by Hoda Kotb
烏蕪 譯
A Stranger on a Plane, and His Simple Advice I’ll Never Forget飛機上的陌生人
Track 6
by Hoda Kotb
烏蕪 譯
I n March 2007, I was recovering from major surgery for breast cancer and going through a divorce.It was a terrible time, and I was spending most of my days at home keeping everything to myself.Then myToday Showcolleague Matt Lauer threw me a lifeline by asking whether I felt well enough to tape a “Where in the World?” segment.
“Why don’t you pick a couple of days and go to Ireland and escape?” he suggested kindly.I thought it would be a great way to forget about it all, so I jumped at the chance.
The trip was fun because I was living in the moment, but by the time I got on the plane to go home, I wasn’t feeling well.My plan was to curl up in a ball and sleep for the entire fight.I had my earbuds in my hand; they were an inch away from going in when the guy next to me turned to me and said, “Hi.Howya doin’?”
2007年3月,我正處于乳癌手術的恢復期,同時在辦理離婚。那是段糟糕的日子,大多數時間我都呆在家里,一個人扛著所有事情。然后,我主持的《今日秀》節目的同事馬特·勞厄爾給我扔了一條救生索——他問我的狀態能否錄一檔名為《究竟在哪里?》的節目。
“你何不抽出幾天時間去愛爾蘭,逃離這一切?”他友善地建議道。我想這會是一個能讓我把這一切拋諸腦后的好方法,所以我抓住了這個機會。
那次旅程很有趣,因為我盡情享受了每一分每一秒,但是當我登上回程的飛機時,我有點兒不舒服。我打算蜷成一團,在睡夢中度過這次飛行。我雙手拿著耳塞,在它們距離我耳朵僅有一英寸時,坐在我旁邊的那個家伙轉向我,對我說:“嗨,你好嗎?”
I thought, Oh no.
Then he said, “I recognize you from somewhere.”
“I work on theTodayShow,” I told him, still holding my earbuds.
He smiled at me.“How’s Matt? Is Matt nice?”
“Yeah,” I said.“Matt’s nice.”
“How’s Al? Al seems funny.”
All I wanted to do was sleep, but he had kind eyes and looked like a good-hearted guy.So we continued making small talk.
Then he noticed I was wearing a compression sleeve on my arm and asked, “What is that?”
I told him I’d had a “procedure” and needed the sleeve to fy, hoping we could change the subject.
But he continued, “What procedure did you have?”
“I had an operation,” I said1)vaguely.He was still curious, so I fnally said, “I had breast cancer.But, boy, I hope that’s not the first thing you think of when you get off this fight, telling your kids, ‘Hey, I sat next to this girl with breast cancer.’?”
He paused for a moment and then said, “What’s wrong with that? Breast cancer is part of you, like going to college or getting married.”
I could feel my eyes flling up.
“Let me give you some advice: Don’t2)hogyour journey.It’s not just for you,” he said.“Think of how many people you could help.”
I had tears coming down my face, and I said to him, “I can’t believe I’m crying in front of you.I don’t even know you.”
“Look, you have a choice in life,” he said.“You can either put your stuff deep in your pockets and take it to your grave, or you can help someone.”
1 ) vaguely ['ve?gl?] adv.含糊地,曖昧地
2 ) hog [h??g] v.獨占,貪心占取
3 ) Ann Curry 安·科里,美國電視主持人、新聞記者、攝影記者
4 ) honoree [,?n?'ri?] n.領獎人,主賓
5 ) wind up 使結束
6 ) come full circle 繞圈子地
7 ) prostate ['pr?ste?t] n.前列腺
我想,天,不要。
然后他說:“我在哪里見過你。”
“我在《今日秀》節目組里工作,”我對他說,依然拿著我的耳塞。
他對我投以微笑。“馬特怎么樣?他人好嗎?”
“挺好的”我說。“馬特人挺好的。”
“那厄爾怎么樣?厄爾看起來很有趣。”
我只想睡覺,但是他眼里流露著善意,看著像個心地善良的人。所以我們繼續閑聊著。
然后他注意到我手臂上戴著壓縮護臂袖套,問道:“那是什么?”
我告訴他我做了一個“手術”,坐飛機時需要戴著這個,我希望我們能換個話題。
但他繼續問道:“什么手術?”
“我開了刀,”我模棱兩可地說道。……