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...