A Sky Angel　空中天使

A Sky Angel　空中天使

◎ Robin Chapuis

In 1978, I became a flight attendant for a major airline. Earning my wings was the culmination of a childhood dream that I had set for myself after my first plane ride at the age of five. Like so many others before me, I fell in love with the romance of airplanes, adventure and helping others.

1978年，我終于成為某一重要航空公司的空中服務(wù)人員。在5歲的時(shí)候我第一次乘飛機(jī)，而我童年時(shí)的夢(mèng)想也就是得到一雙自己的翅膀，當(dāng)一位空服員。就像其他人一樣，我也深深地迷戀上了飛機(jī)和冒險(xiǎn)，以及幫助他人。

I have flown hundreds of flights since graduation, but one stands out among the many.

畢業(yè)后，我就飛過(guò)好幾百個(gè)航班了，而我在所有人中的表現(xiàn)也十分優(yōu)秀。

We were flying from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C, when I answered a lavatory call light in the coach cabin. There I found a young mother struggling with her infant. Everything was a mess, to say the least, and the mother, who was near hysterics, told me she had no more diapers or other clothing onboard the aircraft.

從洛杉磯飛往華盛頓的飛機(jī)即將起飛，我接到了二等艙盥洗室的求救信號(hào)。我過(guò)去一看，發(fā)現(xiàn)四處一片狼籍，原來(lái)是一個(gè)嬰兒讓他年輕的媽媽犯了難。我至少可以說(shuō)，這位年輕媽媽有點(diǎn)歇斯底里了，她告訴我在飛機(jī)上孩子的尿布和衣服都沒(méi)有了。

Through her tears, she informed me that they had missed their flight the previous night in Los Angeles and because she had very little money, she and her son had spent the night on the airport floor. Since she hadn’t expected to miss the flight, she was forced to use up most of her supplies and whatever money she had to feed them.

她哭著對(duì)我說(shuō)，他們誤了前晚在洛杉磯起飛的航班，因?yàn)殄X不多，他們母子倆又只好整晚都在機(jī)場(chǎng)的地板上過(guò)夜。她本以為不會(huì)錯(cuò)過(guò)那次航班的，又用完了所有的東西，所以她才把錢都花在買食物上了。

With the saddest eyes I have ever seen she continued. She told me she was on her way to New Hampshire to deliver her son to the family that was adopting him. She could no longer support the two of them.

她不停地哭，這是我見(jiàn)過(guò)的最悲傷的眼神了。她說(shuō)她養(yǎng)不活兩個(gè)人，她要去新罕布什爾州把兒子送給另一家人收養(yǎng)。

As she stood in front of me, crying, holding her beautiful son, I could see the despair and hopelessness on her face. And, as a mother of three beautiful daughters, I could feel her pain.

她的臉上寫(xiě)滿了絕望和無(wú)助，哭著抱著她那漂亮的孩子站在我面前。我也是一位母親，有三個(gè)漂亮的女兒，我能體會(huì)她的痛苦。

I immediately rang the flight attendant call button and asked for assistance from the other flight attendants. They brought cloth towels from first class to assist in cleaning up both mom and the infant. I ran and got my suitcase; because this woman and I were about the same size, I gave her a sweater and a pair of pants I had brought for my layover. Then I asked several families if they could spare extra diapers, formula and clothes for the child. After the young mother and her son had changed their clothes and the baby had gone to sleep, I sat with her, holding her hand, trying to provide some support and comfort for the remainder of the flight.

我立即按下了這次航班服務(wù)人員的呼叫電話按鈕，從其他航班服務(wù)人員處尋求幫助。他們從頭等艙拿來(lái)了毛巾，給那位媽媽和她的嬰兒清潔身體。這位女士的衣服尺寸和我差不多，我就跑去拿我的行李箱，給了她一件我的毛衣和一條褲子。之后，我又問(wèn)了其他的家庭，看他們有沒(méi)有多余的小孩用的尿布、奶粉和衣服。他們倆換完衣服后，小孩就睡著了。我坐在那位年輕媽媽的旁邊，握著她的手，想就這次航班滯留給她一些鼓勵(lì)和安慰。

Once we landed, I walked them to their next flight, which would take them to their final destination; separation. I briefed the gate agent and the new flight attendant crew on the situation and asked them to give her special attention.

我們登機(jī)前，我步行把他們送到他們的下次航班處，那次航班可以帶他們到達(dá)目的地。分別后，我向那次機(jī)艙門口的人員以及空乘人員介紹了他們母子倆的情況，讓他們特殊照顧一下。

With tears in my eyes I gave her a hug and told her, “You have shown me the true meaning of courage and a mother’s love. I will never forget you.”

我的眼淚涌了出來(lái)，擁抱著她說(shuō)：“你告訴了我勇氣和母愛(ài)的真正含義。我會(huì)永遠(yuǎn)記得你。”

As she thanked me for all I had done she said softly, “You’re not the flight attendant, you’re a sky angel.” Touching my flight attendant wings, she continued, “And those are your angel wings.”

她對(duì)我為她所做的一切表示感謝，然后語(yǔ)氣柔和地說(shuō)：“你不是服務(wù)人員，你是空中的天使。”這觸動(dòng)了我這位空服人員的翅膀，她接著說(shuō)：“那就是你的天使翅膀?！?

With those words she turned and walked down the jetway, her child in her arms, and boarded the plane for New Hampshire.

說(shuō)著說(shuō)著，她抱著孩子轉(zhuǎn)過(guò)身去，踏上登機(jī)道，坐上了飛往新罕布什爾州的飛機(jī)。

Though I am no longer a flight attendant, my “angel wings” are still on prominent display in my office. And each time I see them, I am reminded of that young woman, her infant son and the gift that she gave me on that special day—that we truly are all spiritual beings traveling in human form.

雖然我現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)不是一名空服員了，但在我的辦公室里，像我這樣的“天使的翅膀”卻依舊上演著。每次我看見(jiàn)他們，我就想起了那位年輕的女人和她的孩子，那天她送給我的禮物——我們是真實(shí)飛行在塵世間里的崇高靈魂。

超多雙語(yǔ)閱讀，盡在聽(tīng)力課堂