A to Z从A到Z

Terri Elders

“Well find something special to putbetween these，”Ken said， weighing thepair of heavy black A-and Z-shaped bookendsin his hands.“What a nice gift.”

The two of us toured the house，looking for a suitable place to display1 thisChristmas present from our youngest son.

“Maybe on top of the entertainment2center？”I asked.

I always followed my husbandsadvice on house decoration3. Id oftenthought that he was really good at it.

“Sure. We can put them there nowand find out what books theyll holdlater.”

A few months later， I received a noticethat one of my stories had been selected4to appear in an upcoming book. Later， Ireceived my copy—the first book Id everheld that contained one of my stories. Idsigned my name on the books I collectedmany times， but this was different. Thiswas a book contained my story！ I handedit to my husband.

“Look inside where I stuck thebookmark. Its my story. I know its onlyone book， but can we put it between the Aand Z bookends？”

“Ive never heard of bookendsholding only one book，”Ken said with achuckle5.

“Oh， dont worry，” I replied.“Illsoon have more.”

I walked over to the bookends， putmy book between them， and stepped back.It looked a little lonely there， like anorphan6 in need of a family.

“How many books do you think wouldfit up there on top of the entertainmentcenter？”

Ken cast7 a professional eye inits direction.

“If theyre all paperbacks， thereseasily room for fifty. But even two or threewould look better than one.”

“Well， that ones pretty special，since its my first. But Ill conjure8 upsome of its companions9 soon. Fiftysounds about right.”

Ken raised an eyebrow and chuckled.

“Didnt you say they want truestories， things that have actually happened？Do you think you really have fiftystories to tell that people would want toread about？”

“I dont know. Ive got lots ofmemories Id love to share. Youre right，though. Fiftys a lot.”

“Baby， make it easy on yourself. Tryfor a dozen.”

“No... you said theres room forfifty.”

Ken shrugged10 and walked away as Ihunkered11 down at my computer.

So I wrote and sold a second story，and then a third. From time to time， Kenwould ask，“How many books have you gotup there now？”Sometimes Id overhearhim on the phone， bragging12 to friendsthat Id placed yet another story.

Id always read them to him before Isent them out.

Hed ask in wonder， “How do youremember every word your mother said toyou when you were six？”

“I dont，”I confessed13. “Its literary14license.”

“Arent they supposed to be true？”

“They are，”I insisted15. “But I writewhat I think sounds like what Mama or mybrother or you would have said.”

Ken smiled. Unable to recall muchabout his own early days， he liked hearingabout mine. So I continued to track downmemories I could translate into tales.

By June 2009， eleven books were putbetween the bookends.

As I write this， Ive lined up morethan fifty books， with several morescheduled16 to be published17 over theremainder of the year. Now Ive set mysights on seventy-five.

When Im feeling tired， it lifts myspirits to see the books between the A andZ bookends， and the bookmarks inserted18between the pages where my stories begin.I have used to begin my morning with acup of tea and a chat with Ken whilereading my books.

If I write an autobiography19， I doubtif Id find an interested publisher. Im notfamous. My names not a household word.However， Im lucky to have found a way topublish my lifes story， chapter by chapter，through these books.

A few months ago， I had aworkshop20 at my local library，“A Pennyfor Your Thoughts，”on writing. Sixteenpeople showed up， want to learn how toput their lives on paper.

“Nobody gets rich writing for lifestories，”I said. “But look at the otherthings you get. Writing puts zing21 intoyour days， zest22 into your life.”

“Yeah，”one man agreed， “and youvegot a published work！ ”

Later， I received a note from thelibrarian. She wrote， “It was such a treat tohear you read your stories... Your tips andexperience in the field were so valuable！ ”

Id read two of my stories—one aboutmy grandmother， and one about becoming agrandmother myself. When I finished， thepeople there applauded23. Even Ken，appreciative as he may have been， neverdid that.

What a wonderful gift those bookendsremain： A for applause24... and Z for zingand zest！

“我们会找到一些特别的东西放在这两者之间。”肯说。他用手掂了掂那对沉重的黑色A 形和Z 形书挡。“多么好的礼物啊。”

我们两人巡视了房子，寻找一个合适的地方来展示来自我们小儿子的圣诞礼物。

“也许放在电视柜的顶上？”我问道。

我总是听从我丈夫关于房屋装饰的意见。我常常认为他真的很擅长这个方面。

“当然可以。我们现在可以把它们放在那里，然后再看看它们以后会装些什么书。”

几个月后，我收到通知，我的一篇故事被选入即将出版的书中。之后，我收到了我的那本———这是我拿到的第一本包含我故事的书。我在我收集的书上签过很多次名，但这是不一样的。这次一本包含我故事的书！我把它交给了我丈夫。

“看看里面我贴书签的地方。这是我的故事。我知道這只是一本书，但我们能把它放在A 和Z 书挡之间吗？”

“我从来没听说过书挡之间只放一本书的。”肯轻声笑着说。

“哦，别担心。”我回答，“我很快就会有更多的书。”

我走到书挡前，把我的书放在在书挡中间，然后退了回去。它在那里看起来有点孤独，就像一个需要家庭的孤儿。

“你认为在电视柜顶能放多少本书？”

肯向那个方向投去了他专业的眼光。

“如果都是平装书，放五十本很容易。但即使是放两三本也比放一本好看。”

“唔，那本书很特别，因为是我的第一本。但我很快就会变出出它的一些同伴。五十本听起来不错。”

肯扬起眉毛笑了起来。

“你不是说这些书需要真实的故事吗，真实发生过的事情？你觉得你真的有五十个人们想读的故事要讲吗？”

“我不知道。我有很多回忆想和大家分享。不过，你说得对。五十本相当多。”

“宝贝，放松点。试着来一打。”

“不……你说过有放五十本的空间。”

我蹲坐在电脑前，肯耸耸肩走开了。

所以我写了第二个故事并卖掉了，然后是第三个故事。肯会不时地问：“你现在在那上面有多少本书了？”有时我会无意中听到他在电话里向朋友们吹嘘我又放了一本故事书。

在把它们送出去之前，我总是把它们读给他听。

他会惊讶地问：“你怎么会记得你六岁时你妈妈对你说的每一句话？”

“我没有。”我承认，“这是文学特许的。”

“它们不应该是真的吗？”

“是的。”我坚持说，“但我写的是我认为听起来像是妈妈、我哥哥或你说过的话。”

肯微微一笑。由于回忆不起他自己早年的经历，他喜欢听我的故事。所以我继续追寻我可以转化成故事的记忆。

到2009 年6 月为止，有十一本书被放在了书挡之间。

在我写这篇文章的时候，我已经摆了五十多本书，还有几本计划在今年余下的时间里出版。现在我的目标是七十五本。

当我感到疲倦的时候，看到A和Z 书挡之间的书，以及插在我的故事开始的书页之间的书签，我的精神就会振奋起来。我已经习惯早晨从一边阅读我的书，一边喝着茶和与肯聊天开始。

如果我写自传，我怀疑我能否找到一个感兴趣的出版商。我并不出名。我的名字并不是家喻户晓的。然而，我很幸运地找到了一种方法，通过这些书，一章一章地出版了我的人生故事。

几个月前，我在本地的图书馆举办了一个关于写作的研讨会，名为“给你一便士，告诉我你在想什么”。16 个人到场，想要学习如何将自己的生活写在纸上。

“没有人会因为写人生故事而致富。”我说，“但看看你得到的其他东西。写作会让你的日子充满活力，让你的生活充满激情。”

“是的，”一名男子同意道，“而你已经有了一部出版的作品！”

后来，我收到了图书管理员的一张便条。她写道：“听到你读你的故事真是太棒了……你在这个领域的訣窍和经验太宝贵了！

我读了两篇我的故事———一篇是关于我祖母的，另一篇是关于我自己成为了祖母的。当我结束时，那里的人们鼓起了掌。即使是肯，尽管他可能很欣赏，但也从未这样做过。

那些书挡留下的礼物是多么美好：A 代表着掌声……而Z 代表活力和热情！

Notes

1. display 展示；陈列

2. entertainment 娱乐；娱乐表演

3. decoration 装饰；装饰品

4. select 选择；挑选

5. chuckle 轻声笑；暗自笑

6. orphan 孤儿

7. cast 将……视线；目光；投向

8. conjure 变魔术；使……变戏法般地出现、或消失

9. companion 同伴

10. shrug 耸肩

11. hunker  蹲下；盘坐

12. brag 吹牛；自夸

13. confess 承认

14. literary 文学的；文学上的

15. insist 坚称

16. schedule 安排；预定

17. publish 出版；发行

18. insert 插入；嵌入

19. autobiography 自传

20. workshop 研讨会

21. zing 活力；生命力

22. zest 热心；强烈的兴趣

23. applaud 鼓掌

24. applause 掌声；喝彩