A Home coming of a Different Sort译文

A Home coming of a Different Sort ---Vicki Viebrugge

Jeff and I had many conversations during the year, but I will always remember the time he told me about his family. His mother, a loving, caring woman, was the one who held the family together. She died shortly before Jeff graduated from high school. His father, a successful physician, cold and stern in Jeff's words, had firm beliefs that a person would never make a valuable contribution to the world unless they attended and graduated from college by the age of twenty-three. His father had even paved the way for Jeff to attend the same college from which he had graduated, and had offered to pay Jeff's entire tuition and living expenses. As an active Alumni Association member, he was excited that his son would someday follow in his footsteps.

Jeff was twenty-seven and a successful business planner at a Fortune 500 company—without a degree. His passion was skiing. When he graduated from high school he decided to decline his father' s offer and instead move to Colorado to work with a ski patrol. With pain in his eyes Jeff told me that he still remembered the day he told his father he was going to give up college and take a job at a ski resort. He remembered every word of the short conversation. He told his father of his passion for skiing and for the mountains and then of his plans. His father looked off into the distance; his face became red. Then came the words that still echoed in Jeff's mind: "You lazy kid. No son of mine is going to work on a ski patrol and not attend college. I should have known you'd never amount to anything. Don't come back in this house until you have enough self-respect to use the brains God gave you and go to school!" The two had not spoken since that conversation.

Jeff was not even sure that his father knew he was back in the area near where he grew up and he certainly did not want his father to know he was attending college. He was doing this for himself, not for his father. He said it over and over again.

Janice, Jeff's sister, had always remained supportive of Jeff's decisions. She stayed in contact with their father, but Jeff had made her promise that she would not share any information about his life with him.

Jeff's graduation ceremony that year was on a hot, sunny day in June. As I walked around talking to people before the ceremony, I noticed a man with a confused expression on his face.

"Excuse me, " he said as he politely approached me. "What is happening here today?"

"It's graduation day, " I replied, smiling.

"Well that's odd," he said, "my daughter asked me to meet her at this address." His eyes sparkled and he smiled. "Maybe she completed her associate' s degree and wanted to surprise me!"

I helped him find a seat and as he left me he said, "Thank you for helping me. By the way, my name's Dr. Holstrom."

I froze for a second. Jeff Holstrom. Dr. Holstrom. Could this be the same person I had heard about over the last year? The cold, stern man who demanded his son attend college or never enter his home again?

Soon the familiar music could be heard. I turned around in my chair to get a glimpse of Dr. Holstrom. He seemed to be looking for his daughter amongst the graduates on stage. Speeches were given, the graduates were congratulated, and the dean began to read the names of the graduates.

Jeff was the last person to cross the stage. I heard his name being announced "Jeff Holstrom." He crossed the stage, received his diploma from the college president, and, just as he started down the stairs from the stage, he turned toward the audience looking for his sister.

A lone figure stood up in the back of the audience—Dr. Holstrom. I'm not sure how Jeff even saw him in the crowd, but I could tell that their eyes met. Dr. Holstrom opened his arms, as if to embrace the air around him. He bowed his head, almost as if to apologize. For a moment it seemed as if time stood still, and as if they were the only two in the auditorium. Jeff came down the stairs with tears in his eyes.

"My father is here, " he whispered to me. I smiled.

"What are you going to do?" I asked him.

"Well, " he said, "I think I'm going home."

别样的回家

那年杰夫我俩有过多次谈话，但我始终记得那次，他跟我谈起他的家庭。他的母亲是一位慈爱、富有同情心的女人，是她把整个家庭凝聚在一起。杰夫刚刚高中毕业，她就去世了。他的父亲是一位成功的医生，按杰夫的话说，是个“冷酷、严厉”的人，坚信人只有上大学、并在23岁那年毕业，才能为社会做出重大贡献。他的父亲甚至为杰夫能够进入自己所毕业的大学铺平了道路，并提出为杰夫支付全部学费和生活费。作为一名活跃的校友会成员，他为儿子有一天能够追随自己的足迹而感到兴奋。

杰夫二十七岁了，他是一位成功的商业规划师，在一家500强企业工作---他没有什么学位。杰夫热衷于滑雪，高中毕业后，他决定谢绝父亲的好意，去科罗拉多一个滑雪巡逻队工作。他痛苦的眼神告诉我，他仍记得那天，他告诉父亲要放弃上大学，去一个滑雪胜地工作。他清楚地记得那次谈话的每个字。他跟父亲讲了自己对滑雪的热爱、对大山的热爱和自己的规划。父亲看着远方，他的脸红了。然后，杰夫听到了至今仍回响在耳边的那句话：“你这个懒家伙！我的儿子绝不会去做滑雪巡逻队员，绝不会不上大学。我早就应该知道，你不会有什么出息的！不要再回到这个家，除非你有足够的自尊心，把上帝给你的脑袋瓜用于学业！”从此两人再也没有说过话。

杰夫甚至不能确定，父亲是否知道他已经回到出生地附近，他当然不想让父亲知道自己正在上大学。他这么做是为了自己，不是为父亲。他这样一遍又一遍地告诉自己。

贾尼斯是杰夫的姐姐，她一直支持杰夫的决定，并一直与他们的父亲保持联系，但是杰夫要她保证不要把自己的情况告诉父亲。

杰夫毕业典礼在六月，那天，天气炎热、阳光灿烂。我踱着步，向参加典礼的人群讲话，这时，我注意到一个男人，他脸上的表情很复杂。

“打扰下，”他问，并礼貌地走向我。“这里今天有什么事吗？”

“今天是毕业日，”我微笑地回答。

“哦，有点奇怪，”他说，“我女儿希望这次讲话中能见到我。”他微笑时眼睛中发出光芒。“可能是她完成了副学士学位，想给我一个惊喜！”

我帮他找到一个座位，坐过去之前，他感谢道，“谢谢你的帮助，顺便说一下，我是Holstrom医生。”

我吃惊了一下，Jeff Holstrom，Holstrom医生。这是我去年听到的那个人吗？那个冷酷、严厉、要求儿子上大学否则不许进家门的父亲吗？

很快，熟悉的音乐响起。坐在椅子上，我环视一下，看了一眼Holstrom医生。他似乎在台上的毕业生中找寻女儿。做完演讲、向毕业生表示祝贺后，主任开始念毕业生名单。

杰夫是最后一个上讲台的，我听到他的名字“Jeff Holstrom”被宣读。他走上讲台，从学院院长手中接过毕业证书，就在将要走下讲台台阶时，他环顾听众席寻找姐姐。

观众席后面，一个孤单的身影站了起来--是Holstrom医生。我甚至不知道杰夫是怎么在人群中看到他的，但我知道他们的目光相遇了。Holstrom医生张开手臂，好像是要拥抱周围的空气。他鞠了一躬，差不多像是在道歉。那一刻时间似乎静止了，礼堂里似乎只有他们两个人。杰夫走下台阶，眼睛里满是泪水。

“我父亲在这里，”他低声跟我说。我笑了笑。“你准备怎么办？”我问他。

“嗯，”他说，“我想我会回家。”