花甲之年的消防梦

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When I was a child， my mother and I were trapped in a burning building in Los Angeles. We were forced to sit out on the second floor 1）window ledge because the only exit was blocked. When the firemen came， they said， “Throw the kid down！” I thought， “Wow， I can actually jump out a window！” I didn’t know enough to be scared.

The firemen caught us and I remember thinking， “Yes， this is what I want to do when I grow up.” I remember standing there， a 2）feisty， 3）runty little redhead， saying， “I’m gonna be a firemen just like you！” They laughed and said，“You’ll be a good mommy， you’ll be a good teacher， maybe you’ll be a nurse， but you can never be a fireman.”

I went on to study 4）aviation technology at college. From where I was seated， the only woman in class， I had the distinct feeling I was being watched. I turned around and there was this very handsome man. Dennis and I hit it off instantly， and were together for four years， before getting married in 1979.

小时候，我和妈妈曾被困于洛杉矶的一栋着火的大厦里。我们被迫坐在二楼的窗台外，因为唯一的出口被堵住了。当消防员到来时，他们说：“把孩子扔下来！”我想：“哇，我居然可以真的从窗口跳下去！”那时，我还不太懂什么叫害怕。

消防员把我们接住了，我记得自己当时想：“没错，这就是我长大后想做的事。”我记得自己站在那儿，一个不安分的红发“小矮人”，说：“我要当一名像你们那样的消防员！”他们大笑起来，说道：“你会成为一位好妈妈，你会当上好老师，又或者你会是个护士，但你永远也不会成为一名消防员。”

后来念大学，我学的是航空科技。作为班上唯一的女性，我坐在座位上明显感到有一种被人注视的奇特感觉。我转过身去，发现了那个很帅的男人。丹尼斯和我一见钟情，谈了四年恋爱后，在1979年结了婚。

But time 5）took its toll， and Dennis got very sick. As a Vietnam War veteran and pilot， he transported the dreadful 6）Agent Orange for 18 months. When he came back from Vietnam， doctors diagnosed him with cancer.

By the time he died six years ago， his body had completely shut down. He said， “This isn’t living. I’m ready to go. But what are you going to do？ How will you manage？” I told him I’ll be fine， which gave him peace， and that was the end of that. I was mentally exhausted， physically destroyed and I needed time to heal.

A y e a r later， when I was 61， one of the villagers wrote an interesting article about riding in a local ambulance for the day. I had no idea such opportunities were available. My neighbor works for the fire department， so I went with him when he was on duty and within minutes we had a life or death ambulance call. All I could do was comfort the victim， but I wanted to do more. So I joined the next class to get an 7）emergency technician license. Soon I started riding on the fire calls， and the more I did it， the more I kept thinking， why didn’t I do this when I was 20？

不过岁月不饶人，丹尼斯患了病，并且病得很厉害。作为一名越南战争的老兵和飞行员，他有一年半时间负责运送可怕的橘剂。当他从越南归来，医生诊断他患上了癌症。