟莫瑞在一起的那個我。I no longerrented a cellular phone for the rides from the airport.我不再從機場來的路上租衛星電話。Letthem wait, I told myself, mimicking Morrie.讓他們等等吧，我對自己說，模仿著莫瑞的語氣。The newspaper situation in Detroit had not improved.底特律的新聞界罷工事態一點也没有改善。In fact, it had grown increasingly insane, with nasty confrontations bet...
The First Tuesday第一個星期二We Talk About the World我們聊了聊這個世界Mostly on Tuesdays.大多是在星期二的時候。In fact,Tuesday had always been our day together.事實上，星期二也一直是我們會面的日子。Most of mycourses with Morrie were on Tuesdays,he had officehours on Tuesdays, and when Iwrote my senior thesis—which was pretty much Morrie's suggestion, right fromthe start—it was on Tuesdays that we sat together, by hisdesk, or in the cafeteria, or on the steps of Pearlman Hall, going over the work.我跟著莫瑞上的課大多數是在星期二，他的固定辦公時間是星期二，而且當我開始寫畢業論文的時候，基本上從一開始就是聽從莫瑞的意見寫的，也是在星期二的時候我們坐在一起，要麼在他的辦公桌邊，要麼在食堂，或者在伯爾曼禮堂前的臺階上，逐一過著我的功課。So it seemed only fitting that we were back togetheron a Tuesday, here in the house with the Japanese mapleout front.所以看起來似乎只有我們重新恢復星期二相聚的傳統才是唯一合理的事情，現在變成在門外有著日本槭樹的房子里相聚。As I readied to go, I mentioned t...