【Aiden in English】

        Here’s the simple truth about life. Everyone grows old. What’s intriguing is, the younger you are, and the less you care about time. Yet as you grow old, and time grows short, you begin to realize the precious gold sliding away every second. The funny thing is when all the adults tell kids to not put things to tomorrow, but they are the ones who are ultimately procrastinating. They always, at some time in life, suddenly think that there were so many things that they had yet to accomplish. Finally, when they grow old, life somewhat dulls out, and they complain about all the things they hadn’t done in life yet.

        At the beginning of the Year of Rooster, my school, Guanghua Chinese School, decided to give the elderlies in our community a slight spark in their life. So, a few groups from the Chinese New Year’s Gala were sent to Park Creek Place, an elderly residence home, to perform. Obviously, being one of the hottest shows on the list, our Yo-Yo group was welcome to start on the job.

        The first problem upon entering was the extreme lack of space. If one was to wave a Yo-Yo in front of your face, you would not feel comfortable. We were performing in the lobby, which was about the size of a large classroom. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough by far. Upon meeting up with the rest of the group, we discussed the plans of action. Instead of having the beginners and the advanced groups forming two separate lines, we combined into a large group.

        The second major issue was the elderly audience with mobility problems. It is not a good idea to have swung and flying Yo-Yo’s all around the lobby with the aging people. If a single windmill or toss went wrong, there could be some serious damage. Furthermore, the lack of space constricts our breathing room, so that increases our chances of mess-up even more.

        While the experienced group was sweating over the problems, the others were just practicing its tricks and messing around for the most part. In addition, two veterans did not arrive, therefore leaving us with a gap in the show. Luckily, we could cover their tracks with ease. Because of the major changes, however, no one felt confident.

        After the show, we kind of left without talking. It was well delivered and much better than we hoped for. Apparently, there wasn’t much to talk about, which is great. The audience, I’m not sure, was entertained, because not many of them applauded. But I do think that this time was probably, somehow, the smoothest performance we have ever done, which feels extremely satisfying. Hopefully, next time on a bigger stage, we can produce one even better than this show.

        I know we can.

【红霞译文】

        生命的基本规律包括生老病死。滑稽的是，你越年轻越不在乎时间，而随着年纪变大青春将逝，你开始意识到金子般宝贵光阴一去不再复返。正因如此，所有长辈都会谆谆教诲子女切莫明日复明日，可惜他们本身未必今日事今日毕，身处某段年龄区间总会突发异想，自己仍有好多理想尚未实现，等一旦步入暮年，生命趋于终结，往往抱怨事业未竞愧对天地万物。

        农历鸡年伊始，我所在的宾州光华中文学校决定走进社区帮助老人焕发新春活力，部分参加春节联欢会的表演者由此而被派往园溪中心老人护理院进行义务演出，作为最受欢迎的春节联欢会节目之一，我们空竹队责无旁贷，人人都愿尽自己微薄之力。

        走进园溪中心我们所面临的首要问题就是场地出奇地小，假如有人在你面前挥舞空竹，你肯定觉得别扭。我们表演地点设在门厅，其空间与教室相当，根本不算大。针对眼前现况，大家聚集一起讨论措施，决定让新手和老将并列站成一排，而不是分成前后两排。

        其次，观众都是上了年纪行动极其不便的长者，在老人面前忽悠空竹未必合适，一旦失手或某一环节发生意外，那么后果不堪设想。况且场地不大，空气流通受限，出错的几率明显增加。

        正当老将加紧调整应变对策，新手则频频在自己熟悉的常规动作上栽跟头，再加上另外两位行家告假缺席，我们必须填补空档，幸亏没遇到什么麻烦，演出进展顺利，然而由于几个因素的影响，大家确实信心不足。

        演出结束后，我们默默地离开老年护理院。全套动作完成得不错，甚至比预期想象的还棒，确实无啥好说，到此总算画上一个圆满句号。至于观众满意与否，我心里没谱，毕竟没有太多人拍手鼓掌，不过以我个人之见，这场演出或许可以算作我们空竹生涯里最为顺利的一次经历，让人非常有成就感。但愿下次舞台给力，这样我们能更好地发挥水平。

        我知道肯定没问题。

Today in History(历史上的今天):

2014: Descriptive—Eragon @ School Day(记小说人物一天学校生活)

Crosslinks(相关博文):

2016 Yo-Yo @ Lansdale Intl Fest(2016年兰斯代尔春季国际节抖空竹)

Yo-Yo Performance @ Travel & Adventure(旅游探险展表演空竹)

2015 Yo-Yo @ Lansdale Intl Fest(2015年兰斯代尔春季国际节抖空竹)