咖啡与人生

　　"Everything happens for the best，" my mother said whenever I faced disappointment. "If you carry on， one day something good will happen. And you'll realize that it wouldn't have happened if not for that previous disappointment."

　　每当我遇到挫折时，母亲就会说：“一切都会好的。如果你坚持下去，总有一天会有好事发生。你会认识到，如果没有以前的挫折就不会有现在的一切。”

　　Mother was right， as I discovered after graduating from college in 1932. I had decided to try for a job in radio， then work my way up to sports announcer. I hitchhiked to Chicago and knocked on the door of every station - and got turned down every time.

　　母亲是对的，发现这个时是在1932年，我刚从大学毕业。我已决定试着在电台找个事儿做，然后争取做体育节目的播音员。我搭便车到了芝加哥，挨家电台地敲门推销自己--但每次都被拒绝了。

　　In one studio， a kind lady told me that big stations couldn't risk hiring an inexperienced person. "Go out in the sticks and find a small station that'll give you a chance，" she said.

　　在一个播音室里，一位好心的女士告诉我，大的广播电台是不会冒险雇佣没经验的新手的。“去乡下找一家给你机会的小电台吧，”她说。

　　I thumbed home to Dixon， Illinois. While there was no radio-announcing jobs in Dixon， my father said Montgomery Ward had opened a store and wanted a local athlete to manage its sports department. Since Dixon was where I had played high school football， I applied. The job sounded just right for me. But I wasn't hired.

　　我搭车来到我的家乡，那是伊利诺斯州的迪克森。在迪克森当时还没有电台播音员这样的工作，父亲说，蒙哥马利·沃德开了一家新商店，想雇请一个本地的运动员管理店里的体育部。我中学时曾在迪克森打过橄榄球，出于这个原因我去申请了这份工作。工作听起来挺适合我的，但是我没被聘用。

　　My disappointment must have shown. "Everything happens for the best，" Mom reminded me. Dad offered me the car to job hunt. I tried WOC Radio in Davenport， Iowa. The program director， a wonderful Scotsman named Peter MacArthur， told me they had already hired an announcer.

　　我的沮丧心情一定表现出来了。“一切总会好的，”母亲提醒我说。爸爸给我买了一辆汽车找工作用。我试到爱荷华州达文波特的WOC电台去求职。那里的电台节目负责人是一个很棒的苏格兰人，名叫彼得?麦克阿瑟，他告诉我他们已经雇到播音员了。

　　As I left his office， my frustration boiled over. I asked aloud， "How can a fellow get to be a sports announcer if he can't get a job in a radio station?"

　　离开他办公室时，我愤怒极了。我大声地说：“一个连在电台都找不到工作的家伙又怎么能成为体育节目的播音员呢?”

　　I was waiting for the elevator when I heard MacArthur calling， "What was that you said about sports? Do you know anything about football?" Then he stood me before a microphone and asked me to broadcast an imaginary game.

　　等电梯时，我听见麦克阿瑟喊道：“你说什么体育?你了解橄榄球吗?”接着他让我站到麦克风前，请我解说一场想象中的比赛。

　　On my way home， as I have many times since， I thought of my mother's words： "If you carry on， one day something good will happen. Something wouldn't have happened if not for that previous disappointment."

　　在回家的路上--以后也有很多次地，我思考着母亲的那句话：“如果你坚持下去，总有一天会有好事发生。如果没有以前的挫折，就不会有现在的一切。”

　　I often wonder what direction my life might have taken if I'd gotten the job at Montgomery Ward.

　　我常想，如果我当年得到了蒙哥马利·沃德的那份工作，我的Grandmother didn't just like her coffee， and it wouldn't really do her justice to say she loved her coffee. Grandmother was to coffee what a sommelier is to wine. She knew the intricacies of coffee， the different tastes and even the textures. And only the best would do for her. No instant coffee， or coffee bought at the grocery store. She had to have fresh coffee， from a respectable coffee shop. “The morning cup of coffee sets the tone for the whole day，” she used to say.

　　奶奶不止是喜欢咖啡这么简单，说句公道话，咖啡是她的挚爱。咖啡对于奶奶而言，就如同美酒对于斟酒侍者一般重要。她对于咖啡的纷繁学问，其不同的口味，甚至其结构特征都了如指掌。而她只喝最好的咖啡，既不要速溶的，也不喜欢从杂货店买的。她一定要喝有名望的咖啡店出售的新鲜咖啡。“清晨的一杯咖啡决定了一整天的基调。”她常这么说。

　　I used to go to Grandmother's every Sunday morning. Her routine was always the same. She would kiss me once on each cheek， hang up my coat and lead me into the kitchen， slice a piece of banana bread right out of the oven (sometimes cranberry)， and pour a cup of freshly brewed coffee.

　　以前每个星期天的早上，我都会去奶奶家，而她也总会用同样的程序来迎接我。她会在我的两边脸颊上各亲一下，挂起我的外套，然后把我带进厨房，切一片刚出炉的香蕉面包(有时候是蔓越橘口味的)，并倒一杯新煮的咖啡给我。

　　“Alexa，” she said to me one day. “Did you know that every person's personality is like a flavor of coffee?”

　　“阿丽夏，”一天，她对我说，“你知道吗，每个人的性格就像是一种口味的咖啡。”

　　“Really?” I said， amused at how Grandmotherrelished her coffee so much that she related everything to it.

　　“是吗?”我说。见到奶奶如此钟爱她的咖啡，以致于将每一件事物都与之扯上关系，觉得挺逗的。

　　“Ye” she said. “You， my dear， are French vanilla. You are sweet， almost sickeningly so at times to the discerning coffee drinker.” I slightly recoiled at Grandmother's assessment of me. You expect your grandmother to call you sweet， but never sickeningly sweet.

　　“是的，”她说。“你，我亲爱的，是法国香草味的。你很甜美，对于那些有品味的咖啡客来说，有时甜得都有些发腻了。”听了奶奶对我的评价后，我觉得有点不爽。你当然会希望奶奶说你很甜美，但绝 对不希望是甜得发腻。

　　“Your father is espresso，” she continued. “He comes on strong. There are many people who don't like him， but others can't live without that high feeling that he gives them. He has an addictive personality that many people can't let go of.”

　　“你爸爸是杯浓缩咖啡，”她接着说，“他能给人以强烈的印象。有很多人不喜欢他，但也有人离开了他带来的那种兴奋感就活不下去。他有一种让许多人无法放手的致命的吸引力。”

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