A great street sweeper
了不起的街道清洁工

I had been working much too long on this job. I guess things could have been worse. I certainly wasn't doing hard labour. But going door to door asking questions as a representative of the federal government wasn't the most satisfying position either.
这件事情发生时，我已经从事这份工作很长时间了。不然的话，我猜情况可能会变得更糟。当然，我的工作并非体力劳动。但是，代表联邦政府挨家挨户提问，确实也不算什么好差事。
It was August. It was hot. I had to wear a tie. "Hello. My name is Bob Perks and we are doing a survey in this neighbourhood..." "I'm not interested! Good bye!"...slam, lock.
当时正值八月，天气炎热，但我还得系上领带。“您好，我的名字是鲍勃·珀克斯，我们正在本社区做一项调查......”“没兴趣！再见！”......砰的一声关上了门，上了锁。
You can't imagine how many times I heard that. I finally caught on and began with "Before you slam the door, I am not selling anything and I just need to ask a few questions about yourself and the community."
你无法想象我听到多少次这样的回答。最后，我终于有所醒悟，换了这样的开场白：“在您关上门之前，我先说清楚，我不卖任何东西，我只需要问几个关于您自己和本社区的问题。”
The young woman inside the doorway, paused for a moment, raised her eyebrows as she shrugged her shoulders confused by my rude introduction.
站在门里的那位年轻女子顿了一下，然后扬起眉头，耸了耸肩，从我粗鲁的自我介绍中缓过神儿来。
"Sure. Come on in. Don't mind the mess. It's tough keeping up with my kids." It was an older home in a section of the valley where people with meagre income found affordable shelter. With the little they had, the home looked comfortable and welcoming.
“当然可以。进来吧。屋里比较乱，希望您别介意。跟在孩子屁股后面收拾简直太困难了。”这是坐落在山谷中一所老房子，这地方对于收入微薄的人们来说，应该是个不错的选择。屋里摆设比较简单，看起来很舒适且适合待客。
"I just need to ask a few questions about yourself and family. Although this may sound personal I won't need to use your names. This information will be used..." She interrupted me. "Would you like a glass of cold water? You look like you've had a rough day."
“我只需要问几个关于您自己和家人的问题。虽然这可能听起来很容易泄露隐私，但我不需要使用您的名字。这些信息将会被使用.....”她打断了我。“您想要一杯冷水吗？您看起来今天过得不太顺。”

"Why yes!" I said eagerly. Just as she returned with the water, a man came walking in the front door. It was her husband. "Joe, this man is here to do a survey." I stood and politely introduced myself.
“噢，好的！”我急切地回答说。就在她拿着水回来时，一名男子从前门走了进来，是她的丈夫。“乔，这个人来做一项调查。”我站起身来，礼貌地进行了自我介绍。
Joe was tall and lean. His face was rough and aged looking although I figured he was in his early twenties. His hands were like leather. The kind of hands you get from working hard, not pushing pencils. She leaned toward him and kissed him gently on the cheek. As they looked at each other you could see the love that held them together. She smiled and tilted her head, laying it on his shoulder. He touched her face with his hands and softly said "I love you!"
乔长得又高又瘦。尽管我认为他也就二十出头，但他的面部很粗糙，而且看起来很老。他的双手像皮革一样，一看就是那种从事辛苦的体力劳动的双手，而非舞文弄墨的那种。她倚在他身上，轻轻地吻了他的脸颊。当他们彼此相视时，你可以看到那种彼此依恋的爱。她微笑着，侧过头，靠在他的肩膀上。他用双手抚摸着她的脸，温柔地说：“我爱你！”
They may not have had material wealth, but these two were richer than most people I know. They had a powerful love. The kind of love that keeps your head up when things are looking down. "Joe works for the borough." she said. "What do you do?" I asked. She jumped right in not letting him answer. "Joe collects garbage. You know I'm so proud of him."
他们的物质财富可能没那么充裕，但他们比我认识的大多数人都要富有。他们拥有强大的爱。这种爱，能够在遭遇窘境时，让你继续昂首向前。“乔为自治市镇工作。”她说。“那您具体做什么工作呢？”我问。她马上接过话来，没让丈夫回答。“乔负责捡垃圾。你知道，我为他感到非常的骄傲。”
"Honey, I'm sure the man doesn't want to hear this." said Joe. "No, really I do." I said. "You see Bob; Joe is the best garbage man in the borough. He can stack more garbage on the truck than anyone else. He gets so much in one truck that they don't have to make as many runs.", she said with such passion. "In the long run," Joe continues, "I save the borough money. Man hours are down and the cost per truck is less."
“亲爱的，我敢肯定人家不想听这个。”乔说。“不，我真的想听。”我说。“你知道，鲍勃，乔是自治市镇里最棒的垃圾工。他可以在卡车上堆放比其他人更多的垃圾。他可以让一辆卡车多装一些，这样他们就可以少拉几车了。”她充满激情地说道。“从长远来看，”乔接过话来，“我的确为自治市镇节省了开支。工时减少了，每辆卡车的费用也降低了。”
There was silence. I didn't know what to say. I shook my head searching for the right words. "That's incredible! Most people would gripe about a job like that. It certainly is a difficult one. But your attitude about it is amazing." I said.
我沉默了，不知道该说些什么。我摇着头，脑子里寻找着合适的词语。“这太不可思议了！大多数人都会抱怨这样的工作。这肯定不是什么轻松的工作。但您对它的态度真的令人惊讶。”我说道。
She walked over to the shelf next to the couch. As she turned she held in her hand a small framed paper.
“她走到沙发边上的架子旁，转过身时，手里拿着一个小纸框。
"When we had our third child Joe lost his job. We were on unemployment for a time and then eventually welfare. He couldn't find work anywhere. Then one day he was sent on an interview here in this community. They offered him the job he now holds. He came home depressed and ashamed. Telling me this was the best he could do. It actually paid less than we got on welfare."
“当我们有了我们的第三个孩子时，乔丢掉了工作。有一段时间，我们俩都失业了，最后开始领取社会救济金。他到处也找不到工作。然后有一天，他被带到这个社区，接受了一次面试。他们给了他现在的这份工作。那天他回到家时，脸上满是沮丧和惭愧，告诉我这是他能找到的最好的工作了。这份工作的收入实际上比我们领取的救济金少。”
She paused for a moment and walked toward Joe. "I have always been proud of him and always will be. You see I don't think the job makes the man. I believe the man makes the job!" "We needed to live in the borough in order to work here. So we rented this home." Joe said.
她停了片刻，朝乔走去。“我一直为他感到骄傲，而且会始终如此。你知道，我并不认为是工作造就了人。我相信是人造就了工作。”“我们只有住在这个自治市镇，才能在这里工作。所以我们租了这套房子。”乔说。
"When we moved in, this quote was hanging on the wall just inside the front door. It has made all the difference to us, Bob. I knew that Joe was doing the right thing." she said as she handed me the frame.
“当我们搬进这套房子时，刚进前门的墙上挂着这句话。它对我们的影响很大，鲍勃。我知道乔的选择是正确的。”她边说，边把纸框递给了我。
It said: If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep the streets even as Michelangelo painted or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, "Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well."
纸框上写着：如果一个人成为了街道清洁工，他就应该像米开朗基罗绘画一样，或者像贝多芬创作音乐一样，亦或像莎士比亚写诗一样，去打扫街道。他应该把街道打扫得干干净净，让天使和凡人都会停下来，说一句：“这里住过一位了不起的街道清洁工，他工作做得非常棒。”