I know now that the man who sat with me on the old wooden stairs that hot summer night over thirty-five years ago was not a tall man. But to a five-year-old, he was a giant. We sat side by side, watching the sun go down behind the old Texaco service station across the busy street. A street that I was never allowed to cross unless accompanied by an adult, or at the very least, an older sibling.
我现在知道，35年前那个炎热夏夜和我坐在破旧的木楼梯上的老人并不高大，但对一个5岁的孩子来说，他却是一个巨人。我们并排坐着，看着太阳落在繁忙的街对面那个老德克萨克加油站的背后。除非有大人或至少一个哥哥或姐姐陪着，我从未被允许穿过那条街。
Cherry-scented smoke from Grampy`s pipe kept the hungry mosquitoes at bay while gray, wispy swirls danced around our heads. Now and again, he blew a smoke ring and laughed as I tried to target the hole with my finger. I, clad in a cool summer nightie, and Grampy, his sleeveless T-shirt, sat watching the traffic. We counted cars and tried to guess the color of the next one to turn the corner.
从祖父烟斗里喷出的白色烟雾在我们脑袋周围上下旋绕，它们散发的樱桃香味使贪婪的蚊子不敢靠近。他不时地喷出一串烟圈，在我试着将手指插入烟圈时他放声大笑。我穿着凉爽的小睡衣，祖父穿着他的无袖T恤，坐在那儿观看繁忙的交通。我们数着过往的车辆，并猜想着下一辆拐过街角的汽车的颜色。
Once again, I was caught in the middle of circumstances. The fourth born of six children, it was not uncommon that I was either too young or too old for something. This night I was both. While my two baby brothers slept inside the house, my three older siblings played with friends around the corner, where I was not allowed to go. I stayed with Grampy, and that was okay with me. I was where I wanted to be. My grandfather was baby-sitting while my mother, father and grandmother went out.
我又一次陷于两头都够不上的中间境遇，作为6个孩子中的老四，很多事情对于我来说不是因为年龄太小，就是太大而不合适。那天夜里就是这样。我的两个小兄弟在屋里睡觉，我的另外3个长兄和姐姐在拐角与小伙伴们玩，而我是不允许去那里的。我与祖父呆在一起，这也挺好，正是我想呆的地方。在父母和祖母外出时，祖父就在家看孩子。