Tania Luna: How a penny made me feel like a millionaire

譯者: Charlene Tsai 審譯者: Marssi Draw

I'm five years old, and I am very proud.

我五歲的時候，我很自豪

My father has just built the best outhouse

父親在我們的烏克蘭小村莊裡

in our little village in Ukraine.

蓋了一間最棒的屋子

Inside, it's a smelly, gaping hole in the ground,

屋子裡是有點怪味，地板上還有縫隙和破洞

but outside, it's pearly white formica

但是從外面看來，這房子是珍珠白的塑膠材質

and it literally gleams in the sun.

在陽光下會閃閃發亮

This makes me feel so proud, so important,

這讓我自覺驕傲且重要

that I appoint myself the leader of my little group of friends

所以我自任為小小朋友圈裡的領導者

and I devise missions for us.

並分配任務給大家

So we prowl from house to house

我們徘徊在家家戶戶之間

looking for flies captured in spider webs

找尋被蜘蛛網困住的蒼蠅

and we set them free.

然後放牠們自由

Four years earlier, when I was one,

在那四年前，我一歲的時候

after the Chernobyl accident,

發生車諾比(Chernobyl) 核電廠災變

the rain came down black,

天空下著黑雨

and my sister's hair fell out in clumps,

我姊姊的頭髮成把的掉落

and I spent nine months in the hospital.

而我在醫院裡待了九個月

There were no visitors allowed,

因為不准有任何訪客探視

so my mother bribed a hospital worker.

我母親只好買通一個醫院員工

She acquired a nurse's uniform,

她拿到一件護士服

and she snuck in every night to sit by my side.

每天晚上都溜進醫院坐在我身旁

Five years later, an unexpected silver lining.

五年後，出現了意外的轉機

Thanks to Chernobyl, we get asylum in the U.S.

感謝車諾比，讓我們得以前往美國的庇護所

I am six years old, and I don't cry when we leave home

我那時六歲，離開家鄉前來美國時

and we come to America,

我沒有哭泣

because I expect it to be a place filled with rare

因為我滿心期待要前往一個充滿美好事物的國度

and wonderful things like bananas and chocolate

到處都是珍稀的香蕉、巧克力

and Bazooka bubble gum,

還有巴滋卡口香糖 (Bazooka)

Bazooka bubble gum with the little cartoon wrappers inside,

這種口香糖有小卡通圖案包裝

Bazooka that we'd get once a year in Ukraine

我們在烏克蘭一年只能吃到一次

and we'd have to chew one piece for an entire week.

所以一片口香糖就嚼一整個星期

So the first day we get to New York,

我們第一天到紐約時

my grandmother and I find a penny

我和奶奶在我們住的

in the floor of the homeless shelter that my family's staying in.

遊民收容所地板上撿到了一分錢

Only, we don't know that it's a homeless shelter.

不過我們當時並不知道那是遊民收容所

We think that it's a hotel, a hotel with lots of rats.

我們一直以為那是間旅館，有很多老鼠的旅館

So we find this penny kind of fossilized in the floor,

所以當我們發現那一分錢像個化石一樣躺在地上時

and we think that a very wealthy man must have left it there

我們都認為一定是個很有錢的人掉的

because regular people don't just lose money.

因為一般人才不會掉錢呢！

And I hold this penny in the palm of my hand,

雖然這一分錢有點黏又鏽了

and it's sticky and rusty,

但我緊握在手心

but it feels like I'm holding a fortune.

就像抓住了一大筆財富

I decide that I'm going to get my very own piece

我決定要拿這一分錢去買一片

屬於我自己的巴滋卡口香糖

of Bazooka bubble gum.

And in that moment, I feel like a millionaire.

在那瞬間，我覺得自己就像個百萬富翁

About a year later, I get to feel that way again

一年後，我們在垃圾堆裡找到一大袋填充娃娃時

我又有同樣的感覺了

when we find a bag full of stuffed animals in the trash,

and suddenly I have more toys

我突然間擁有這麼多玩具

than I've ever had in my whole life.

比這輩子有過的加起來都還要多了

And again, I get that feeling when we get a knock

還有一次，在我們布魯克林的公寓裡

on the door of our apartment in Brooklyn,

我和姐姐聽到敲門聲

and my sister and I find a deliveryman

有個送披薩的人站在門口

with a box of pizza that we didn't order.

但披薩不是我們訂的

So we take the pizza, our very first pizza,

我們收下了披薩，這輩子的第一個披薩

and we devour slice after slice

外送員站在門口盯著我們看

as the deliveryman stands there and stares at us from the doorway.

而我們就在他面前一片接一片不停的吃

And he tells us to pay, but we don't speak English.

他叫我們付錢，但我們當時還不懂英文

My mother comes out, and he asks her for money,

我母親從屋子裡走出來，外送員就叫她付錢

but she doesn't have enough.

但是她的錢不夠

She walks 50 blocks to and from work every day

她天天走過五十個街區去工作

just to avoid spending money on bus fare.

只為了省下巴士錢

Then our neighbor pops her head in,

然後鄰居突然探頭進來

and she turns red with rage when she realizes

當她發現她訂的披薩

that those immigrants from downstairs

被樓下這些移民染指了

have somehow gotten their hands on her pizza.

她氣到滿臉通紅

Everyone's upset.

大家都不高興了啊！

But the pizza is delicious.

不過那披薩倒真是好吃呢！

It doesn't hit me until years later just how little we had.

直到多年後我才明白當時我們有多窮困

On our 10 year anniversary of being in the U.S.,

在我們定居美國十年後

we decided to celebrate by reserving a room

我們決定去一開始收留我們的旅館

at the hotel that we first stayed in when we got to the U.S.

訂個房間一起慶祝十周年

The man at the front desk laughs, and he says,

但櫃台人員大笑著跟我們說：

"You can't reserve a room here. This is a homeless shelter."

「這邊的房間不能預約，這裡可是遊民收容所啊！」

And we were shocked.

我們全都嚇呆了

My husband Brian was also homeless as a kid.

我老公布萊恩，他小時候也無家可歸

His family lost everything, and at age 11,

他家失去了一切，11 歲的時候

he had to live in motels with his dad,

他得和父親一起住在汽車旅館裡

motels that would round up all of their food

汽車旅館會把他們的食物都拿走做為抵押品

and keep it hostage until they were able to pay the bill.

直到他們能繳清欠款為止

And one time, when he finally got his box

有次當他終於拿回他的家樂氏穀片時

of Frosted Flakes back, it was crawling with roaches.

上面已經爬滿蟑螂了

But he did have one thing.

但他確實擁有一個東西

He had this shoebox that he carried with him everywhere

他到哪裡都帶著一個鞋盒

containing nine comic books,

裡面裝著九本漫畫書

two G.I. Joes painted to look like Spider-Man

兩個特種部隊 (G.I.Joe) 公仔塗裝得像蜘蛛人

and five Gobots. And this was his treasure.

還有五個機器戰神 (Gobots) 公仔，這是他的寶貝

This was his own assembly of heroes

這是他的英雄部隊

that kept him from drugs and gangs

讓他得以堅定的遠離毒品和幫派

and from giving up on his dreams.

且不放棄為他的夢想努力

I'm going to tell you about one more

我還要跟大家分享我們家族中

formerly homeless member of our family.

另一個曾經無家可歸的成員

This is Scarlett.

這是史嘉莉

Once upon a time, Scarlet was used as bait in dog fights.

史嘉莉曾經是鬥狗場上的誘餌

She was tied up and thrown into the ring

在賽前被綁起來丟進場中

for other dogs to attack so they'd get more aggressive before the fight.

刺激鬥犬群的攻擊性

And now, these days, she eats organic food

而最近這些日子，史嘉莉吃的是有機食物

and she sleeps on an orthopedic bed with her name on it,

睡在寫著牠名字的矯正床上

but when we pour water for her in her bowl,

但每當我們倒水進牠的碗裡時

she still looks up and she wags her tail in gratitude.

牠依然充滿感激的搖尾以對

Sometimes Brian and I walk through the park with Scarlett,

有時我和布萊恩帶著史嘉莉去公園散步

and she rolls through the grass,

牠會在草地上打滾

and we just look at her

我們看著史嘉莉

and then we look at each other

然後再看著彼此

and we feel gratitude.

我們心中充滿了感激之情

We forget about all of our new middle-class frustrations

我們忘掉生活中面臨的

and disappointments,

新中產階級挫敗和沮喪

and we feel like millionaires.

我們自覺像個百萬富翁

Thank you.

謝謝大家

(Applause)

（掌聲）