It's hard being an astronaut's son. I mean, everybody expects you to be special or perfect, and I'm just an average1 eleven-year-old kid. I'm average, too, when it comes to2 basketball, football, soccer, and baseball.
I often wonder how my father ever had a son like me. I mean he's so special and so good at everything he does. In high school he was captain of the football team, class president, and editor of the school newspaper.
Well, to tell you the truth, I do have a little talent that nobody knows about. I write poems and stories and keep them in a red notebook in my bottom desk drawer.
Nowadays I dream about being a famous writer, but I used to dream about doing something spectacular3 to impress my father and make him proud of me—something like rescuing4 a child from a burning building or chasing5 a robber away from an old lady.
I was daydreaming6 in school one morning (which I do often). I was daydreaming about being some kind of hero, like discovering an instant cure7 for cancer or a shot for mental illness, when I heard my English teacher announce a Father's Day8 essay contest for the whole school.
“I hope we have a winner right here in my English class,” she said. “The PTA9 has donated10 three cash prizes—one hundred dollars for first prize, fifty dollars for second, and twenty-five dollars for third prize.”
After school I walked home, thinking about the essay I would write. My father is an astronaut, I would start out. No, I decided I wouldn't do that. The whole country and maybe even the whole world saw my father as an astronaut, but that wasn't the way I saw him.
When I got home, I kissed my mom quickly. Then I went upstairs to my room and sat down with a pen and a pad of paper . I started to think about what I would write.
How did I see my father? Hmm.
I saw him sitting with me in the dark when I was a little kid and had a nightmare .
I saw him teaching me how to use a bat and how to throw a baseball.
I remembered how he hugged me for hours when my dog Spotty was hit and killed by a car.
And I remember how he surprised me with a new puppy at my eighth birthday party. When I started to cry, he told all the kids that I had a bad allergy14. “David's allergy bothers him a lot this time of year,” Dad said.
And I remembered how he sat and tried to explain death to me when Grandpa Bob died.
These were the things I was going to write about my dad. To me, he wasn't just a world-famous astronaut. He was my dad.
I wrote about all these memories and put them in my essay. I handed it in the next day and was surprised to find out that the winning essays would be read in the auditorium15 on Thursday night. All the parents and students were invited.
My parents and I went to school Thursday night. One of our neighbors said, “I bet you'll win the contest, David. I bet you wrote what it's like to be the son of an astronaut, and you're the only one in town who could write about that.”
My dad looked at me, and I shrugged16 . I hadn't shown him the essay, and now I almost hoped I wouldn't win. I didn't want to win just because my father was an astronaut.
When third prize was announced and it wasn't me, I was relieved17 and disappointed at the same time. Ellen Gordon won third prize, and she read her essay. Ellen is adopted18 , and she wrote about her “better than real” father. When she got to the end, I heard people in the audience sniffing19 and blowing their noses20 . My mother sniffed, and my father cleared his throat21.
The second-prize winner was announced next. It was me.
I went up to the stage, my knees shaking. I read my essay and wondered if my voice was shaking, too. It was scary22 standing up in front of all those people. I called my essay “My Father's Son”. I watched my parents as I read. When I finished reading, the audience applauded. I saw my father blowing his nose. Tears were running down my mother's face. I went back to my seat.
“I see you have an allergy, too, Dad,”I tried to joke.
Dad nodded, cleared his throat, and put his hand on my shoulder. “Son, this is the proudest moment of my life,” he said.
It was the proudest moment of my life, too. Maybe I'll never be a great hero or win a Nobel Prize23, but just then, it was enough just to be my father's son.
当宇航员的儿子并非一件易事。我是说，大家都希望你很特别或是很完美，而我不过是个普通的11岁少年。我是个平凡的学生，在篮球、橄榄球、足球和棒球等球类运动方面也表现平平。
我时常感到疑惑，我父亲怎么会有我这么一个儿子。我是说，他那么与众不同，凡事都表现得异常优秀。上高中时，他还是橄榄球队队长、班长和校报编辑。
不过实话告诉你吧，我确实也有一点不为人知的才能。我会写诗歌和小说，并把它们保存在我的书桌最下层抽屉的一个红皮笔记本里。
如今，我梦想成为著名的作家。但过去，我老想做点什么惊人之举——比如说从失火的楼房里救出一个小孩，或是把抢劫犯从一位老太太身边赶开——以此来打动我的父亲，让他为我感到骄傲。
有一天早上，我正在学校里做白日梦（我经常白日做梦）。我梦想自己能成为某种英雄，比如发明一种治癌的速效药或医治精神病的针剂。我正在异想天开，突然听到英语老师宣布将要举行全校父亲节征文比赛的消息。
她说:“我希望我们班有获奖者。家长教师协会捐赠了奖金--头等奖100美元，二等奖50美元，三等奖25美元。”
放学后我步行回家，一路上想着我要写的文章。我打算这样开头：父亲是个宇航员。不，我决定还是不要这样写。全国或许全世界都知道我父亲是宇航员，但我心目中的父亲并非如此。
到家后，我飞快地亲了妈妈一下。之后我上楼来到自己的房间，拿了钢笔和拍纸簿坐下来。我开始构思我的文章。
我心目中的父亲是怎样的呢？唔。
我小时候从噩梦中惊醒，看到他黑暗中坐在我身边。
我看到他教我如何使用球棒和如何投掷棒球。
我记得当我的爱犬斯波蒂在车祸中丧生时，他如何将我抱了几个小时。
我记得，在我8岁生日派对上，他新买了一只小狗送我，这让我惊喜不已。我激动得哭了，他便告诉所有的孩子说我患有严重的过敏症。他说：“大卫每年这个时候常常犯病。”
我还记得鲍勃爷爷去世时，他坐下来，试图跟我解释死亡的含义。
我要把父亲的这些事情都写下来。对我来说，他不仅仅是一位闻名全球的宇航员，他还是我父亲。
我写下了所有这些回忆，把它们用在我的文章里。第二天我把作文交了上去，并意外地得知，获奖作文将于星期四晚上在学校礼堂当众朗读，所有的家长和学生都应邀到场。
我的父母和我一道在星期四晚上去了学校。一位邻居对我说：“我断言你会获奖，大卫。我敢说你写出了一个宇航员儿子的真切感受，而且你是城里惟一能写此类文章的人。”
父亲看了看我，我耸了耸肩。我没给他看我写的那篇文章，此刻我希望自己不要获奖。我不想获奖，只因为我父亲是个宇航员。
三等奖宣布了，不是我，我松了一口气，同时又有点失望。埃伦·戈登得了三等奖，她朗读了她的作文。埃伦是个养女，她写的是"比生父还亲的"父亲。当她读到文章的结尾时，我听到观众中有人感动得抽鼻子、擤鼻涕。我母亲也抽起了鼻子，父亲则清了清嗓。.
接着宣布二等奖得主。获奖者竟是我！
我走上台去，膝盖在颤抖。我朗读自己的作文，不知道自己的声音是否也在发抖。站在大庭广众之下，真叫人恐慌！我的作文题目是“当我父亲的儿子”。我一边读，一边看我的父母。我读完了，观众立刻鼓起掌来。我看到父亲在擤鼻子，母亲则泪流满面。我回到自己的座位上。
“我发现你也有过敏症，爸爸。”我试图开个玩笑。
父亲点了点头，清了清嗓子，把手搭在我的肩上，对我说：“儿子，这是我一生中最骄傲的时刻！”
这也是我一生中最骄傲的时刻！也许我这一辈子都做不了大英雄，也得不了诺贝尔奖。但就在那一刻，我感到能当父亲的儿子就已经是莫大的幸福！
1. average adj. 一般的，普通的
2. when it comes to… 当提到…
3. spectacular adj. 引人入胜的，轰动一时的，惊人的
4. rescue v. 营救，搭救
5. chase v. 追逐，追赶
6. daydream v. 做白日梦
7. instant cure 速效药剂
8. Father's Day 父亲节（每年6月的第3个星期日）
9. PTA=Parent-Teacher Association 家长教师协会，家长教师联谊会
10. donate v. 捐赠
11. a pad of paper 便笺簿，拍纸簿
12. nightmare n. 梦魇，噩梦
13. hug v. 拥抱
14. allergy n. 过敏反应，过敏症
15. auditorium n. 礼堂，会堂
16. shrug v. 耸（肩）
17. relieved adj. 宽心的，宽慰的
18. adopt v. 承继，收养
19. sniff [snif] v. 以鼻吸气，擤鼻子
20. blow one's nose 擤鼻子
21. clear one's throat 清嗓子
22. scary adj. 吓人的，使人惊恐的
23. Nobel Prize 诺贝尔奖。1901年开始，每年在瑞典化学家诺贝尔逝世日12月10日颁发。