The Memorable Cooler 冷藏箱里的难忘记忆

Grandmother’s house was the favorite holiday destination for Tisha’s family. They would load up the car and make the long drive to a farm located deep in rural south Georgia. The trip was always fun. Tisha and her two sisters played road games on the way. These consisted of playing “I spy”， making faces at passing motorists， spotting interesting billboards， singing loudly along with the radio and counting various colors of cars on the road. They always had fun and the trip seemed to fly by.

Tisha and her sisters always fell asleep before reaching grandmother’s house. They would awaken to car doors opening and grandmother calling out “Here you are！” They would explode into the farm house that looked small from the outside， but was actually perfect， large and very comfortable. Grandfather and Tisha’s father would often go on hunting and fishing trips together. On one occasion， they came back from one such trip and they left a huge red cooler open in grandmother’s kitchen. It was empty except for a small towel hanging off the side.

Tisha spotted the empty cooler in the kitchen and she loved to play hide and seek. She climbed into the cooler， closed the lid and could still see out of it because the towel kept it from closing all of the way. She remembered thinking how much fun it would be for the family to not know where she was. She watched the activity in the kitchen for a while and then fell asleep. She woke up an hour or so later.

Tisha heard her father ask had anyone seen her. Then she heard her grandfather come in， saw his tan colored pants and boots that he always wore. They came closer to the cooler. She held her breath waiting. She could not wait anymore. About the same time that her grandfather reached down to open the cooler， she sat up， flinging the lid open and saying “Boo！”The look on his face was priceless . He started laughing and Tisha was delighted. Her father was also in the kitchen and he started laughing， too.She had gotten them good. The entire family converged in the kitchen to see what was up. Mom was not amused. Neither was grandmother.

Tisha’s sisters were in awe that she pulled off such a wonderful prank and surprised their grandfather and father. Tisha was only four years old at the time. The famous red cooler was banned from grandmother’s house after that memorable event. Later， Tisha and the red cooler incident would be one of the first memories she could remember. It was a good one. She cherishes her first memory of love and laughter with her grandfather. First childhood memories really stick with you. Tisha knows this for a fact. She still can’t pass by a red cooler without smiling， to this very day. It was a very memorable cooler.

對蒂莎一家人来说，奶奶家是他们在节假日最乐意去的地方。他们会把行李装上车，然后驱车长途跋涉，前往位于佐治亚州南部乡村深处的一个农场。这段旅途总是充满了乐趣。一路上，蒂莎会和两个姐姐一起玩旅途游戏，包括“眼力大比拼”、朝路过的汽车司机做鬼脸、寻找有趣的广告牌、跟着收音机大声唱歌以及数路上的车都有哪些颜色。她们总会玩得很开心，而旅途中的时间也似乎过得飞快。

蒂莎和姐姐们总是还没到奶奶家就睡着了，而后又随着车门打开的声音和奶奶的“你们来啦！”的招呼声醒来。接着她们就会一下子冲进奶奶家的农舍。农舍从外面看起来很小，但其实既宽敞又非常舒适，相当完美。蒂莎的爷爷和爸爸常会一起去打猎和钓鱼。有一次，他们打猎和钓鱼归来时，忘记关上奶奶家厨房里一个巨大的红色冷藏箱的门了。冷藏箱里空空如也，只在侧边挂了一条小毛巾。

蒂莎发现了厨房里的这个空冷藏箱，喜欢玩捉迷藏的她便爬进冷藏箱里，并关上了箱门。由于那条毛巾的缘故，冷藏箱的门关不严，所以她还可以看到外面。她记得自己当时想，如果家人都不知道她在哪儿，那该多有趣呀。她观察了一会儿厨房里的动静就睡着了。差不多一个小时以后，她才醒来。

蒂莎听到爸爸在问有没有人看到过她。然后，她听到爷爷走进厨房，看到了他常穿的棕黄色裤子和靴子。他们离冷藏箱越来越近。蒂莎屏住呼吸等着。她再也等不及了，就在爷爷伸手打开冷藏箱的同时，蒂莎坐了起来，猛地打开冷藏箱的门，还发出“嘘”的声音。爷爷脸上的表情特别有意思，他哈哈大笑起来，蒂莎也很开心。同在厨房的爸爸也大笑起来。蒂莎把他们都捉弄了一把。全家人都来到厨房， 想看看发生了什么事儿。不过妈妈没被逗乐，奶奶也没有。

看到蒂莎制造了这样一出精彩的恶作剧，还让爷爷和爸爸都大吃一惊，蒂莎的姐姐们都惊叹不已。那时，蒂莎才四岁。自那次令人难忘的事件发生以后，奶奶家那个颇有名气的红色冷藏箱便被禁用了。后来，自己和红色冷藏箱的故事便成为蒂莎能够回想起的最初的记忆之一。这是一段快乐的记忆，是她所记得的关于自己和爷爷之间第一个充满爱和欢乐的回忆，对此她很珍惜。童年最初的回忆真的可以伴随人的一生，对于这一点，蒂莎坚信不疑。每当她经过红色冷藏箱时，她都会禁不住笑起来，直到现在仍旧如此。那是一个让人非常难忘的冷藏箱。