美国国家公共电台 NPR With Shiny Pink And Camo, Casket Designer Honors Texas Shooting Victims

With Shiny Pink And Camo, Casket Designer Honors Texas Shooting Victims

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

As they remember the dead, the people in and around Sutherland Springs are taking care of each other. Laura Morales made sandwiches for people. Ronald Morrison brought venison sausage and flowers. The people we're going to hear from in this next story had something more somber¹ but practical to offer - a final resting place for those who were killed. NPR's Nathan Rott reports.

NATHAN ROTT, BYLINE²: Tiffany Sublett and Trey Ganem are sitting in front of a computer about two hours away from Sutherland Springs in another tiny Texas town.

TREY GANEM: Yeah, click on that one.

TIFFANY SUBLETT: This one?

GANEM: Uh-huh (ph).

ROTT: On the screen in front of them is a purple rectangle, swooping³ musical notes and the name of a little girl. What they need is a picture of a cat.

GANEM: She had a little black and gray kitten, so that's kind of like what you're looking at there. Let me see here.

ROTT: Ganem builds customized caskets designed to represent and celebrate a person's life. In his shop in Edna, there are rows of incredibly detailed⁴ ones. There's a Texas state flag. Another is shaped and painted like a bright red '57 Chevy with working headlights. On a rolling cart is a small casket, not yet fully⁵ assembled, painted a dazzling, sparkling pink.

GANEM: Dad asked for a princess for his daughter. And then the other daughter loved music and cats. So...

ROTT: So they're looking for pictures of both. After the shooting, Ganem offered free caskets to the families. It's about two degrees of separation here in South Texas, so he knows a number of people in Sutherland Springs, some who went to the church.

GANEM: I won't say names and stuff, but...

ROTT: Yeah.

GANEM: ...You know, for them, but yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF PHONE RINGING)

GANEM: It's another San Antonio.

ROTT: They got eight orders at first, and the phone just keeps ringing.

SUBLETT: Yeah, can you hold on one second, please?

ROTT: Here, I'll let you.

SUBLETT: Gail, Sutherland Springs funeral home director.

ROTT: It's the Sutherland Springs funeral home director.

GANEM: This is Trey.

ROTT: Another four caskets are needed - thousands of dollars normally. Sublett writes down the names of the victims, the colors and the things that they loved.

SUBLETT: Does she have a certain character on "My Little Pony⁶" that's her favorite?

ROTT: It goes on like this for a while. And honestly, it's really hard to hear. After she hangs up, Sublett says it's hard for her, too.

SUBLETT: So I have a 2-year-old son and I'm pregnant. So, I mean, it's all sad. It's tragic⁷. The amount of small children that were gone and the stories you - just hearing and talking to the families, it's definitely emotional.

ROTT: It's that way for everybody at the shop.

(SOUNDBITE OF SANDING)

ROTT: Kenneth Burnett and Maggie Rivera are sanding a casket, readying it for a pink camouflage⁸ paint job.

MAGGIE RIVERA: We're all here for the same reason. You know, to help, to at least bring some - I don't want to say peace, but at least bring...

KENNETH BURNETT: Joy.

MAGGIE RIVERA: Yeah.

ROTT: Joy. Maggie's husband, Michael Rivera, is in a loud room in the back of the shop painting casket handles. Normally Rivera paints cars for a living, but he and his wife decided⁹ to drive down from San Antonio after they saw the news and heard that Ganem was offering free caskets. Michael grew up in Sutherland Springs, and they have an 18-month-old son, one month older than the youngest victim of the shooting.

MICHAEL RIVERA: My son has the same exact toy that they're going to put with one of the caskets. And it's kind of - it's eerie¹⁰. It's sad.

ROTT: But being here, he says, volunteering his time and knowledge helps. And hopefully it will ease some of the grief that the families are experiencing, and it will do the same for them. Nathan Rott, NPR News, Edna, Texas.

1 somber   

adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• He had a somber expression on his face.他面容忧郁。
• His coat was a somber brown.他的衣服是暗棕色的。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 swooping   

俯冲，猛冲( swoop的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The wind were swooping down to tease the waves. 大风猛扑到海面上戏弄着浪涛。
• And she was talking so well-swooping with swift wing this way and that. 而她却是那样健谈--一下子谈到东，一下子谈到西。

4 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

6 pony   

adj.小型的；n.小马

参考例句：

• His father gave him a pony as a Christmas present.他父亲给了他一匹小马驹作为圣诞礼物。
• They made him pony up the money he owed.他们逼他还债。

7 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

8 camouflage   

n./v.掩饰，伪装

参考例句：

• The white fur of the polar bear is a natural camouflage.北极熊身上的白色的浓密软毛是一种天然的伪装。
• The animal's markings provide effective camouflage.这种动物身上的斑纹是很有效的伪装。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 eerie   

adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的

参考例句：

• It's eerie to walk through a dark wood at night.夜晚在漆黑的森林中行走很是恐怖。
• I walked down the eerie dark path.我走在那条漆黑恐怖的小路上。