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| 2024/10/02 13:15:13瀏覽500｜回應0｜推薦12 | |
登機落座，身邊是一位瘦小的老太太，在ipad上聚精會神地玩撲克遊戲，起飛，她靠著舷窗睡著了。
Having landed on the plane and seated, I found next to me was a petite old lady playing a poker game on her iPad with rapt attention. When taking off, she fell into sleep beside the porthole.
擋住了我的日出。
She blocked the view of the rising sun from me.
乘務員送飲料了，她醒來，輕輕說，“番茄汁，一點點冰”。
A flight attendant came to offer drink, and she woke and asked for a tomato juice with a few ice cubes, gently.
我替她轉告，自己也依樣要了一份。
I relayed the message to the attendant and ordered a same one.
她抿著，細聲道：
She sipped the juice and said, sotto voce:
“這個番茄汁不是太甜，這個零食餅乾也太多糖了”。 我自然點頭稱是，並讚她有營養意識。
"This tomato juice is too sweet, and the snack crackers contain too much sugar." I agreed with her and said her sense of nutrition should be acclaimed.
她說 :
She continued,
“凡事用心點有好處，這是我96歲的經驗”。
"It is good to be more thoughtful, and this is the experience from my 96-year-old life."
我大大吃了一驚，這老太太看上去70來歲，不能用精神矍鑠來形容，但是淡定從容、整齊俐落。
I was taken aback. The old lady looked just like a septuagenarian. Though I could hardly say she was hale and hearty, she was a composed, clean, and tidy.
竟然已經96歲了。
What, she was 96 already!
她說，她獨自一人旅行，還要轉機，去68歲兒子所在地過耶誕節。
She said she is traveling alone and going to transfer en route to the place where her 68-year-old son is at for spending Christmas together.
偶遇這樣的傳奇，我的腦子全面開動，聊天的本事騰雲直上，飛速地想要在剩下的四十分鐘構造一個完整的人生。
A precious chance to meet such a legend made my brain start fully working and become an excellent conversationalist. Instantly, I intended to fully utilize the remaining 40 minutes on the plane to build up a complete life of hers.
“你自己住？身邊有子女嗎”？
"Do you live alone? Any children by your side?"
她回答說，“附近有一個兒子，哈哈，不過他也72歲了。我獨自住自己房子，自己開車。去年買了輛新車，林肯MKC。我要確保我的用車有最大的安全設施。我有一台PC, 一台蘋果機 iPhone, ipad，打牌很方便”。
She replied, "I have a son who lives nearby, but he is 72 now. I live alone and drive myself. Last year I bought a new car, a Lincoln SUV, because I like to drive a car with utmost safety. I also own a PC, an Apple iPhone, and an iPad to play cards with others easily."
她說，做了一輩子老師，三十年前退休，直到現在一直在工作：
She said being a teacher had been the only job in her career until she retired 30 years ago. But until now, she is still at work:
教人打橋牌。有成人教育中心，在家裡，社區活動處，都在開班。
Teaching others playing bridge at the adult education center, at her home, and in community activities, all over the places.
還經常出去參加娛樂性比賽，與各地牌友聚會。
And she also took part in recreational matches out of town to meet other bridge lovers everywhere.
看到我吃驚的神情，她大概明白我的意思，也做了一個吃驚的表情，她說 : “我往往會忘記自己的年紀；因為幾乎從來不會去想。有時候會覺得還是25歲，喔，去店裡買衣服，穿上去才發現看上去不像25歲。Well, 那是衣服的問題，不是我的問題”。
Upon seeing my shocking expression, she probably understood what my surprise was and made a surprising face in return. She said, "I would often forget my age because I barely thought of it. Sometimes, I felt like I was still 25; by the way, when I was shopping for clothes, I found the dress I tried on did not look like the one for a 25er. Well, that was the problem of the dress, not mine."
我讚她心態太年輕了，她說：
I praised her for keeping a young mindset, and she explained:
“你知道為什麼很多老年人迅速退化嗎？因為他們什麼都不用自己做了。有人給他們把飯送到眼前，收拾房間，娛樂節目隨時調好，甚至給他們洗澡。什麼腦力、體力、肌肉？什麼也不需要了，這樣下自然就會退化”。
" Do you know what makes aged persons degenerate so quickly? Because they do not have to do the things all by themselves. Their food is prepared, rooms are cleaned, the entertainment program is set, and they do not have to take a bath alone. Brain, physical strength, and muscles? They dont need them anymore. In so doing, they must degenerate, naturally.
更可怕的是，因此他們失去了對自己生活的掌控；對自己失去掌控的人是躁鬱的，於是他們會抱怨，如湯太熱，如電視聲音太大，如電梯太慢.....，問題是，電梯來了，你又能去哪裡呢？.......。
The more dreadful thing is, they have lost control of their own lives. Losing the capability of controlling their own lives would bring them manic depression. So, they may complain about everything like the soup being too hot, the TV sound being too high, the elevator being too slow, etc. The problem is, even if the elevator is coming as you wish, where can you go, anyway?"
老太太說她是猶太人，四個孩子中最小的一個，從小自由生長，無所拘束。
The old lady said she is a Jew, the youngest of four siblings from a family that gave her no strain in growth.
二戰入伍參加美國軍隊，派遣柏林和慕尼黑，曾與艾森豪將軍同行。“但是作為猶太人，好比你們亞洲人一樣，與生俱來的對教育的重視和積極的導向是不會偏到哪裡去的”。
During WWII, she joined the army and was dispatched to Berlin and Munich. She once walked abreast with General Eisenhower. "But as from a Jewish family, we are born to carry a positive attitude toward education, just like you Asians are. We are bound not to go astray in education."
“有長壽基因嗎？” “我的家人基本都是早逝的，或者年長後健康狀況很差。我想，從軍的幾年，得到的訓練、規律的生活，以及，刻進了血液的自律，是讓我一生受用的長壽秘訣”。
"Do you carry family genes of longevity?" "Most of my families died young, or they had bad physical condition when they grew up. I guess the disciplined training and regular daily life I acquired from my days in the army injected the self-discipline gene into my blood. That is the secret of my longevity."
飛機下降，我的耳膜開始疼，她面不改色還在緩緩道來，我問她平時想不想家人，她說：“我此行就是來探訪兒孫，在海邊自己租了一個別墅, 以此來招引兒孫們來玩，沒有海景屋的誘惑，他們如何會有興趣來來往往”？
The plane began to descend, and my eardrum started to hurt. But her face remained unchanged as she recounted her experience slowly. I asked if she missed her family often. She smiled, "The purpose of this trip is to visit my son and grandchildren. I rent a villa at the seashore to attract them to come and see me. If there is no allure of sea view, how could they be interested in seeing me often?"
她邊說邊大笑。
She beamed from ear to ear.
“你不住兒子家嗎”？
"Wont you stay with your son?"
她說 :
She said,
“我在那裡住三個月，我從來不住兒子家，婆婆媳婦在一個屋簷下超過一頓晚飯的時間，就是不科學的。我不能把我兒子夾中間難做，他太太應該是他最重要的女人。”
"I would stay there for three months but have never lived with my son. If the time for a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law shared is longer than a supper, that would be unscientific. I cannot make my son torn between his mother and wife. His wife should be the most important woman to him."
我以無比欽佩的態度聽著這些真知灼見。
With my indescribable admiration, I listened to her insightful insights.
起飛的時候，她擋住了我的日出；
When taking off, she blocked the view of the rising sun from me.
降落的時候，她給我打開了一個世界。
When landing, she opened a new world for me.
為生命和智慧激勵，願與各位同事和同學們分享。
As a stimulus to our lives and intelligence, the story should be shared with my colleagues and students.
希望不遠的將來我們也可以這樣優雅從容！
May our lives shortly be so graceful and leisurely!
一篇很好的文章分享給大家！
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