Jarrett J. Krosoczka: Why lunch ladies are heroes

譯者: Pat Lee 審譯者: Adrienne Lin

When my first children's book was published

當我的第一本童書

in 2001,

在 2001 年出版時，

I returned to my old elementary school

我回到我的小學

to talk to the students about being an author

和學生交流，

談論了身為作家和插畫家的經歷。

and an illustrator,

and when I was setting up my slide projector

當我正在準備我的投影機時，

in the cafetorium,

就在學校餐廳大禮堂，

I looked across the room,

我望了一下禮堂內，

and there she was:

我看到了她，

my old lunch lady.

我小時候的午餐阿姨。

She was still there at the school

那時候，她仍然在學校服務。

and she was busily preparing lunches for the day.

她當時正忙著準備著當天的午餐。

So I approached her to say hello,

我走向她，並向她打聲招呼。

and I said, "Hi, Jeannie! How are you?"

我對她說：「嗨，金妮！你好嗎？」

And she looked at me, and I could tell

然後她望著我，

that she recognized me,

我知道她大概認出我來，

but she couldn't quite place me, and she looked at me and she said,

但她好像不太確定。

然後，她看著我說：

"Stephen Krosoczka?"

「史蒂芬・古莎斯卡？」

然後，我很驚訝

And I was amazed that she knew I was a Krosoczka,

她還記得我姓古莎斯卡。

but Stephen is my uncle who is 20 years older than I am,

但是，史蒂芬是我叔叔，

他比我整整大了 20歲。

and she had been his lunch lady when he was a kid.

他還小的時候，她也是他的午餐阿姨。

And she started telling me about her grandkids,

她開始告訴我她孫子們的事，

and that blew my mind.

這一切實在太震撼了！

My lunch lady had grandkids,

我的午餐阿姨竟然有孫子，

and therefore kids,

這表示她有兒女，也表示

and therefore left school at the end of the day?

她每晚都會下班離開學校？

I thought she lived in the cafeteria

我一直以為她住在學校餐廳和湯匙當室友，

with the serving spoons.

I had never thought about any of that before.

我以前從來沒想過有這些事情。

Well, that chance encounter inspired my imagination,

所以，那一次的機緣

激發了我的想像力，

and I created the Lunch Lady graphic novel series,

我創作了一系列漫畫小說：午餐俠女。

a series of comics about a lunch lady

這一系列的漫畫

是關於一位午餐阿姨，

who uses her fish stick nunchucks

她會用她的麥香魚雙截棍

to fight off evil cyborg substitutes,

打擊邪惡的機器人、

a school bus monster, and mutant mathletes,

一個校車怪獸以及變種數學家。

and the end of every book,

每本書的結局都是，

they get the bad guy with their hairnet,

她們會用廚娘網帽，逮捕犯人。

and they proclaim, "Justice is served!"

然後，她們會大聲高呼： 「正義上菜！」

(Laughter) (Applause)

（ 笑聲和掌聲 ）

And it's been amazing, because the series

這一切實在太酷了！

因為一直以來這一系列，

was so welcomed into the reading lives of children,

在孩子的閱讀世界裡很受歡迎。

and they sent me the most amazing letters

孩子們寄給我看過最棒的信件、

and cards and artwork.

卡片以及畫作。

And I would notice as I would visit schools,

然後，當我參訪學校時我會注意到

the lunch staff would be involved in the programming

餐廳員工會一同參與活動，

in a very meaningful way.

以一種很有意義的方式參與。

And coast to coast,

從東岸到西岸，

all of the lunch ladies told me the same thing:

所有的午餐阿姨

都告訴我一樣的事情。

"Thank you for making a superhero in our likeness."

感謝你以我們的形象

打造一個超級英雄。

Because the lunch lady has not been treated

因為，午餐阿姨們在過去都沒有

very kindly in popular culture over time.

被主流社會好好對待過。

But it meant the most to Jeannie.

但對於金妮最為特別，

When the books were first published,

當漫畫第一次出版時，

I invited her to the book launch party,

我邀請她參加新書出版派對。

and in front of everyone there,

當時在眾人的面前，

everyone she had fed over the years,

所有她所服務過的人們，

I gave her a piece of artwork and some books.

我送給她一幅畫作和一些書籍。

And two years after this photo was taken,

拍完這張照片的兩年後，

she passed away,

她過世了。

and I attended her wake,

我參加了她的告別式。

and nothing could have prepared me for what I saw there,

我完全沒想到 會在告別式看到一樣東西，

because next to her casket was this painting,

因為，在她的棺木旁邊

放的就是這幅畫。

and her husband told me it meant so much to her

她先生告訴我，

這幅畫對她意義非凡。

that I had acknowledged her hard work,

因為我看到她的工作表現。

I had validated what she did.

我肯定她所付出的一切。

And that inspired me to create a day

這件事啟發我打造一個紀念日，

where we could recreate that feeling

讓我們大家可以重溫那份感覺，

in cafeterias across the country:

就在全國各地的學校餐廳裡：

School Lunch Hero Day, a day where kids

「校園午餐英雄日」。

這一天，小朋友們會做一些創意作品

can make creative projects for their lunch staff.

送給他們的餐廳員工。

And I partnered with the School Nutrition Association,

我也與「校園營養協會」合作。

and did you know that a little over 30 million kids

你們是否知道有超過 30 萬個兒童，

participate in school lunch programs every day.

每天參加學校的營養午餐。

That equals up to a little over five billion lunches

每一年大約超過 50 億份午餐，

made every school year.

來自全美各校。

And the stories of heroism go well beyond

這些英雄故事不僅僅只是

just a kid getting a few extra chicken nuggets

小朋友在午餐盤上多拿到一些雞塊。

on their lunch tray.

There is Ms. Brenda in California,

有一位在加州的布蘭達女士，

who keeps a close eye on every student that comes through her line

她會注意每一個她所服務的學生，

and then reports back to the guidance counselor

然後回報給輔導員

if anything is amiss.

學生有任何不對勁的地方。

There are the lunch ladies in Kentucky

有一群位於肯塔基州的午餐阿姨們，

who realized that 67 percent of their students

她們發現 67％ 的學生

relied on those meals every day,

每天必須依靠這一頓午餐。

and they were going without food over the summer,

而這些學生在暑假時，沒東西吃。

so they retrofitted a school bus

所以，她們改裝了一台校車，

to create a mobile feeding unit,

打造了一個移動供應站

and they traveled around the neighborhoods

在周圍社區穿行，

feedings 500 kids a day during the summer.

在暑假時，她們一天餵養 500 個小朋友。

And kids made the most amazing projects.

小朋友做了全世界最棒的勞作，

I knew they would.

我早就知道，他們很棒的。

Kids made hamburger cards

小朋友製作了漢堡卡片，

that were made out of construction paper.

用勞作紙製作而成。

They took photos of their lunch lady's head

他們拍了一張張午餐阿姨的大頭照，

and plastered it onto my cartoon lunch lady

接上我漫畫「午餐俠女」的身體，

and fixed that to a milk carton

然後貼在牛奶盒上

and presented them with flowers.

和花朵一起展示。

And they made their own comics,

他們自創自己的漫畫，

starring the cartoon lunch lady

主要演員為「午餐俠女」，

alongside their actual lunch ladies.

以及他們現實生活中的午餐阿姨。

And they made thank you pizzas,

他們製作了「感恩比薩」，

where every kid signed a different topping

小朋友為每一個不同的配料上簽名，

of a construction paper pizza.

在一個個勞作紙做成的比薩上面。

For me, I was so moved by the response

對我而言，我好感動地

看到午餐阿姨們的反應。

that came from the lunch ladies,

because one woman said to me, she said,

因為，有一位女士跟我說，

"Before this day, I felt like I was

在今天以前，我總覺得

at the end of the planet at this school.

自己置身於學校的邊緣角落。

I didn't think that anyone noticed us down here."

我不覺得會有人注意到我們。

Another woman said to me,

另一位女士則告訴我，

"You know, what I got out of this

你知道嗎，我透過這個活動，

is that what I do is important."

了解到我的工作如此重要。

And of course what she does is important.

她的工作當然很重要，

What they all do is important.

她們所從事的一切如此有意義。

They're feeding our children every single day,

每一天，她們為我們的孩子提供食物。

and before a child can learn,

在孩子開始學習之前，

their belly needs to be full,

他們的肚子需要填飽。

and these women and men

而這些工作人員，

are working on the front lines to create

就在最前線工作，

an educated society.

並打造一個深具教育意義的社會。

So I hope that

因此，我希望

you don't wait for School Lunch Hero Day

大家不必等到校園午餐英雄日，

to say thank you to your lunch staff,

才對餐廳員工表達你的謝意。

and I hope that you remember

我也希望您會記得，

how powerful a thank you can be.

一份感謝是多麼有力量。

A thank you can change a life.

一份感謝可以改變一個人生。

It changes the life of the person who receives it,

感謝不只改變接受方的人生，

and it changes the life of the person

也能改變致謝方的人生。

who expresses it.

Thank you.

謝謝大家。

(Applause)

（ 掌聲 ）