A legacy of love

爱的遗产

As a young man, Al was a skilled artist, a potter. He had a wife and two fine sons. One night, his older son developed a severe stomachache. Thinking it was only some common intestinal disorder, neither Al nor his wife took the condition very seriously. But the malady was actually acute appendicitis, and the boy died suddenly that night.

作为一个年轻人，艾尔是一个手巧的艺术家，一名陶艺家。他有一个妻子和两个优秀的儿子，他的大儿子胃疼得厉害。觉得这不过是普通的闹肚子，艾尔和他的妻子也没把它放心上。但是他得的是急性阑尾炎，他的大儿子在那晚突然就去了。

Knowing the death could have been prevented if he had only realized the seriousness of the situation, Al’s emotional health deteriorated under the enormous burden of his guilt. To make matters worse his wife left him a short time later, leaving him alone with his six-year-old younger son. The hurt and pain of the two situations were more than Al could handle, and he turned to alcohol to help him cope. In time Al became an alcoholic.

得知如果他知道事情的严重性他儿子就不用死的时候，艾尔的心理状况在巨大的罪恶感下不断恶化。事情更糟糕的是他的妻子很快就离开他了，留下了他和他六岁的小儿子。两件事情所带来的痛苦，艾尔没有承受过去，转而周日买醉麻醉自己。艾尔也成了个酒鬼。

As the alcoholism progressed, Al began to lose everything he possessed – his home, his land, his art objects, everything. Eventually Al died alone in a San Francisco motel room.

随着酗酒的加剧，艾尔开始失去他拥有的一切 – 他的家，他的田地，他的艺术品，一切。最终艾尔死在了三藩市一家汽车旅馆里。

When I heard of Al’s death, I reacted with the same disdain the world shows for one who ends his life with nothing material to show for it. “What a complete failure!” I thought. “What a totally wasted life!”

当我听到艾尔的死，我用鄙夷的心情去对待那些草草了结自己人生的人。“人生真是失败！”我想。“人生就这样被浪费了！”

As time went by, I began to reevaluate my earlier harsh judgment. You see, I knew Al’s now adult son, Ernie. He is one of the kindest, most caring, most loving men I have ever known. I watched Ernie with his children and saw the free flow of love between them. I knew that kindness and caring had to come from somewhere.

随着时间的推移，我开始重新审视我之前所做的严厉评价。我认识艾尔的儿子，欧尼。他是我所认识的最亲切、最关爱他人、最有爱的人。我看着欧尼和他的孩子被爱所包围。我知道这种亲切和关爱肯定有源头。

I hadn’t heard Ernie talk much about his father. It is so hard to defend an alcoholic. One day I worked up my courage to ask him. “I’m really puzzled by something.” I said. “I know your father was basically the only one to raise you. What on earth did he do that you became such a special person?”

我很少听见欧尼谈论他的父亲。维护一个酒鬼太难了。有一天我鼓起勇气问他。“我对一些事情实在困惑。”我说。“我知道你基本是靠你爸爸抚养长大的，他到底做了什么事情让你变得如此优秀？”

Ernie sat quietly and reflected for a few moments. Then he said, “From my earliest memories as a child until I left home at 18, Al came into my room every night, gave me a kiss and said, ‘love you, son.’”

欧尼静静地坐着沉思了一回，然后说，“从我孩童时代到我18岁离开家之前的记忆里，艾尔每晚都会到我床边，给我一个吻然后说，‘儿子我爱你。’”

Tears came to my eyes as I realized what a fool I had been to judge Al as a failure. He had not left any material possessions behind. But he had been a kind loving father, and he left behind one of the finest, most giving men I have ever known.

当我意识到自己愚蠢地批判艾尔活得很失败时，我眼睛不自觉地留下了泪水。他虽然没有留下什么实质性的东西，但是他曾是一个如此亲切有爱的父亲，培养了一个如此杰出、乐于奉献的男人。

仅为个人翻译，如若有错，不关我事。