|
My childhood was filled with the kinds of activities that were common to every kid in the 1980s but are considered almost death defying these days: tree climbing, bike riding without a helmet, and daylong road trips spent in the backseat of the family car, where we bounced around like Super Balls, nary a seat belt in sight. 小时候，我经常爬树、不戴头盔骑自行车、进行公路旅行时整日坐在自家车的后座上像超级球一样蹦来蹦去，从来不系安全带。这些活动对生活在20世纪80年代的孩子来说很普遍，但是在如今这简直就是不要命了。 Still, my mother was safety obsessed about some things, like swimming lessons. Year after year, she forced me to take them at our local pool in Iowa City since my mother could not swim and was actually afraid of the water. 但是，我母亲在有些事情上过于担心我的安全，比如上游泳课。母亲不会游泳，而且她其实很怕水，于是年复一年，她都强迫我在我们爱荷华市的当地游泳池学习游泳。 My dad was an electrician, and he died in an accident on the job when I was three. I have almost no memories of my father. Instead I remember Mike Fieseler. He was a former industrial arts teacher whom my mother dated off and on for much of my childhood. Whatever my mothers affection for him, it didnt rub off on me. And when they stopped dating, when I was 15, I wasnt unhappy to see him go. 我父亲是个电工。我三岁那年，他在工作时发生了事故，去世了。我对父亲几乎没什么记忆。相反，我记得迈克菲泽勒。他以前是个工艺课老师，在我的大半个童年里母亲都和他时断时续地交往。无论母亲多喜欢他，对我都丝毫没有影响。我15岁时，他们停止了交往，对他的离去我并未感到不快。 | 
