Jok Church: A circle of caring

Translator: Matej Demcik Reviewer: Richard Hrdlovič

You know, what I do is write for children,

Viete, mojou prácou je písanie pre deti,

and I'm probably America's

a pravdepodobne som načítanejším

most widely read children's author, in fact.

americkým autorom detských kníh.

And I always tell people

A zvyčajne hovorím ľuďom,

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

že sa nechcem prezentovať ako vedec.

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

Môžete ma mať ako farmára, alebo v koži,

and no one has ever chose farmer.

a doteraz si nikto nevybral farmára.

I'm here today to talk to you

Dnes som tu aby som vám porozprával

about circles and epiphanies.

o kruhoch a epifániach (náhle zjavenia).

And you know, an epiphany

A viete, epifánia je zvyčajne niečo

is usually something you find that you dropped someplace.

čo nájdete, čo ste predtým niekde upustili.

You've just got to go around the block

Stačí sa prejsť okolo bloku,

to see it as an epiphany.

aby ste to vnímali ako epifániu.

That's a painting of a circle.

To je obraz zobrazujúci kruh.

A friend of mine did that -- Richard Bollingbroke.

Namaľoval ho môj priateľ Richard Bollingbroke.

It's the kind of complicated circle

Je to druh komplikovaného kruhu

that I'm going to tell you about.

o ktorom vám idem rozprávať.

My circle began back in the '60s

Môj kruh sa začína v 60. rokoch

in high school in Stow, Ohio

na strednej škole v Stow, Ohio,

where I was the class queer.

kde som bol triednym homosexuál.

I was the guy beaten up bloody

Bol som ten typ, ktorý bol každý týždeň

every week in the boys' room,

bitý do krvi v chlapčenských šatniach,

until one teacher saved my life.

až dokiaľ mi jeden učiteľ nezachránil život.

She saved my life by letting me go to the bathroom

Život mi zachránila dovolením mi používať kúpeľňu

in the teachers' lounge.

v učiteľskom vestibule.

She did it in secret.

Robila to v tajnosti,

She did it for three years.

robila to 3 roky,

And I had to get out of town.

a ja som sa musel dostať z mesta.

I had a thumb, I had 85 dollars,

Mal som palec, 85 dolárov,

and I ended up in San Francisco, California --

a skončil som v San Franciscu, California.

met a lover --

Stretol som milenca.

and back in the '80s, found it necessary

Vtedy v 80. rokoch som považoval za dôležité

to begin work on AIDS organizations.

začať pracovať pre organizácie bojujúce s AIDS.

About three or four years ago,

Pred tromi či štyrmi rokmi

I got a phone call in the middle of the night

som mal uprostred noci telefonát

from that teacher, Mrs. Posten,

od tej mojej učiteľky, pani Postenovej,

who said, "I need to see you.

ktorá povedala: "Potrebujem ťa vidieť.

I'm disappointed

Som sklamaná, že sme nikdy nemali možnosť

that we never got to know each other as adults.

sa spoznať ako dospelý.

Could you please come to Ohio,

Mohol by si prosím ťa prísť do Ohioa,

and please bring that man

a prosím priveď so sebou muža

that I know you have found by now.

o ktorom viem že si ho už našiel.

And I should mention

A mala by som spomenúť,

that I have pancreatic cancer,

že mám rakovinu pankreasu,

and I'd like you to please

a teda ťa prosím

be quick about this."

buď rýchly."

Well, the next day we were in Cleveland.

Takže nasledujúci deň sme boli v Clevelande.

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

Pozreli sme sa na ňu, smiali sme sa, plakali sme,

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

a vedeli sme, že musí ísť do nemocnice pre nevyliečiteľne chorých pacientov.

We found her one, we got her there,

Jednu takú sme jej našli, dostali sme ju tam,

and we took care of her

starali sme sa o ňu

and watched over her family,

a dozerali na jej rodinu.

because it was necessary.

Pretože to bolo nevyhnutné,

It's something we knew how to do.

a niečo, čo sme vedeli ako na to.

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

A práve ako žena ktorá ma chcela spoznať

got to know me,

ako dospelého človeka,

she turned into a box of ashes

premenila sa v schránku prachu

and was placed in my hands.

a bola mi vložená do rúk.

And what had happened

A čo sa stalo je,

was the circle had closed,

že kruh sa uzavrel.

it had become a circle --

Vytvoril sa kruh.

and that epiphany I talked about

A epifánia o ktorej som rozprával

presented itself.

sa sama prezentovala.

The epiphany is

Epifánia je,

that death is a part of life.

že smrť je súčasťou života.

She saved my life;

Zachránila mi život,

I and my partner saved hers.

ja a môj partner sme zachránili ten jej.

And you know, that part of life needs everything

A vy viete, že časť života vyžaduje všetko,

that the rest of life does.

čo vyžaduje zvyšok života.

It needs truth and beauty,

Potrebuje pravdivosť a krásu,

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

a som veľmi rád že to tu dnes bolo toľkokrát spomenuté.

It also needs --

Taktiež potrebuje

it needs dignity,

dôstojnosť,

love and pleasure,

lásku a potešenie.

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

A je na nás tieto veci poskytnúť.

Thank you.

Ďakujem.

(Applause)

(Potlesk)