2016-04-22

【Aiden in English】

        And we’re back to the Lai-Lai Garden tonight. Actually, it wasn’t initially planned, as the first plan of dinner was at the newly opened Madang Korean & BBQ nearby, but we like our food the Chinese way. You may be wondering, however, what’s the occasion? Well, you see, mom, apparently, is hosting her college folk and his wife who she has only seen once in three decades. That was thirteen years ago when I was carried around in a cradle. The couple just moved from the Midwest to Philadelphia early this year. As the professors at Jefferson University, they are engaging the immuno-neurological study on the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis or MS, an autoimmune inflammation in the brain and spine. Hopefully, their research will help find a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of MS.

        Although the Lai-Lai Garden is great and all, there are many intense NBA playoffs going on. Seeing how the Boston Celtics have tied the series with the Atlanta Hawks after being down 0-2 really makes me wonder if the league has a reincarnation of Isiah Thomas (with an extra “a” in-between the “s” and the “i”). Indeed, I was growing tired of the same food. The purpose was not to satisfy me, but mom’s friends. It has been 13 years since they last met, having come face to face once at my year of birth. It’s quite creepy when strangers say that they saw you when you were so much smaller. I usually immediately place them under the “stalker” category, but that’s just what I do. The reunion wasn’t all that exciting for me, but mom seemed to care a ton about her long lost friend from college. The moment the guests said that they weren’t big onto spicy foods, the look on mom’s face was a facsimile of the time realized I didn’t like my birthday gift. Please mind that I didn’t really care all too much about birthdays. Luckily, the tofu in a clay pot with assorted seafood and vegetable was great, and not a single drop of the oily red was seen on the surface. Coincidentally, it was the fastest to go. As much as I liked the pot, I still enjoyed the red particles of pepper on my plate. It may be food coloring, but I’ll never know. Not that it matters since it still tastes the same.

        Many times, a similar feeling occurs at the beginning of the school year for me. To have that feeling amplified to 13 years is quite crazy. Not having that trustful person to talk to is nerve-racking, and my experience with it is only for three months. Friends are indispensable for comfort and to help you through life. Over time, they become a part of your soul, and when they leave, the piece breaks off. The bridges between the friendships can’t be broken, and even thirteen years later, the bonds are still strong between mom and her friend. And whether it is at a park, in a movie theater, or at Lai-Lai Garden, it is important in life to continue to work on strengthening the bonds.

        Good friends are like angels and they add blessings to live.

【紅霞譯文】

        今晚我們重返“來來花園”酒家，說來選擇到此就餐並非初衷，原本打算去附近一家新開張的“韓式庭院燒烤”餐廳嘗嘗鮮，但最終還是執拗不過眷戀家鄉風味的中國胃。你或許好奇怎麼回事？如你所知，媽媽正為她的大學同學及其太太接風，過去卅年間彼此僅打過一次照面，那是十三年前我剛出生不久，當時只能躺在搖籃里訪親會友。這對夫婦年初才從美國中西部搬到東海岸費城，共同在傑弗遜大學擔任教授，主要針對多發性硬化症發病機制進行神經免疫方面的研究，他們希望通過努力能夠找出治療這種腦幹和脊髓自體免疫性疾病的新方法。

        “來來花園”不失為款待朋友的好去處，但再好也無法與當下許多牽動人心的美職籃季後賽相媲美，眼見波士頓凱爾特人隊與亞特蘭大老鷹隊相遇，並在零比二落後的情況下奮起直追將比分拉平，我禁不住聯想到美職籃聯盟怎麼偏叫伊塞亞·托馬斯旗下戰將起死回生，莫非緣於他的名字中“S”與“I”之間多了一個“A”不成。確確實實，我難免對一成不變的食譜心生膩歪的感覺，但今天這頓飯我滿不滿意並不重要，關鍵在於媽媽的朋友是否開心，畢竟雙方距離上次見面已經時隔十三年之久，看我都長這麼大了。其實每當有生人對你說他在你很小的時候見過你，冷不丁會叫你發怵，通常我把他們視作“盯梢者”，這完全出於個人之見。長輩之間的故友重逢對我來說沒啥大不了的，但媽媽看起來卻情真意切，對於久違的大學同學尤感非同尋常，當聽說來賓不能吃辣時，她立馬面帶愧疚，如同意識到我不喜歡她送的生日禮物一般，實際上我從不在意任何生日禮物。幸好“三鮮豆腐煲”美味可口，表面沒有丁點麻辣油花，真可謂歪打正着，這道菜備受推崇，不知不覺地便被一掃而光。煲固然可嘉，但我還是更傾向於盤上麻辣玩意，當然究竟是否貨真價實，我沒法辨認，反正兩者味道差不多。

        每當新學年來臨我難掩緊張之情，若把十三年來的不安疊加在一起簡直不可思議，沒有信得過的人聽你傾訴衷腸，即使三個月也難以支撐過來。朋友的安慰和幫助都是人生必不可少的，久而久之，朋友勢必變成自己的精神伴侶，當他們離你而去，你會心如刀絞。友誼的橋梁牢不可破，即使十三年過後依然如故，因為塵封年少的情感早已烙印於彼此內心深處。無論在公園、影院或是“來來”酒家，繼續加強相互聯繫對於人生意義重大。

        好朋友就像天使，他們為生活帶來祝福。