Memory of my two cats

 Wrote this in 2007.  It was not finished.  I felt the intention for this essay was much bigger than just the tree story.  But we'll never know.  

Now both my cats are gone.  I miss them both terribly.  Very terribly.  

My two cats

I have two cats. One named dong dong, one named bao bao. They are awesome. But I am not a good master. I did not train them well. They always want to eat our food. They always jumped on the table in search of our food. I actually like them to enjoy some of our food. However, I also want them to go away and stop bothering us eating our food sometimes, especially when my mom and sister presented.

My cats are the only ones that eat a lot of human food. I’ve yet seen any other people’s cats that enjoy eating this variety of food. I am actually proud of that. Because our food is much more authentic than those so called cat food. My cats also enjoy some bones. Of course, I don’t want them to eat unhealthy food, like the ones too salty, or too sweet. To my surprise, they even eat something that I’d think they hate, like Curry.

I sometimes gave my two cats time to explore the outdoor world. I had them on leashes, of course. I love to see them outdoors. They seemed to me more alert and energetic. I took them outdoor after they arrived to my house for a few weeks, I think. At first, I was of course, nervous. So I supervised them very carefully, without leashes on. Because I thought I did not need to. It took very little time for them to venture all over my yard although they were still small. They loved it. And I loved it. We tried to put collar on them, bound by a grass rope. Amazingly, they found a way to escape the collars as soon as they were out under the big blue sky.

There were times that I let my cats wondering outside without leashes. I tried to accompany with them of course. However, without leashes, I could not go with them everywhere, and I could not restrain them. As you could imagine, they went to neighbor’s yard I could not follow. I was kind scared at first, very anxiously and impatiently waiting for them to come back. They always did. So I grew careless. I would go inside and do my own things, just went out to check them occasionally. There’s even once I walked on the street and called out Dong Dong’s name, he appeared and ran towards me. That feeling was so overwhelming!

Although I did let them out without leashes a few times, my mom and my sister thought it’s too dangerous. I agreed with them. But it was kind hard not to let them go outside since I myself enjoyed them outdoors. One sunny afternoon, I let them out again. I initially tried to keep them in my yard of course. But as always, they ran away. I thought it was ok, so I opened my basement entrance then headed inside. Around 5 p.m., Bao Bao came back meowing all the way from basement for food. I was kind worried at the time already, I tried to walk around the neighborhood calling out their names 2~3 times already. I was extremely happy that Bao Bao was back. But I wanted to wait for Dong Dong to come back and feed both at the same time. Well, that never happened. Dong Dong never came back that night. Frustration and regret just overpowered me. Mom and sister told me not to do that, and yet I still did it. It’s all my fault. I went outside to cry that night after my mom and sister went to bed.

The next day, I rode my bike around neighborhood. I rode to Summer street all the way to 114. I’d stop and chat with people in hope to get something valuable. Some told me that they saw a cat running past their house last afternoon. Someone told me that their cat went away two months now and hadn’t come back. All of them were very nice that they told me to keep an eye out for me. I went to Andover animal hospital, MSPCA to report a missing cat; called animal control to ask if they had anyone like my Dong Dong. I printed out a poster, but I did not use them. For I was afraid that might not be legal. All these efforts were fruitless. I got nothing at all.

I was going to give up, so I went to my uncle’s house to do something around 2 p.m. I came back in a different route, still hoping I could catch a glance of my missing cat. When I walked passed a house, a house with tall fence around its garden. I heard a familiar meowing. I was like stunned. It’s so dim, so thin. But I know I heard it. So I started to peek around. As I was doing that, the house with tall fence, an old lady walked out of it, trying to do some yard work. I saw her look at me puzzled. So I gather my courage to ask her if she saw a red tabby walked passed here. She said no and asked me where I lived. I told her, and she immediately said, “oh, the house with cats sitting on the window, right?” I felt a bit funny, and told her yes. At the same time, the neighbor across the street strode out and started to do some yard work. She sawed us talking and joined in. Upon hearing a red tabby, she said she saw one walking past here last afternoon.

I felt I could not do much there so I prepared to leave. But I heard that faint meowing again. I was kind shocked, because it felt so familiar, so like Dong Dong meowing! I stopped to listen. The old lady saw me. I asked her did she hear anything. The neighbor across the street hadn’t left yet, she said she heard something too! The old lady said she heard nothing, but she said since there’re lots of birds in her garden and woods on the back, maybe I should check it out. She led me to the back of her house, there’s no grass, but woods and stones. As I walked near the woods, the sound became much clearer, and the old lady heard it too. And this time it’s grew anxious. At first, I looked on the ground, searching for the source of that sound. We got nothing. But suddenly, the sound was so loud and it was above us! There, high in a tree, Dong Dong was almost shouting us from a branch so high, my heart was going to jump from my throat! Upon seeing this, the old lady was half amazed and half amused. I could only hear my heart beat in my chest like a street drummer.

I asked the old lady if she had a ladder I could use. She showed me where it was. I put the ladder up, it’s a two level ladder, one that has a second set of ladder adjusted by sliding. I tried to climb up, but at the mid way I felt it’s so shaky and got scared. She suggested to get Fire department to help out. I agreed with her and went home to make the phone call. I got home and started to call the Fire department. The receiver ridiculed at my request saying that they no longer provide this kind service. He also comforted me that the cat will come down eventually by himself. I did not get comforted at all. So I called animal control to see if they’d help. That did not work either. I called the Fire Department again, and the receiver got annoyed but politely assured me that my cat can go to that high, it could come down with no problem. Well, I’ve tried, and if those guys can’t come, I will try it myself. I searched around my house for ropes that I could use. I tried to remember what I learned at High School Gym class. I had vague idea of how I could tie myself around the waist and thigh. I managed to get some kind of rope eventually, although it’s no where near the real thing I was supposed to use. But I was determined to go anyway.

When I arrived at the woods, the old lady was showing her neighbor where the cat was. I told them that the Fire department would not come so I decided to do this myself. The neighbor left after the old lady tried to lure the cat with some of her own cat’s food. Nothing happened. Dong Dong was meowing so loud, he looked like a scared to death kid to me…those firefighters… I started to climb the ladder again, this time I managed to get on the top of the ladder. But it shook so much. The old lady asked me through the window if I needed someone to hold the ladder. I really thanked her asking that question. I did not think of that, or even if I did, I doubted I would really ask.

Well, now the base was secured, I once again tried to climb up the tree from the top of the ladder. I bounded myself to the tree by tying a rope between my ropes around my waist and thigh. Moving very carefully, I touched the cat. I finally touched my cat! However, the problem was that he’s scared to come down from that branch. He had every right mind to be scared. Because I could grab him just barely. I did not care for that, I just kept trying to reach him and tried to get him off that branch. In the end though, I had to admit, it’s really not safe for him to come down this way. He was meowing even more loudly and shook a little. And I even smelled a bit of urine. I decided to get down the ladder and went home to get something that would be safe to let Dong Dong to jump in.

I ran home and searched the house desperately. I found my sister’s gym back. It had an ok base, a bit soft for my taste, but it might do the trick. I climbed back on that tree, holding a bag, and tried to pull my cat into the bag. I was sweating like a raining day, but it’s still no go for the cat. I finally put the back on my head and hoping a miracle would happen. It did. The cat stepped into the bag on my head. I guess that the bag on my head looked much closer on that branch. I also considered myself lucky to hold that bag tightly enough. After I got the bag off my head, I quickly zipped the bag to prevent Dong Dong from peeking out his head. I climbed back down. I was totally exhausted but with whole heart of joy and a sense of accomplishment. After I put the ladder back to the place, the old lady gave some food to Dong Dong at her front gate. We started to chat a bit and found out that she’s my house’ previous owner’ sister! I should really thank the old lady!

Dong Dong was impatient and meowing all the way back to my house. My heart was racing like a maniac since I saw my cat on that tree. But now I was kind enjoying my peace of mind. It’s so good that cat was back to us. Bao Bao was smelling at Dong Dong and licking him every where while he was eating like hungry pig. My mom and sister were surprised to see both cats when they came back. And I could not stop telling them the story. In fact, I could not stop telling the story for a few days to come!

I did not know much cat before. I’ve always liked dogs. I never thought cat as pet for me. And to my knowledge, I know my sister was scared of cats. I am not sure about my mom, for she always claimed to be fearless of cats and dogs. Anyway, there’s no chance I’d be able to get cats or dogs. But when my aunt started to work in Tufts University, she acquired a friend, who owned two cats. They become really acquainted. My aunt was talking about a very small kitten one day. It’s a white kitten only 2 month old. Mrs. Ling’s daughter, volunteered in MSPCA, brought the kitten home for special care, for it’s too young to be adopted. My aunt was very bewitched by the kitten. And there’s another friend of my aunt, Mrs. Hu

標點符號練習，哈哈哈！！

 ｢=====<<>>，，>>。。；'；：：？｛｝】】【【｢｝｝｝】】」｣『』，，，，。。。；；:：：：：：：："、、、！！！！！，，，，。。。；；:：：：：：：："、、、！！！！！ˋ，，，，。。。；；:：：：：：：："、、、！！！！！ˋ#@，，，，。。。；；:：：：：：：："、、、！！！！！ˋ#@」︼｣｣」」」

翻譯練習

這一段節錄是取自 The Soul of Octopus 這本書。  故事的地點是 波士頓水族館。  書的主題是章魚。  這一段裡提到的 Octavia 是一隻老章魚， 母的， 已經孵卵孵了十個月的章魚。  但因為他是在水族館裡產卵，所以這些卵是不會孵化的。  一般而言， 章魚產了卵後就代表他已逐步走向死亡。  所以章魚的負責人 Bill 就買了一隻小章魚準備將來替代 Octavia 的位置。  他給小章魚取名叫 Kali。  可惜的是， 幾個月後， Kali 意外死亡。  所以 Bill 又買了一隻 小章魚， 取名 Karma。  那時候，Octavia 雖然有衰老死亡的跡象，但是無法確知他會在甚麼時候走。 而這個日長夜大的 Karma 卻已經不願待在他的水桶裡了。  當時， 很多館員和義工都在討論是否要把 Octavia 和 Karma 調換環境。  在經過一段時間的討論後， 發生了以下的故事。   (譯者)

After I left the aquarium, Octavia's left eye got worse, and her right eye was cloudy.  Especially if she were senescent, and not in her right mind, in a tank full of other animals and rough surfaces, the chances she might further injure herself were great.  And by Thursday morning, another factor had arisen that Bill was forced to consider.  

  在我 (作者 Sy Montgomery) 離開波士頓( 水族館) 去旅行後， Octavia 的左眼開始惡化，甚至右眼也開始混濁了。  Octavia 如果是因為老化而造成精神反常，(讓他住在一個滿是其他動物和到處都是粗糙岩石搭建起來的水箱)，

(他那用粗糙岩石搭建的水箱裡又住了其他不少動物)，  (到處都是怪石和其他粗糙的結構的水族館展覽水箱裡)，是很容易受傷的。  在星期四當天，又發生了一件事，促使 Bill 下定決心要給 Octavia 搬家。

At about 10 a.m., his glance was drawn to movement in Karma's barrel.  Without opening the top, he looked down on a sight he had never before seen: an octopus hanging upside down at the surface, her black beak clearly visible, persistently chewing on the mesh-like plastic conweb across the top of the lid.  

Karma had already severed some of the brand-new cable ties that held the mesh onto the screw top.  When Bill saw this, he understood why he'd had to replace some of the ties after Kali died.  Now he realized that the damage to the ties had not just been the result of normal wear and tear: Kali, like Karma, had been systematically gnawing through them in and effort to escape.  

    早上十點鐘，Bill 注意到了 Karma 水桶裡的動靜。  在沒有打開蓋子的情況下，他俯身看到一幅從沒見過的景象，一隻章魚，倒著浮在水面上，他黑黑的喙正專注地咬嚙著桶蓋上的細網。  

Karma 之前就已經把桶蓋上一些全新的帶子給咬斷過了。  這次 Bill 看到這副景象，他才知道為什麼在 Kali 死掉之後，他要把一些桶子裡的繩帶換新。  那時他以為繩帶壞掉是因為正常的使用下損壞的，但現在他知道，繩帶壞掉是因為之前的章魚， Kali，為了逃跑而作的努力！

"I was nervous," Bill told me, "I still didn't want to move Octavia."  He was afraid he might injure her; he was afraid he wouldn't be able to catch her at all.  He had never moved a live octopus out of the exhibit before.  "But Karma gave me no choice.  Octavia gave me no choice."  

"我很緊張。"  Bill 跟我說：" 我還是很不想把 Octavia 從展覽箱移開。"  他很怕在移開的過程裡會傷害到 Octavia；而且 也沒有把握一定可以抓到 Octavia。  他從來沒有把一隻活生生的章魚從展覽水箱裡移開過。  "但是 Karma 逼著我這樣做。  Octavia 也逼著我這樣做。"

Bill spend the rest of that Thursday moving around fish...   Bill chose to try to move Octavia and Karma after the public had left, because he wasn't sure how it would go.  

    Bill 花了星期四所有的時間來做準備工作，從移除不同種類的魚開始。。。(這工作過程不只是牽涉到 Octavia 的展覽水箱，而是包括很多其他水箱，因為 Octavia 水箱裡的種類不少，當一種魚移到另一個水箱時，另一水箱的魚也要看情況移往下一個水箱。譯者註。)  Bill 等到水族館對外公開的時間結束後才開始移動 Octavia 和 Karma，因為他實在不知道整個過程會發生甚麼事

Luckily, Bill's Thursday volunteer, Darshan Patel, twenty-nine, was there to help.  Together they lifted Karma's 50-gallon barrel out of the sump and placed it on the floor.  Bill propped open the lid to Octavia's exhibit.  While Darshan watched from the public side, Bill used a soft, deep-bodied mesh net with a metal handle to try to scoop Octavia up from her corner.  At the touch of the net, Octavia tucked up deeper into her corner; Bill couldn't reach her from that angle.  So the two men switched positions, and Darshan went upstairs to make sure Octavia didn't try to escape the open tank while Bill went downstairs to assess the situation.  

 

    幸運的是，Bill 星期四的義工，29 歲的Darshan Patel，願意留下來幫忙。  他們一起把 Karma  50 加侖的水桶從換水的機器上移開，放到地上。  Bill 把 Octavia 展覽水箱上部的門閥打開。  Darshan 從有玻璃的展覽廳中，觀察並提供 Bill 方向，Bill 在水箱上邊拿著特別的大網從上方伸進水箱中，試圖把 Octavia 給撈出來。  Octavia 一碰到網子 立刻地躲進更深的角落裡。  Bill 的網子無法從那個角度搆到 Octavia。  於是 Bill 和 Darshan 互換地方， Darshan 到了水箱的上方，防止 Octavia 從那兒逃出來。  Bill 則在展覽廳透過玻璃研究下一步要如何進行。  

To give them more room to maneuver, they needed to remove an additional portion of the cover, which was bolted to the tank.  Darshan donned waders so he could stand in the tank while Bill worked from above.  Octavia's cloudy eyes swiveled to follow them as he worked.  

    為了要有更多空間可以操作，他們把水箱上面用螺絲綁定的蓋子一個一個移除。  Darshan 更身著吊帶釣魚褲準備進入魚箱來配合 Bill。  同一時間裡，Octavia 用他那混濁的雙眼緊緊跟著 Darshan 。

Darshan is five foot ten; the water came up to his waist, but when he bent over, cold water poured inside his waders.  When the lid came off, Octavia began to move towards the back glass that separates her tank from the wolf eels.  Bill worked a net above; Darshan used a net, plus his free hand, while in the water.  "We were being gentle, trying to guide her into the net," Bill told me.  But Octavia evaded them again and again.  Even with four of her arms in the net, she was holding on to the rocks with four others.  As Darshan pursued her, she poured two of her arms and half her body into a crevice and refused to let go.  "For an old octopus, she was still super-strong," Darshan said.  "You have to have respect for her suckers. It's crazy how strong they are."  

    Darshan 是五呎十吋高，水箱的水只到他的腰，可是他一彎身，那冷水就滾進了他的吊褲裡。  就在他們把更多的蓋子移除時， Octavia 更是把自己整個貼在水箱後的玻璃上，那玻璃是分隔章魚水箱和鰻狼魚水箱的。  這時， Bill 從上頭伸進一個網子， Darshan 在水裡也用一個網子還加上他的手。  "我們非常小心而且輕柔的引導他進網子裡。"  Bill 跟我說。  但是 Octavia 一次又一次的躲過他們。  即使他有四肢觸手在網子裡， 其他四肢觸手卻牢牢吸在石頭上。  當 Darshan 又一次的追著他，Octavia 把兩肢觸手和半個身體擠進了石縫裡怎麼也不放。  "就一個老章魚而言，他實在太強壯了。" Darshan 說："他的吸盤真是令我佩服。"

It was obvious this wasn't going to work.  So while Darshan, soaked and freezing, stayed in the tank, with Octavia just inches from the top, Bill changed quickly into his wet suit.  They prayed Octavia wouldn't try to come out.  

    這樣不是辦法。  Darshan 只好又濕又冷的待在水箱裡，眼睜睜的看著 Octavia 就在身旁，等 Bill 去換潛水衣。  他們只有祈禱 Octavia 不會在這個時候逃出水箱。  

Darshan moved back as Bill got into the cramped tank, both men careful to step around the two leather stars and anemones on the bottom.  And then, as the sea stars observed the proceedings eyelessly from his usual position across from Octavia's lair, Bill bent his six-foot-five frame in half so that, although he couldn't see her tucked up under the rocks, he could feel Octavia's suckers.  With his fingers, he gently urged her into his waiting net.  

    為了讓 Bill 擠進水箱，Darshan 往後挪出了空間。 兩人都非常小心他們的下腳處，深怕會踩到兩隻皮海星和其他的海葵。 雖說海星沒有眼睛，但海星一動不動的待在平常和 Octavia 巢穴對面的角落裡，Bill 就好像在海星的窺視下， 彎下他六尺五吋身軀，雖然他依舊無法看到 Octavia， 但他可以觸摸到 Octavia 的吸盤。 Bill 用他的手指，輕輕催促著 Octavia進入他的網中。  

To Darshan's astonishment, at the touch of Bill's hand Octavia entered Bill's net on the first try.  She had not tasted Bill's skin for ten months.  All that time, because she was under the ceiling of her lair, she could not see it was him handing her food on the grabber.  And yet, Octavia's response to Bill's touch showed two remarkable aspects of her relationship with her keeper.  She not only remembered him; she trusted him, too.  

    出乎 Darshan 的意料之外， 在 Bill 第一次的觸摸下，Octavia 乖乖地進入了網子。  Octavia 已經有十個月沒有品嘗過 Bill 的肌膚了。  這期間， Octavia 都躲在自己洞穴裡的天花板下，所以 Octavia(他) ( 在這十個月裡 )並沒有看到是 Bill 伸了長長的管子來給他餵食的。  但如今 Octavia 在給 Bill 觸摸後的反應裡，展現了 Octavia(他) 和飼養員之間的關係，有著兩點令人驚奇的地方。  那就是， Octavia 不僅僅記得 Bill； 而且，他也信任 Bill.  

(自 The Soul of Octopus by Sy Montgomery， Chapter 8)

如果沒有什麼

 如果沒有什麼在我的腦袋裡，

為什麼我感覺有東西在那裏？

如果沒有什麼在我的心裡，

為什麼我感覺有沉沉的，有東西似的。

我暫時停止呼吸。

怕，是我不通的鼻子製造的聲音。

心裡還是沉沉的。

腦袋裡也仍是有東西在那裏。

於是，我想，用什麼來表達，

在身體裡的，腦袋裡的，

那個東西長什麼樣子。

什麼想法也沒有。

除了沉重的感覺。 

想法似乎都逃光了。  

Something on my minds

 I got something on my mind.

I cannot tell you what they are.  

Not because I am stingy with words.  

But I am still trying to search for them.  

Maybe it's just a false alarm.  

But somehow it was hanging on my tongue.  

If I found them, my wish was not to 

hang them on my wall

well, I was hoping that by finding out

I will ease the thought

that has no words in it

and find a peace at last.  

歌詞

 搖籃曲

曲：布拉姆斯

詞：李抱枕

快快睡，我寶貝，窗外天已黑，

小鳥回巢去，太陽也休息，

到天亮，出太陽，又是鳥語花香，

到天亮，出太陽，又是鳥語花香。

快快睡，我寶寶，兩眼要閉好，

媽媽看護你，安睡不怕懼，

好寶寶，安睡了，我的寶寶睡了，

好寶寶，安睡了，我的寶寶睡了。

我印象裡的歌詞一直都是 寶寶睡，寶寶睡。。。  後來的就忘了。  這裡的歌詞我還不會唱。

-----------------

Home Sweet Home

Composed: Sir Henry Bishop

Lyrics: Payne

Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home
A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there
Which seek thro' the world, is ne'er met elsewhere
Home! Home!
Sweet, sweet home!
There's no place like home
There's no place like home!

An exile from home splendor dazzles in vain
Oh give me my lowly thatched cottage again
The birds singing gaily that came at my call
And gave me the peace of mind dearer than all
Home, home, sweet, sweet home
There's no place like home, there's no place like home!

中文

我的家庭真可愛，整潔美滿又安康， 姊妹兄弟很和氣，父母都慈祥； 雖然沒有好花園，春蘭秋桂常飄香； 雖然沒有大廳堂，冬天溫暖夏天涼。

-----------------------------------------

去年鈔的

 日本國長屋王崇敬佛法，造千袈裟，來施此國大德眾僧，其袈裟緣上繡著四句曰：

｢山川異域，風月同天，寄諸佛子，共結來緣。｣

以此思量，誠是佛法興隆，有緣之國也。 今我同法眾中，誰有應此遠請，向日本國傳法者乎？

--鑑真和尚東征傳

在 Covid-19 下，武漢封城時，看到日友人支援中國時在箱子上所印的貼條上有：山川異域，風月同天。  很喜歡。  去找了出處。  下面一首詩，也是在日本友人援助武漢時的封條。  

【送柴侍御。王昌齡】

沅水通波接武岡，送君不覺有離傷，

青山一道同雲雨，明月何曾是兩鄉。

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One day we were born, 
one day we shall die, 
the same day, the same second... 
Birth astride a grave, 
the light gleams an instant, 
then it's night once more. 

(Book When breath becomes air, quoted this line.  a very striking quote.  But the way book Quotes is much more like a poem.  Below is the original text, from a play by Samuel Beckett, was originally in French, then translated by the author into English.)

Have you not done tormenting me with your accursed time!  It's abominable!  When! When! One day, is that not enough for you, one day he went dumb, one day I went blind, one day we'll go deaf, one day we were born, one day we shall die, the same day, the same second, is that not enough for you? 

They give birth astride a grave, the light gleams an instant, then it's night once more. 

--------------------------------------------------------

What now is proved

was once only imagined.

The rat, the mouse, the fox,

the rabbit watch the roots;

the lion, the tyger, the horse,

the elephant...

Watch the fruits.

The cistern contains;

the fountain...

Overflow

(William Blake in Bones season 2:17)

Lovers and Madmen

have such seething brains

such shaping fantasies,

that apprehend more 

than cool reason 

ever comprehends.

(Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream, in Bones, season 2:17)

These were conversation between Gordon Gordon and Angela Montenegro.  When Gordon Gordon read those lines, it was very charming!  Some people are very talented!

------------------------------------------------------------

｢生死之交｣ 是友情的最崇高的境界，但是這種事情要慢慢來。 你不要剛認識一個人，就希望它是你的 ｢生死之交｣ 。 這等於你一認識他，你就想要 ｢取他性命｣。

朋友有 ｢通財之雅｣。 這種事情也要看交情的深淺。 如果你剛認識一個人， 就要求對方有這種 ｢通財之雅｣ ，就等於剛認識一個人， 就想 ｢取他錢財｣ 。

【林良。豐富人生】

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一個有趣的劇情

 連續殺人犯是偵探警察故事的重要劇情。  我最近在看一個叫做 "mentalist" 的影集。  昨天看到影集裡重要的連續殺人犯被殺之後的故事，變得更為懸疑，因為到底殺的是不是那個連續殺人犯？  我可以看到這個問題將成為一個很吸引人的話題！一般我看到的都是把連續殺人犯抓到或殺了作為結束，這種到底殺的人是誰還滿新鮮的，至少對我而言。  

怎麼量一個動物的身體？

 我們平常去看醫生，體重和身高是我們身體最基本的度量衡。  我最近在看一本書，在講烏薩黃石公園野放的狼群。  在廿世紀初，野狼就被烏薩國給整個滅絕了。  之後一直到 1997 年以前，除了零星的幾隻狼會從加拿大遊蕩過界，烏薩國基本上沒有狼。  但是到了 1970 年代開始，有了不同的聲音。  逐漸有人希望狼可以重回烏薩國本土。  尤其是在烏薩國國會通過了瀕臨絕種動物法案後。  這一段歷史很有趣， 因為在反對和贊成讓狼重回烏薩的立場上，出現了很多的波折。  到最後居然出現了三種角度。  一個角度是完全反對， 反對的意見包括牧人害怕經濟損失、獵人怕獵物被狼吃光了、有的人怕狼會傷害人。  第二個角度是贊成，他們認為這是把狼整個從烏薩國給滅掉是一種非常不自然的方法，而且造成了其他動物的過量繁殖，間接造成國家公園裡和其他地方的植披和林象的破壞。  有趣的是，當時已經發現狼群很有可能會從加拿大往南遷移。  在瀕臨絕種生物法案下，這些南移的狼將會受到此法案的保護。  這對烏薩國北邊的幾個省會造成很大的困擾。  因為在此法案下，很多的棲息地將不能被牧人或農人拿來使用，而要成為保護地。  從 1970 年末，為了使狼群可以在國家公園裡生存，贊成的人裡那些學者專家提出了一個妥協方案， 就是另立一個特別法，使的放生在國家公園裡的狼群在法律上屬於一個特殊地位，可以不完全受瀕臨絕種生物法案的保護。  這個妥協議案始終都受到烏薩邦國北方三國的否決，但是當 1980 年代末，他們發現狼群的自然的南移可能性大大增加，那三國的議員居然贊成了妥協決議，最好笑的是，贊成的一方現在居 然分為兩派，一派希望乾脆讓狼群南遷讓他們受到瀕臨絕種法案來保護，另一派還是希望可以趕快用協議案馬上把狼群移植到國家公園。  兩派的人各自又分為贊成和反對。  結果是妥協的議案通過。  

其實，我在看書的時候想的是阿穆爾老虎。  和一隻鳥共同生活不怎麼樣，可是如果和老虎共同生活，會是啥樣？  要如何一起活下去？  

拉拉雜雜的寫了一堆，我的題目反而沒有提到。  很有趣的事情是，書裡提及狼的身體時，除了重量和高度外，還多了從尾巴到鼻尖的度量衡：長度。  我覺得有趣，因為人類似乎也應該有這樣的測量。。。  

NBA 這一季的目前的感想

 我看很多 NBA 的精采剪輯。  我最喜歡看的是金洲勇士隊。  其實他們是冠軍球隊時，我很少看。  但是我覺得看他們比賽的時候，可以感受到他們的快樂。  這是看其他球隊所沒有的。  感覺上是 SC 的原因吧。  在這一季開賽和籃網打完後，可以感受到 SC 心理是很難過的。  所以我就開始特別注意這個球隊，主要是我覺得這時才會看出 SC 到底是個怎樣的球員。  他們現在仍不是籃網或著湖人的對手，可是看籃網或者湖人，都不能感受到看勇士隊的快樂。  目前我只從另一個球員身上看到類似 SC 的感染力，那就是達拉斯小牛的 LD。  我覺得如果 SC、KT、DG 如果可以一起打到退休那該有多好，他們在一起打球真的很有感染力。  我知道 SC 常常有一些慶祝的舉動讓其他球員不爽，可是如果他的用意不是污辱其他人，而是因為進球的快樂，長久下去他的舉動總是會讓其他球員理解的吧。  想想如果勇士隊只有 DG，我相信一定是一堆紛爭。  可是因為有了SC 和 KT，一個是快樂的球員，一個是穩重的球員，再加上一個像火山似的 DG， 真的非常有看頭！  SC 雖說是個快樂的球員，但是他的敬業精神，和求勝的意志目前看來並不比 LBJ 差。  前年勇士的季後賽，LBJ 盛讚 SC 

"Never underestimates the heart of a champion!"

我是滿感動的。  真的是英雄惜英雄，好漢惜好漢！

---------------------------------------------------------

一直一來我最喜歡的球隊是聖安東尼馬刺。  現在仍是，只是我覺得勇士更多了份興高采烈的氣氛。  目前馬刺又排在八強裡，我看到了真是高興，希望可以持續。  在歷經鄧肯和諸老將退休和 KW 的戲碼後，馬刺的老教頭竟又帶領這支球隊打出不錯的成績來。  他們有兩個很棒的老球星，和諸多新人，我可以看得出每一個人每年在球技體能都有長足的長進。  我非常期待他們打出好球！

-------------------------------------------------------

NBA 現在很有趣的現象是那幾年鄧肯的馬刺和奈許的太陽隊雙方的廝殺下，所打出的球路為現在的 NBA 畫下了藍圖。  而雙方的經理，教練人才也充斥整個 NBA 大生態群裡。  象波士頓的塞爾特人總經理，勇士的教練，公鹿的教練，尼克的教練。。。  太陽是天才逼人，以速度和如水般的攻勢做他們的主軸；而馬刺一開始是堅強的中鋒，頑強防守，傲人的組織能力做他們的主軸，但是到了後來，總教頭更顯出驚人的順應時勢的態度，利用自己的優勢向太陽學習，終於在一三和一四年兩度打進冠軍賽。  現在看到馬刺打球時，仍可以看到老教頭順應時勢的態度驚人。  充分發揮每個人的能力，而不是把人死板板的塞在一個僵化的教條裡。  很值得學習！

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Second readthrough of a book

I just finished reading Tuesday with Morrie the second time.  I  can separate my own experience from the book better this time.  I can feel more about what I already know rationally.  I liked it better this time for this reason.  

I felt the author's writing skill was really great, he's a professional writer.  The writing style was easy to follow, and yet, it told a complicated story.  But the constant reflecting back and forth was kind cumbersome for me.  But individual portion of past and present was fluid and thoughtful.  And I wondered why that author put every speech of Morrie into quotation marks, but he never put his own words in quotation marks.  Initially I was thinking he's distancing himself from scenes, kind of like a bystanders.  But then again, I think maybe it's out of the respect of his professor.  For it is Morrie's words the author wanted to convey and present here.  

I find Morrie to be an interesting person.  I think I would like him too.  Even at this stage, his thoughts were clear and composed.  He was still compassionate.  It seemed all the caretakers liked him for what he was.  But what fascinating was the fact, he admitted his own depression and crying in the morning.  The strength he showed, which was not presented in anger, sadness.  He was worried about people wiping his behind, and when he was decayed to that degree, he said he actually enjoyed it.  That phrase sounded so familiar to me, I heard from grandpa, and I heard from my mom now.  It always sounded like a thorns in my ears.  My heart always sink and a taste of annoyance burnt my tongue.  Morrie's "enjoy it" scared me.  But is it not true, that people decay?  What was I irritated by?  This reminded me of a quote from Growing Up, 

            "This one is written out of a childish faith in the eternal strength of parents, a naïve believe that age and wear could be overcome by an effort of will...  It is such a foolish, innocent idea, but one thinks of parents differently from other people.  Other people can become frail and break, but not parents."(Growing Up, Chapter 1)

I still had hard time not comparing him to my grandpa.  I was watching a program made after Morrie's death, the interviews was quite something.  I said to my mom, who's watching it with me, "Morrie still like to have visitors, but grandpa was avoiding them."  My mom said: "Grandpa was almost deaf."  I can see that.  Morrie was losing his limbs first, what if he lost his hearing?  And when Morrie said:

            "Mitch, why would I take like that?  Taking just makes me feel like I'm dying.  Giving makes feel like I'm living." (Tuesday with Morrie, Afterword, 20th anniversary edition)

The familiarity of the phrase was even stronger.  This idea of giving is living, is a hallmark of my grandpa.  I also heard from Aunt Grace that her grand mother like to buy stuff for her kids, grand kids.  And Aunt Grace would put money into her grand mother's wallet, and let grand mother buy stuff for her kids and grand kids.  Morrie gave more of his thoughts and words.  And as independent as Morrie, when he said he's enjoying people wiping his behind.  I was thinking of my grandpa as well.  I helped to bath him a couple of times.  And the feeling of embarrassment was visible in people involved, including grandpa.  I felt Morrie's emotion was strong, but also self restrain and discipline.  

People around my grandpa was emotional, though the way they expressed that emotion was different, every single one of them was emotional.   Maybe too emotional, all wrapped in their own emotion.  

Here's a few quotes and poems in the book: 

September 1, 1939

W. H. Auden - 1907-1973

I sit in one of the dives

On Fifty-second Street

Uncertain and afraid

As the clever hopes expire

Of a low dishonest decade:

Waves of anger and fear

Circulate over the bright

And darkened lands of the earth,

Obsessing our private lives;

The unmentionable odour of death

Offends the September night.

Accurate scholarship can

Unearth the whole offence

From Luther until now

That has driven a culture mad,

Find what occurred at Linz,

What huge imago made

A psychopathic god:

I and the public know

What all schoolchildren learn,

Those to whom evil is done

Do evil in return.

Exiled Thucydides knew

All that a speech can say

About Democracy,

And what dictators do,

The elderly rubbish they talk

To an apathetic grave;

Analysed all in his book,

The enlightenment driven away,

The habit-forming pain,

Mismanagement and grief:

We must suffer them all again.

Into this neutral air

Where blind skyscrapers use

Their full height to proclaim

The strength of Collective Man,

Each language pours its vain

Competitive excuse:

But who can live for long

In an euphoric dream;

Out of the mirror they stare,

Imperialism's face

And the international wrong.

Faces along the bar

Cling to their average day:

The lights must never go out,

The music must always play,

All the conventions conspire

To make this fort assume

The furniture of home;

Lest we should see where we are,

Lost in a haunted wood,

Children afraid of the night

Who have never been happy or good.

The windiest militant trash

Important Persons shout

Is not so crude as our wish:

What mad Nijinsky wrote

About Diaghilev

Is true of the normal heart;

For the error bred in the bone

Of each woman and each man

Craves what it cannot have,

Not universal love

But to be loved alone.

From the conservative dark

Into the ethical life

The dense commuters come,

Repeating their morning vow;

"I will be true to the wife,

I'll concentrate more on my work,"

And helpless governors wake

To resume their compulsory game:

Who can release them now,

Who can reach the deaf,

Who can speak for the dumb?

All I have is a voice

To undo the folded lie,

The romantic lie in the brain

Of the sensual man-in-the-street

And the lie of Authority

Whose buildings grope the sky:

There is no such thing as the State

And no one exists alone;

Hunger allows no choice

To the citizen or the police;

We must love one another or die.

Defenceless under the night

Our world in stupor lies;

Yet, dotted everywhere,

Ironic points of light

Flash out wherever the Just

Exchange their messages:

May I, composed like them

Of Eros and of dust,

Beleaguered by the same

Negation and despair,

Show an affirming flame.

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my father moved through dooms of love

E. E. Cummings - 1894-1962

34

my father moved through dooms of love

through sames of am through haves of give,

singing each morning out of each night

my father moved through depths of height

this motionless forgetful where

turned at his glance to shining here;

that if (so timid air is firm)

under his eyes would stir and squirm

newly as from unburied which

floats the first who, his april touch

drove sleeping selves to swarm their fates

woke dreamers to their ghostly roots

and should some why completely weep

my father’s fingers brought her sleep:

vainly no smallest voice might cry

for he could feel the mountains grow.

Lifting the valleys of the sea

my father moved through griefs of joy;

praising a forehead called the moon

singing desire into begin

joy was his song and joy so pure

a heart of star by him could steer

and pure so now and now so yes

the wrists of twilight would rejoice

keen as midsummer’s keen beyond

conceiving mind of sun will stand,

so strictly (over utmost him

so hugely) stood my father’s dream

his flesh was flesh his blood was blood:

no hungry man but wished him food;

no cripple wouldn’t creep one mile

uphill to only see him smile.

Scorning the Pomp of must and shall

my father moved through dooms of feel;

his anger was as right as rain

his pity was as green as grain

septembering arms of year extend

less humbly wealth to foe and friend

than he to foolish and to wise 

offered immeasurable is

proudly and (by octobering flame

beckoned) as earth will downward climb,

so naked for immortal work

his shoulders marched against the dark

his sorrow was as true as bread:

no liar looked him in the head;

if every friend became his foe

he’d laugh and build a world with snow.

My father moved through theys of we,

singing each new leaf out of each tree

(and every child was sure that spring

danced when she heard my father sing)

then let men kill which cannot share,

let blood and flesh be mud and mire,

scheming imagine, passion willed,

freedom a drug that’s bought and sold

giving to steal and cruel kind,

a heart to fear, to doubt a mind,

to differ a disease of same,

conform the pinnacle of am

though dull were all we taste as bright,

bitter all utterly things sweet,

maggoty minus and dumb death

all we inherit, all bequeath

and nothing quite so least as truth

—i say though hate were why men breathe—

because my Father lived his soul

love is the whole and more than all

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I've picked a place to be buried....Very serene.  A good place to think....Are you planning on thinking there?  I'm planning on being dead there.  He chuckles. I chuckles.  Will you visit?  ...You'll come to my grave?  To tell me your problems?  ...And you'll give me answers?  I'll give you what I can.  Don't I always?  ...It won't be the same, I say, not being able to hear you talk.  He closes his eyes and smiles.  Tell you what.  After I'm dead, you talk.  And I'll listen.

(Quotes, The Twelfth Tuesday, Tuesdays with Morrie)

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Part of the problem, Mitch, is that everyone is in such a hurry.

(Quote, The Ninth Tuesday, Tuesdays with Morrie)

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Age is not just decay, you know.  It's more than the negative that you are going to die, it's also the positive that you understand you're going to die, and that you live a better life because of it.

Yes, I said, but if aging were so valuable, why do people always say, "Oh, if I were young again."  You never hear people say, "I wish I were sixty-five."  

He smiled.  "You know what that reflects?  Unsatisfied lives.  unfulfilled lives.  Lives that haven't found meaning.  Because if you've found meaning in your life, you don't want to go back.  You want to go forward  You want to see more, do more.  You can't wait until sixty-five.

(Quotes, The Seventh Tuesday, Tuesday with Morrie)

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First time reading through a book

 This is an easy book to read really.  But somehow I don't really like it.  I felt it's all the rehashed ideas, phrases, and reasonings.  But apparently my mom loved it.  She immediately read through twice.  I wonder why the difference between her and I?  

The first reading through was kind a leafing through process.  Now I am going to read it again in these 2 days.  Just to find out what I've missed.  

My first impression like I phrased, it was rehashed ideas and phrases, plus reasonings.  But the problem is I'd love watching hero movies again and again, how  come I don't like to read this kind books.  I guess because I could not feel exhilarations?  

So many descriptions here reminded me of my grandpa.  Grandpa always wants to tell his story, like Morrie; unlike Morrie, grandpa's story was always how wealthy his family used to be, or how he as a young seaman working on ships; or he help setup the telephone system in the Japanese branch office while he was working in Japan, all by himself, though he has no prior knowledge of telephone system.  Morrie, on the other hand seemed to talk about about  values, how we face the death, but he did mention he want to talk about his story which is grandpa did too.  Morrie wanted to meet people and talk; grandpa was afraid to meet strangers at the end of his life, but he certainly wanted company, just company he preferred.  Morrie's death description so reminded me of how I saw my grandpa went as well.  The smile, no words, red face.  That noiseless silence at the end of life.  

Talking about death somehow made me visualize the whole thing.  And my mind just could not escape that scene.  

I will read through it again though.  I understand the strength the book wanted to give, and like many other similar books, RandyPausch's last lecture and PaulKalanithi's when breath became air came to mind, I keep wanting to get something out of them, I don't seemed to able to do it...  

A poem I found

 The Last Rose of Summer by Thomas Moore

‘Tis the last rose of Summer,
   Left blooming alone;
All her lovely companions
   Are faded and gone;
No flower of her kindred,
   No rose-bud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes
  Or give sigh for sigh!

I’ll not leave thee, thou lone one,
   To pine on the stem;
Since the lovely are sleeping,
   Go sleep thou with them.
Thus kindly I scatter
   Thy leaves o’er the bed
Where thy mates of the garden
   Lie scentless and dead.

So soon may I follow,
   When friendships decay,
And from Love’s shining circle
   The gems drop away!
When true hearts lie withered,
   And fond ones are flown,
Oh! who would inhabit
   This bleak world alone?

小龍蝦歌唱的地方 觀後感

 Where the crawdads sing afterthought

I will not say anything about the plot, because I knew the plot before reading the book and I think it weakened the impact for me.  

I thought it is very good at describing nature, how nature enrich people's life.  I liked the way it jumped from different times of the protagonist's life.  This way of writing kept me engaged.  There were detective element and court room drama, which I read some reviews saying it was weak, I tend to agree.  But they were interwoven into a nicely paced rhythm.  I thought it was nice.  

I thought it was a heart warming story.  These people helped the protagonist with compassion in a way not intrusive at all.  The people in town however were merely decorative.  

I thought the poems in the story were kind weak.  The romantic love plotlines were a bit weak as well.  The best story line were between Tate and his father, the description of them together was fascinating to me, as well as Jumpin' and the protagonist.  

I already know the ending before reading the story, and because of this, I tried to see if I could find the clues during reading.  But I could not, except 1 clue.   

I felt the languages used in the book was quite poetic, saved from poems used by the protagonist, I thought those were weak, except the last one.  I felt the ending was a bit rushed because it was concluded in a summary style.  Of course, knowing it before hand was a mistake...  

I was reading how LouisePenny created the character of detectiveGamache.  She said she created a male character with all the traits she admired.  I felt the author for this book did the same thing too. 

The only poem I thought was good written by the protagonist:

The firefly

Luring him was as 
easy
as flashing 
valentines.
But like a lady 
firefly 
They hid a secret
call to die. 

A final touch,

Unfinished; 

The last step, a trap.

Down, down he 

falls,

His eyes still holding

mine 

Until they see 

another world.

I saw them change. 

First a question,

Then an answer,

Finally an end.  

And love itself

passing

To whatever it was 

before it began.

Review on my exercise

 I started to plan and record exercise I did in December.  But the effort frizzled out around 4th week.  I was just checking my desk and fount it out.  I had a bit injury at the end of that period.  So I took it easy for a while, hoping I  could get back on track.  But I never did.  I kept reminding myself that when I was younger, it was my mom who pushed us to swim almost everyday.  I hope that by reminding myself this, I would push myself hard.  It did not pan out that way.  

I am going to try it out again.  Let's be clear, I want to plan with easy exercise that I could count in easy terms like repetition, duration, and sets.  But it has to be easy.  The activity designated cannot be vague.  The plan should be easy to follow, complicated ones always fail.  Ambition is good, put it to work for persistence, preservation, rather than difficult and hard activities.  

When I first started I only planned 100 pushups a day, doesn't matter it's done in one sitting or it's done is 100 sittings.  Right at this moment, I'd say the same thing. 

Either 10 downdogs a day, or 100 pushups a day.  If I could not get 100 push ups, I do 10 downdogs.   If I want extra, of course, but for this week utnil Friday, this is the only plan I want to follow.  

Thanks,

Jack

黑暗神聖的夜讀後感

 Dark Sacred Night Afterthought

Plot:

Renee Ballard and Harry Bosch teamed up to solve a cold case.  Along the way, they solved other crimes as well.  

Thought:

Just finished reading last night,  hardly put it down.  I've already borrowed it once, but I was tired of Bosch series at that point.  So I skipped it after 32% of reading.  This time I blew through the beginning portion fairly quickly.  I guess I started to flip through some other parts as well, knowing what I want to read, what I don't want o read helps to speed things up.  

I like Renee, like Bosch said she's 1 in 100, the real detective material.  Not only she cares about the case but also has a knack on what's important to the case; and she has the grit to follow through the case as well.  The problem with these kind of story really is that everybody here has a dark background, no real family or other relationships except working colleagues.  The world is very bleak and narrow here.  But I have to say Renee and Bosch works well.  They shared something in common.  Bosch is a lot older, Renee has her own experience as well.  They both are detective material and leadership type of people.  They communicate on the same level.  

There are quite a number of cases here.  And yet the central theme of the novel is always on point, never spin out of control.  That speaks of the author's ability to tell a multi threads story.  And Renee is an interesting representative of the female in a male dominated field.  The view of a female was consistent and persistent but never overwhelming.   I also liked the ending.  I felt it's a clever way to put Bosch's internal struggle into a real world action.  Like it said at the end, bend the rules but not break them.  

The ending reminds me of the serial killer in Devil in the White City.  And I think it's a convenient ending.  Author writes a pretty intense scene so I do like the ending.  But how it find this person is quite abrupt.  But I guess it could be real as well...  

致命的恩典讀後感

A Fatal Grace Afterthought

I'd waited this book for a long time, maybe 20 weeks+.  I am reserving the next book in the series, and my wait time is 22 weeks!  And I can totally see why.  

I feel this one is more fast paced compared the first one.  The characters are even more flashed out.  I find their quirkiness delightful.  I was bugged down by the last book a little bit because of the Agent Nicole storyline.  But this time, I felt there's less tension on the surface.  And whatever conspiracy there was, it created enough intrigue rather than bugging down the flow.  I was reading another review about the book, and I agreed that the author created a really good cast of people, who are likeable and yet depth as well.  

It's kind funny that I already guessed who the murderer was, but towards the end, I was happy to be led to believe otherwise.  Then I found I was right in the beginning.  Sometimes I just lost myself in the stories.  It is a great escapist book!  

There're some poems quoted in the book, I found them quite interesting.  And I read somewhere the author did not write her own poems but quoted from other sources, here're some that  I found interesting(Bold meant author used this portion in the book):

“Who hurt you, once,

so far beyond repair

that you would meet each overture

with curling lip?

While we, who knew you well,

your friends, (the focus of your scorn)

could see your courage in the face of fear,

your wit, and thoughtfulness,

and will remember you

with something close to love.”

(This is a poem by Marylyn Plessner titled, "Lady Mink: A Sort of Requiem" and is from her book, Vapour Trails. Marylyn Plessner was a Canadian who lived in England for much of her life.)

You're sad because you're sad.
It's psychic. It's the age. It's chemical.
Go see a shrink or take a pill,
or hug your sadness like an eyeless doll

you need to sleep.

Well, all children are sad
but some get over it.
Count your blessings. Better than that,
buy a hat. Buy a coat or pet.
Take up dancing to forget.

Forget what?
Your sadness, your shadow,
whatever it was that was done to you
the day of the lawn party
when you came inside flushed with the sun,
your mouth sulky with sugar,
in your new dress with the ribbon
and the ice-cream smear,
and said to yourself in the bathroom,
I am not the favorite child.

My darling, when it comes
right down to it
and the light fails and the fog rolls in
and you're trapped in your overturned body
under a blanket or burning car,

and the red flame is seeping out of you
and igniting the tarmac beside your head
or else the floor, or else the pillow,
none of us is;
or else we all are.

(By Margaret Atwood, Sad Child)

Long dead, and buried in 

another town, 

my mother hasn't finished with me yet

When my death us do apart

Then shall forgiven and 

forgiving meet again,

Or will it be, as always was,

too late?

(cannot find author, maybe it is by Louise?  I find it haunting, especially the first 3 lines.)

The third day comes a frost, a killing frost,

And,—when he thinks, good easy man, full surely

His greatness is a-ripening,—nips his root,

And then he falls, as I do. 

(Shakepeare, Wolsey's Farewell, King Henry VIII)

The birds they sang
At the break of day
Start again
I heard them say
Don't dwell on what
Has passed away
Or what is yet to be.
Ah the wars they will
Be fought again
The holy dove
She will be caught again
Bought and sold
And bought again
The dove is never free.

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.

We asked for signs
The signs were sent:
The birth betrayed
The marriage spent
Yeah the widowhood
Of every government
Signs for all to see.

I can run no more
With that lawless crowd
While the killers in high places
Say their prayers out loud.
But they've summoned, they've summoned up
A thundercloud
They're gonna hear from me.

Ring ring ring ring ring

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in

You can add up the parts
But you won't have the sum
You can strike up the march,
There is no drum
Every heart, every heart
To love will come
But like a refugee.

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.
That's how the light gets in.
That's how the light gets in.

(Song by Leonard Cohen, Anthem; I listened him singing, I also find it haunting and eerie.  Kind pessimistic, or maybe realistic?)  

翻譯練習2

 All  excerpts are from tamed anduntamed.  It's a collection of articles written by 2 columnists about animals.  This one is from ElizabethMarshallThomas.

Different information

-Liz-

It's difficult to summarize how any individual animal perceive the world, but it's extra difficult to do this for dogs in general.  No other species, not even our own, can approach the dog in physical variety -- a big Great Dane can be over three feet tall at the shoulder and weigh about two hundred pounds, yet it belongs to the same species as the Chihuahua, and weighing maybe nine pounds.  

第二稿

描述某一物種如何體驗這個世界是件困難的事，要描述狗的話那就更加困難了。  因為狗在體型上的多樣性不是其他生物所能望其項背的，即使人類也不行。  拿一隻巨型的大丹犬來說，他最高的肩高可以達到三英尺，體重可達兩百英鎊；可是跟他同一種的吉娃娃，也許只有九英鎊！

第一稿

要描述任何單一物種如何體驗這個世界是一件困難的事情，但是用一段文字來描寫所有的狗是如何體驗這個世界那就更困難了。 因為沒有其他物種能夠比得上狗在體型上的多樣性，即使人類也不行。  拿一隻巨型的大丹犬來說，他最高的肩高可以達到三英尺，體重可達兩百英鎊；可是跟他同一種的吉娃娃，也許只有九英鎊！

So to start with vision, your height makes a difference.  Just as you can see father when up on a ladder than when standing on the ground, so can a Great Dane see farther than a Chihuahua, a fact I notice every day when outdoors with my Chihuahua, whose visual world doesn't go beyond the lawn, or even much beyond his little nostrils when we're in long grass.  If you lie on your side with your head on the ground, you'll get an idea of his range.  He therefore isn't informed by vision as much as are those who are taller.  

我們先說說視覺吧，你的身高會造成視覺範圍的差異。 站在梯子上會比在地上看得遠，所以大丹狗會比吉娃娃看得更遠。 我每次溜我的吉娃娃時都會觀察到這個現象，他的視線無法超過草坪，如果草長一點，那他的視線只能停在自己的鼻尖。  如果你側躺著，頭放在地上，你約略可以感受他的視覺範圍。 因為這高度的問題，吉娃娃從視覺上得到的訊息遠比其他高個兒來的少。  

How about hearing?  Here he does better.  When he hears a meaningful sound, he turns to face it just as we would, as if to see what made it, and he's sensitive to sound even when he's sleeping.  At night he sleeps in my bed under the covers, and if he hears a suspicious noise he leaps up barking.  

那聽覺呢？ 這個他就比較在行了。 當他聽到一個有意思的聲音，他會跟我們一樣轉身回頭去看看，聲音是哪兒來的；甚至睡覺時他對聲音也很敏感。  他晚上睡在我的被窩裡， 如果他聽到可疑的聲音，他會立刻跳出來汪汪大叫。

Of course, dogs are best informed by scent, and as we all know their sense of smell is vastly better than ours.  What's interesting about this little dog, therefore, is his realism about scent information.  When he's in my office and hears something, he jumps up to look out the window, sniffing as he does.  Thus he opens his eyes, his ears, and his nose to any evidence he can collect about what he's just heard.  

當然，狗最好的感官是嗅覺，大家都知道狗狗嗅覺的靈敏是遠遠超過人類的。 我這吉娃娃最有趣的地方就在於他自己是多重視嗅覺所帶來的訊息！ 當他在我的書房聽到窗外的聲音，他不僅僅是跳起來試著望出窗外，甚至看可以看到他用力的抽動著鼻子。  在同一時間裡，他睜大了眼睛，豎起了耳朵和鼻孔來收集所有的資訊，試圖知道聲音來源到底是啥。

This changes when we go outside.  There the world of odors is readily available, and he run here and there with his nose to the ground, or, because he grew up in a city and is a city dog by heart, he also goes to my car and sniffs the tires.  

但是當他到戶外的時候，一切都不一樣了。 在戶外，這個世界的氣味是隨手可得，無論走到哪兒，他的鼻子總是貼著地面； 又因為他在城市裡長大，總是帶點城裡的習慣，他總會走向我的車去聞聞車子的輪胎。 

It makes sense if you think about it.  A sight or sound can vanish in an instant, but a scent will cling.  A sigh or sound may be experienced quickly and tends to transmit just a tiny, very specific amount of information -- often more than enough to tell you what you need to know.  But it doesn't compare to a scent, as a scent remains available for a long time, and just one sniff can load you with all kinds of information.  

仔細想想，這是有道理的。 聲色往往一過即逝，氣味卻會纏繞不走。 我們可以很快速地體驗聲音和影像，他們傳遞的訊息很獨特份量卻只有一點點 -- 大部分時候這一點點就足夠我們的所需。 但是這些是不能和氣味相比，氣味常常可以纏留很長一段時間， 而且只要鼻子一吸就會帶給你一堆的訊息。  

Let's say you look out the window and think you glimpse a mountain lion in your field.  You gasp and run out the door and around the house to see it better.  The dog run with you.  But then then nothing is there.  You, the human, see and hear nothing, the ground is dry and hard, and if in fact there was a mountain lion, it left no tracks.  

打個比方，假設你看出窗外好像發現了一隻美洲獅在你的院子裡。 你哇的一聲趕快跑出門到後院去看個仔細。 你的狗也跟了過來。 但是當你走到後院時，什麼也沒發現。 你，這個人類，無論用看的還是用聽的，什麼也沒有，地是又乾又硬，如果真有美洲獅，他也不可能留下任何足跡。 

For all you know, the whole thing was an illusion.  But while you stand there, looking around and wondering, the dog learns that a very large cat has just passed by, a female about four years old with kittens for whom she was lactating; that she had eaten recently, not from a fresh meat but carrion from a carcass, probably a small animal; and she moved her bowel not long before you saw her, so there's a scat in the woods, maybe fiver hundred feet from where you're standing.  

對你來說，美洲獅不過是一個幻覺。 但就在你呆呆站在院子裡，傻傻的不知道往哪裡看時，你的狗已經知道剛剛有一隻很大個兒的貓經過這裡，這隻貓是一個母的，大概四歲左右，剛生了幾隻小貓並且在給他們餵奶； 她最近吃才吃了一餐，不是特別好的一餐，因為不是新鮮的肉類，而是吃點死去的屍體，多半屬於小型動物；另外這隻貓就在你看到她不久前才大過便，可能就在不遠處的林子裡，離你站的地方五百英呎左右。 

You are (in this case) a mature human being with a college degree, and your dog is just a little nobody, utterly dependent on your care.  But in the end, who knows more about your surroundings?  You or him?  

(在這個例子裡)你是一個大學畢業的成人，你的狗完全要依靠你才能過活，什麼也不行。 但是說到最後，你認為誰才真正了解你所居住的環境，是你還是你的狗？

My favorite story about the power of the scent involves our marvelous veterinarian, Chuck DeVinne.  He's also our neighbor, and once when he was away on a trip, his dog went missing.  Now and then his dogs escape, and usually they come by my house, but since I hadn't seen them I was afraid that Chuck's dog was lost.  The entire neighborhood was on high alert, but our vision and hearing gave us nothing.  

我最喜歡的一個有關嗅覺的故事來自我們那個總是令人驚奇的獸醫，恰克。德維尼。 他同時也是我們的鄰居。 有一次他去旅行時，他的狗失蹤了。 以前，他養過不少狗，他們也都會自己去附近逛逛，通常都會到我家來走走。 但是，這一次我一個影子都沒瞧見，於是心中有了不祥的預感。 左鄰右舍也都提高了警覺，不過，我們的視覺和聽覺一點幫不上忙。 

But Chuck knew what to do.  As soon as he got home, he collected the clothes from his trip that were to be laundered and bundled them into his car.  He ran the motor with the heat on until the car was hot and the contents were warmed, then he opened the windows and rove slowly through the area where the dog was last seen.  His scent poured from the car for the wind to carry.  It clung to the bushes along the road that led to his house, and his dog found her way home quickly.  

只有恰克知道要做什麼。 他一回到家，就把他帶去旅行準備要洗的衣服都全部丟到車裡。 然後他發動引擎，開足了暖氣，等到車子裡面發熱，衣服都暖起來了，他打開車窗然後慢慢開著車子到他的狗最後一次出現的地方。 他的氣味從車子裡散發出去，透過窗子被風散播。 沿著這條回家的路，這味道纏繞在每一棵樹上。 他的狗很快的就自己找到路回家了。