2005年NPR美国国家公共电台三月-A Youthful Traveling Companion

Not all musicians hit bottom, of course, but they do have to drive and drive and drive to get where they are going. Commentator¹ Christian² Bauman remembers a poignant³ journey of a few years back.

I came home from the army to a bachelor apartment in eastern Pennsylvania and a bad job as an office clerk. I was 25 years old. My daughter Christina was 7. We had every other weekend together in 2 tiny rooms on the second floor. The rest of the time went to my guitar and my song writing. And at first, I tried hard to keep all this world separate.
One Friday morning, the phone rang at my desk. It was the booking manager of the iron horse, the famous music club in north Hampton Massachusetts, 3 states and 4 hours away.
"What are you doing later," he asked.
"It was my weekend to have my daughter", and I told him so.
"Never mind that," he said, "I've got a country princess from Nashville appear tonight, I don't think she's got 45 minutes worth/ material."
He wanna open the show and when I say open, I mean play for an hour. I told him I was unsure about opening for a country singer. He coughed politely.
"Pardon me," he said, "the correct response is I'll see you tonight."
I thought for one moment then said, "I'll see you tonight."

I told my boss I had a death in the family which is why you should never hire musicians to work at a desk. By noon, I was at Christina's school, waiting through a sea of diligent⁴ fourth-graders. It was Friday afternoon, a gorgeous⁵ October Indian summer, 70 degrees. There were better classrooms than the one she was in. "I'm busting⁶ ya out of here." I said. Our 4-hour drive became 6 as we had traffic. The leaves in Connecticut and Massachusetts were red and gold and our windows were open. Sometimes half an hour went by without a word being said. I asked Christina about school, and she answered but she wasn't much interested in that.She told me instead about the Daniel Pink Word, a book she was reading. She talked 15 minutes about it. Her skin was freckled⁷ from the summer, her fingers playing dancing games at the open window of the car. We made the gig with minutes to spare. The Nashville princess entertained Christina with knock-knock jokes while I tuned⁸ up and the bartender fetter⁹ while I played my set. There was almost no audience and a 4-hour drive home lay ahead. Back in the car nearing midnight, Christina said, in her matter of fact Christina way, "Not a lot of people there tonight." I grimaced¹⁰ and fought the urge for a cigarette. "Still" she said, "the waitresses all liked you and I saw the songman by a CD." We ate drive-through French fries and listened to "Avid¹¹ Road" on the tape player. "Thanks for coming with me," I said later, the first of many times I would tell her this over the next few years. But curled¹² up with her own long hair as a pillow, she was already asleep. I rolled down the window, allowed myself the cigarette and thought about my smart little girl and how rare it is to find a good travelling companion.

Former soldier and folk singer Christian Bauman is author of the novel, "The Ice Beneath You". His daughter Christina is now a junior in high school.

1 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

2 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

3 poignant   

adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的

参考例句：

• His lyrics are as acerbic and poignant as they ever have been.他的歌词一如既往的犀利辛辣。
• It is especially poignant that he died on the day before his wedding.他在婚礼前一天去世了，这尤其令人悲恸。

4 diligent   

adj.勤勉的，勤奋的

参考例句：

• He is the more diligent of the two boys.他是这两个男孩中较用功的一个。
• She is diligent and keeps herself busy all the time.她真勤快，一会儿也不闲着。

5 gorgeous   

adj.华丽的，灿烂的，美丽的，宜人的，棒的

参考例句：

• The gorgeous costume added to the brilliance of the dance.华丽的服装使舞蹈更加光彩夺目。
• What a gorgeous day it is today!今天天气多好啊！

6 busting   

打破，打碎( bust的现在分词 )； 突击搜查（或搜捕）； （使）降级，降低军阶

参考例句：

• Jim and his wife were busting up again yesterday. 吉姆和他的妻子昨天又吵架了。
• He figured she was busting his chops, but it was all true. 他以为她在捉弄他，其实完全是真的。

7 freckled   

adj.雀斑；斑点；晒斑；（使）生雀斑v.雀斑，斑点( freckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her face was freckled all over. 她的脸长满雀斑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Her freckled skin glowed with health again. 她长有雀斑的皮肤又泛出了健康的红光。 来自辞典例句

8 tuned   

adj.调谐的，已调谐的v.调音( tune的过去式和过去分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• The resort is tuned in to the tastes of young and old alike. 这个度假胜地适合各种口味，老少皆宜。
• The instruments should be tuned up before each performance. 每次演出开始前都应将乐器调好音。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 fetter   

n./vt.脚镣，束缚

参考例句：

• This does not mean that we wish to fetter the trade union movement.这并不意味着我们想限制工会运动。
• Reform will be deepened to remove the institutional obstacles that fetter the development of productive forces.继续深化改革，突破束缚生产力发展的体制性障碍。

10 grimaced   

v.扮鬼相，做鬼脸( grimace的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He grimaced at the bitter taste. 他一尝那苦味，做了个怪相。
• She grimaced at the sight of all the work. 她一看到这么多的工作就皱起了眉头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 avid   

adj.热心的；贪婪的；渴望的；劲头十足的

参考例句：

• He is rich,but he is still avid of more money.他很富有,但他还想贪图更多的钱。
• She was avid for praise from her coach.那女孩渴望得到教练的称赞。

12 curled   

adj.卷曲的，卷发状的，卷缩的v.（使）弯曲( curl的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）卷曲；盘旋；缠绕

参考例句：

• She lay curled up in a foetal position . 她像胎儿一样蜷曲地躺着。
• The snake was curled up in the long grass. 在深草中，这条蛇盘着身子。 来自《简明英汉词典》