Chapter 8 :Robert
篇章
Robert, Trevor 的父亲,因种族隔离制度和父亲相处时间不长,公共场合叫“Dady”又会引起争议,Trevor便常称Robert。一位节俭,专注细节,有思想的父亲,和Trevor母亲一样不屈于种族主义。但同时又是为十分神秘的父亲,一次离开数十年之后才与Trevor再次联系。如Trevor所说:Being with my dad was like watching a web series.可是数年内父亲对Trevor时刻关注,“Circumstance had pulled us apart, but he was never not my father.”每种关爱都不同的外在表现形式,尽管父亲,不温不火略带神秘,父爱份量丝毫不减。
Thought
It was a scrapbook of everything I had ever done, every time my name was mentioned in a newspaper, everything from magazine covers to the tiniest club listings, from the beginning of my career all the way through to that week.
想到电影《查理的巧克力工厂》:电影片尾 威利·王卡在查理感染下打开心结回去寻找父亲,曾经繁华的街道唯剩父亲那栋房子,父亲开门后彼此也只是简单拥抱,父亲也同样拿出一本scrapbook,记录数十年中他每一次登报的剪影。诸多相似之处,诸多感动的点。
但每个人表达情感和爱的方式不同,没有放之四海而皆准的统一模式,所有自己要有一颗觉察幸福敏感的心。有一位时常陪伴亦父亦友的父亲是幸福的,而像Trevor父亲那样些许神秘,不温不火,或者要求严厉的父亲也不逊色。每个人性格不同,其表现爱的形式便会不同而性质一样。你感受到的幸福感和关心不强,或许因为彼此相处不够。
You spend time with people, you observe them and interact with them, and you come to know them—and that is what apartheid stole from us: time.
路遥知马力 日久见人心。盆友、亲人、爱人...都是需要时间来相处打理的。觉得TA(们)不懂你、不了解你,就试试减少花费在朋友圈的时间来与TA(们)多相处相处,observe them, interact with them, then come to know them. 只有自己真的用心去感受了,便才会注意生活细节看穿表象,才知道TA们心在哪,爱在哪,幸福在哪。就像电影一幕,大雪覆盖,那栋孤零零的房子都给人莫大的幸福感动。
词汇
Luckily my tastes hadn't matured much since the age of thirteen, so I tucked right in.
tuck in /into something
to eat a lot of food, especially when it is done quickly and with enthusiasm
例句:They tucked into a hearty breakfast of eggs.
仿写:He was so hungry that tucking into a plateful of bread
When a parent is absent, you're left in the lurch of not knowing, and
lurch:
① 名词:突然倾斜,突然改变
✏️ leave somebody in the lurch
to leave someone at a time when you should stay and help them弃...于危难之中
仿写:It's immoral to leave others in the lurch for yourself sake.
② 动词:move abruptly, move slowly and unsteadily 突然倾斜;蹒跚前进,颠簸前进
例句:The car lurched forward.
He was incensed by the idea of my mom being in contact with her previous love
Incensed: very angry
同义 furious: irritted (后文出现)
✏️ incensed at
例句:Fans were incensed at the decision to ban the song.
仿写:The smoker was incensed by the anti-smoking policy.
I went down to spend a few days with my father, and I made it my mission:
go down to :to go from one place to another, especially further south or from a city
go down: to stop working temporarily
例句:The system is going down in ten minutes.
(疑问:刚开始自己理解“go down to 是一个词组,理解为继续和父亲呆一些天;但字典释义"go down to: to go from one place to another, especially further south or from a city." 感觉和“继续”理解有出入。怎么理解?)
# 形容人#
Discretion is kind of our thing
He was caring and devoted, attentive to detail,
He's extremely frugal
My father was reserved and rational
He's very Swiss, clean and particular and precise