我愛你，爸爸

I met a man who came to Tampa for his father's funeral. Father and son hadn't seen each other in years. In fact， according to the son， his father had left when he was a boy， and they had had little contact until about a year ago， when his father had sent him a birthday card with a note saying he'd like to see his son again.

我遇到一個到達坦帕市參加為他父親的葬禮的男人。他和父親好多年都沒見了。事實上，據兒子所說，他的父親在他還是個孩子的時候就離開他了，他們幾乎沒有任何聯系，直到一年前，他的父親寄給他一張生日卡，里面有一張便簽，寫著他希望再見到他的兒子。

After discussing a trip to Florida with his wife and children and consulting his busy schedule at his office， the son tentatively set a date to visit his father two months later. He would drive his family down when school was out for vacation. He scribbled a note and with mixed emotions， dropped it in the mail.

跟妻子和小孩商量了佛羅里達之旅，并安排好了繁忙的辦公日程后，兒子將看望父親的日期暫定于兩個月后。當學校放假時他會載著他的家人去佛羅里達州。他潦草地寫了個便條，懷著復雜的心情，將它投入了郵箱。

He heard back immediately. Written on lined paper torn from a spiral notebook， such as a schoolboy would use， were words of excitement penned in a legible scrawl. Misspelled words， poor grammar and incorrect punctuation bounced off the page. The man was embarrassed for his father. He thought twice about the upcoming visit.

很快他收到了回復。在一張就像是從小學生用的活環筆記本上撕下來的有橫格的紙上，父親亂涂了些措辭激動的話，但還很好辨認。其中錯誤的拼寫、差勁的語法和不正確的標點躍然紙上。兒子為這樣的父親感到尷尬。他再次斟酌了即將到來的拜訪。

It just so happened that the man's daughter made the cheerleading squad at her school and had to go to a camp conducted for cheering techniques. Coincidentally， it started the week after school was out. The trip to Florida would have to be postponed.

這個男人的女兒在學校成立了一個拉拉隊領導小組，必須去露營學習加油的技術。碰巧的是露營時間從學校放假后一周開始。佛羅里達之旅不得不被延期。

His father said he understood， but the son didn't hear from him again for some time. A note here or there， an occasional call. They didn't say much-muttered sentences， comments about \"your mother\"， a couple of stories about the man's childhood-but it was enough to put together a few of the missing pieces.

他的父親說他能夠理解，但接下來一段時間兒子再沒有聽到任何關于他的消息。時不時有一張便條或偶爾一次電話。他們沒有說多少的話，父親只是低聲地抱怨和評價“你的母親”，幾個關于這個男人兒時的故事——但它足以將一些失去的記憶一片片拼湊出來。

In November the son received a call from his father's neighbor. His father had been taken to the hospital with heart problems. The son spoke with the charge nurse， who assured him his father was doing well following a heart attack. The doctor could provide details. His father said， \"I'm fine. You don't have to make a trip out here. The doctor says there was minor damage， and I can go home day after tomorrow.\"

11月兒子收到他父親鄰居打來的電話。他的父親已經因心臟病被送進醫院。兒子與收費的護士交談，護士向他保證他的父親在心臟病發作后表現很棒。醫生提供了一些細節。他的父親說：“我很好。你不必專程過來這兒看我。醫生說只是一點點損害，我后天就可以回家。”

He called his father every few days after that. They chatted and laughed and talked about getting together “soon”. He sent money for Christmas. His father sent small gifts for his children and a pen and pencil set for his son. It was a cheap set， probably purchased at a discount pharmacy or variety-type store， and the kids tossed their tokens from Grandpa aside without much notice. But his wife received a precious music box made of crystal. Overwhelmed， she expressed her gratitude to the old man when they called him on Christmas Day. “It was my mother's，” the old man explained.“I want you to have it.”

從那天以后，他每隔幾天就會給父親打個電話。他們聊天、談笑，討論關于“盡快”團聚的事。他在圣誕節寄了錢去。他的父親寄來小禮物給他的孩子們，還有一支鋼筆和筆座送給他的兒子。那是一個便宜的筆座，很可能是從一家折扣店或雜貨店買來的，小孩子們把爺爺送的禮物扔在一邊，看都不怎么看。但他的妻子收到了一個珍貴的水晶制成的音樂盒。妻子大受震動，在圣誕當天打電話給這位老人表示了她的感謝。“那是我母親的，”老人解釋到，“我希望你能擁有它。”

The man's wife told her husband that they should have invited the old man for the holidays. As an excuse for not having done so， she added， “But it probably would be too cold for him here， anyway.”

這男人的妻子告訴她的丈夫他們本應該邀請這位老人來度假的。為了給沒有這樣做找一個借口，她補充到：“但不管怎么說，這兒對他來說恐怕太冷了。”

In February， the man decided to visit his father. As luck would have it， however， his boss's wife had to have an operation， and the man had to fill in and work a few extra hours. He called his father to tell him he'd probably get to Florida in March or April.

二月份，這個男人決定去看望他的父親。不幸的是他老板的妻子要做手術，這個男人不得不每天加班幾小時。他打電話告訴父親他很可能在3月或4月份到佛羅里達。

I met the man on Friday. He had finally come to Tampa. He was here to bury his father.

我周五的時候遇見了這個男人。他最終來到了坦帕市。但他來是為了埋葬他的父親。

He was waiting when I arrived to open the door that morning. He sat in the chapel next to his father's body， which had been dresses in a handsome， new， navy blue suit and lay out in a dark blue metal casket. \"Going Home\" was scripted inside the lid.

那天早晨他一直等我來開門。他坐在小禮拜堂里緊鄰著父親遺體的位置，父親被穿上了一件新的、帥氣的、海軍藍的西裝，安置在一個深藍色的金屬棺材里。“回家”是用手寫的放在蓋子里。

I offered the man a glass of water. He cried. I put my arm around his shoulder and he collapsed in my arms， sobbing.“I should have come sooner. He shouldn't have had to die alone.” We sat together until late afternoon. He asked if I had something else to do that day. I told him no.

我給這個男人倒了一杯水。他哭了。我把手臂放在他的肩上，他倒在我的臂彎里抽泣起來。“我應該早些來的。他就不會孤獨的死去了。”我們坐在一起直到接近傍晚。他問我那天是否有其他事要做。我說沒有。

I didn't choose the act， but I knew it was kind. No one else came to honor the life of the man's father， not even the neighbor he spoke of. It cost nothing but a few hours of my time. I told him I was a student and that I wanted to be a professional golfer， and that my parents owned the funeral home. He was an attorney and lived in Denver. He plays golf whenever he can. He told me about his father.

我沒有選擇去假裝什么，但我知道那樣做是出于善意。沒有其他人前來悼念他的父親，甚至他曾提到過的鄰居也沒有來。這次葬禮沒有花費我的任何東西除了幾小時的時間而已。我告訴他我是一個學生，我的夢想是成為一個職業高爾夫球手，而且我的父母擁有殯儀館。他是一名代理員，住在丹佛。無論什么時候只要可以他都會玩高爾夫。他給我講述了關于他父親的事。

That night， I asked my dad to play golf with me the next day. And before I went to bed， I told him， \"I love you， dad.\"

那天夜里，我要求我的爸爸第二天陪我去玩高爾夫。在我入睡前，我對他說，“我愛你，爸爸。”