Jok Church: A circle of caring

Translator: Gloria Uclés Ramada Reviewer: Álvaro Jimeno

You know, what I do is write for children,

Sabeu? Em dedico a escriure per als nens

and I'm probably America's

i, de fet, probablement sóc

most widely read children's author, in fact.

l'escriptor infantil més llegit dels Estats Units.

And I always tell people

I sempre dic a la gent

that I don't want to show up looking like a scientist.

que no vull anar vestit com un científic.

You can have me as a farmer, or in leathers,

Puc anar com un granger o vestit de cuir,

and no one has ever chose farmer.

i ningú mai elegeix granger.

I'm here today to talk to you

Avui estic aquí per parlar-vos

about circles and epiphanies.

sobre cercles i revelacions.

And you know, an epiphany

I, sabeu? Una revelació

is usually something you find that you dropped someplace.

sol ser alguna cosa que trobes després d'haver-la deixat caure en qualsevol lloc.

You've just got to go around the block

Sols heu de donar una volta a l'illa

to see it as an epiphany.

per veure-ho com a una revelació.

That's a painting of a circle.

Això és un dibuix d'un cercle.

A friend of mine did that -- Richard Bollingbroke.

El va fer un amic meu, el Richard Bollingbroke.

It's the kind of complicated circle

És el tipus de cercle complicat

that I'm going to tell you about.

del qual us parlaré avui.

My circle began back in the '60s

El meu cercle va començar als anys 60,

in high school in Stow, Ohio

a l'institut a Stow, Ohio,

where I was the class queer.

on era el marieta de la classe.

I was the guy beaten up bloody

Jo era el nen a qui apallissaven fins que sagnava

every week in the boys' room,

cada setmana al lavabo dels nois,

until one teacher saved my life.

fins que una mestra em va salvar la vida.

She saved my life by letting me go to the bathroom

Em va salvar la vida deixant-me entrar al bany

in the teachers' lounge.

de la sala de professors.

She did it in secret.

Ho va fer en secret.

She did it for three years.

Ho va fer durant tres anys.

And I had to get out of town.

I vaig haver d'anar-me'n de la ciutat.

I had a thumb, I had 85 dollars,

Tenia un polze, tenia 85 dòlars,

and I ended up in San Francisco, California --

i vaig acabar a San Francisco, Califòrnia.

met a lover --

Vaig trobar el meu estimat...

and back in the '80s, found it necessary

i en els anys 80 vaig considerar necessari

to begin work on AIDS organizations.

començar a treballar amb organtizacions que lliutaven contra la sida.

About three or four years ago,

Farà 3 o 4 anys,

I got a phone call in the middle of the night

vaig rebre una trucada en meitat de la nit

from that teacher, Mrs. Posten,

d'aquella professora, la senyoreta Posten,

who said, "I need to see you.

que em deia: "Necessito veure't.

I'm disappointed

Em decepciona

that we never got to know each other as adults.

que mai ens vam arribar a conèixer d'adults.

Could you please come to Ohio,

Podries venir a Ohio

and please bring that man

i, si us plau, portar aquest horme

that I know you have found by now.

que sé que ja has trobat?

And I should mention

I he de dir

that I have pancreatic cancer,

que tinc càncer de pàncrees,

and I'd like you to please

així que, si us plau, m'agradaria

be quick about this."

que no t'entretinguessis".

Well, the next day we were in Cleveland.

Bé, el dia següent estàvem a Cleveland.

We took a look at her, we laughed, we cried,

Vam vistar-la, vam riure, vam plorar

and we knew that she needed to be in a hospice.

i sabíem que necessitava estar en un hospital.

We found her one, we got her there,

Vam trobar-ne un, la vam portar allà

and we took care of her

i vam cuidar d'ella

and watched over her family,

i de la seva família,

because it was necessary.

perquè era necessari.

It's something we knew how to do.

Era una cosa que sabíem com fer.

And just as the woman who wanted to know me as an adult

I tot just quan la dona que volia conèixer-me com a adult

got to know me,

ho va fer,

she turned into a box of ashes

es va convertir en una caixa de cendres

and was placed in my hands.

i va passar a les meves mans.

And what had happened

I allò que havia passat

was the circle had closed,

va ser que el cercle es va tancar,

it had become a circle --

allò havia esdevingut un cercle

and that epiphany I talked about

i aquesta revelació de què us he parlat

presented itself.

es va revelar.

The epiphany is

La revelació és

that death is a part of life.

que la mort és part de la vida.

She saved my life;

Ella va salvar la meva vida;

I and my partner saved hers.

jo i la meva parella vam salvar la seva.

And you know, that part of life needs everything

I, sabeu? Aquesta part de la vida necessita tot allò

that the rest of life does.

que la resta de la vida necessita.

It needs truth and beauty,

Necessita veritat i bellesa

and I'm so happy it's been mentioned so much here today.

i estic molt content que avui s'esmenti tant aquí.

It also needs --

També necessita...

it needs dignity,

necessita dignitat,

love and pleasure,

amor i plaer.

and it's our job to hand those things out.

I és tasca nostra donar aquestes coses.

Thank you.

Gràcies.

(Applause)

(Aplaudiments)