美国国家公共电台 NPR 'You Get Swept Up': A Story Of Love, Passion — And Vacuum Cleaners

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

Today on StoryCorps, we have a love story that sucks. Tom Gasko is a vacuum cleaner repairman who also collects vacuums. He has hundreds of them. He displays them in a vacuum cleaner museum in a strip mall in Rolla, Mo. He came to StoryCorps with his husband, Donnie Pedrola.

DONNIE PEDROLA: Do you remember first becoming captivated by vacuum cleaners?

TOM GASKO: My very first memory of the vacuum would have been my mother's. I would drag that thing out. And so many times, I had nothing left to clean. I learned to read from my mother's vacuum cleaner instruction book. That was the book I wanted her to read to me. And I was never shy about it. I would actually go up to people, and I would say, if you ever have a problem with your vacuum cleaner, I can help you with it.

Well, a lady down the street had a clog¹ in the hose of her Electrolux. I remember she called my mother, and my mother told me to go down there and see if I could help her with it. So I put the hose on the exhaust end of this machine and out pops a huge pair of panties (laughter). I held them up and she said, oh, my gosh, I can't believe those were in there. And I remember saying to her, I can't believe they were in there either.

PEDROLA: (Laughter).

GASKO: The night you came over for our very first date, I think we probably talked for four or five hours about the different designs of vacuums. I would eventually start showing you the old ones that were in the garage. That's when you thought I was crazy.

PEDROLA: Definitely. I had never heard of anybody collecting vacuums before. And a collection to me is 50, 60, not 600, 700.

GASKO: Has my collecting vacuums ever been a problem in our relationship?

PEDROLA: No, there's never been a problem. Sometimes the garage gets a little excess, and it drives me nuts.

GASKO: But they're special machines. They're the...

PEDROLA: No, they've never been a problem.

GASKO: OK.

PEDROLA: Most people aren't that passionate² about something. My life is totally different now. I see things differently. I view people differently. You get so excited about the simplest things.

GASKO: And you get swept up into it. And the day that I pass, you know, after you cremate³ me, I want you to take my favorite vacuum - the Airway⁴ - and I want you to vacuum my ashes up into it. I want to spend eternity⁵ in that Airway vacuum cleaner (laughter).

PEDROLA: OK. 'Cause you know I love you.

GASKO: Well, and you never met anybody in your life like me.

PEDROLA: Agreed.

(LAUGHTER)

KING: That was Donnie Pedrola and Tom Gasko at StoryCorps in Rolla, Mo., discussing their love of vacuums and of one another. That interview will be archived along with hundreds of thousands more at the Library of Congress.

1 clog   

vt.塞满，阻塞；n.[常pl.]木屐

参考例句：

• In cotton and wool processing,short length fibers may clog sewers.在棉毛生产中，短纤维可能堵塞下水管道。
• These streets often clog during the rush hour.这几条大街在交通高峰时间常常发生交通堵塞。

2 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

3 cremate   

v.火葬，烧成灰

参考例句：

• She wants Chris to be cremated.她想把克里斯的尸体火化。
• Laowang explains: "Combustion is cremate, degenerating is inhumation. "老王解释道：“燃烧就是火葬，腐朽就是土葬。”

4 airway   

n.空中航线，通风口

参考例句：

• Lay them on their side and ensure the airway is unobstructed.让他们侧躺着，并确保呼吸道畅通。
• There is a purple airway in London Airport.伦敦机场里有一条皇家专用飞机跑道。

5 eternity   

n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷

参考例句：

• The dull play seemed to last an eternity.这场乏味的剧似乎演个没完没了。
• Finally,Ying Tai and Shan Bo could be together for all of eternity.英台和山伯终能双宿双飞，永世相随。