美国国家公共电台 NPR--After a career in consulting, a veteran looks back on what could have been

After a career in consulting, a veteran¹ looks back on what could have been

Transcript²

Decio "Dez" Rubano, 92, talks to his daughter Gina Livingston in Decatur, Ga., about his early dreams of becoming a musician, which were put aside when he joined the military.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Time now for StoryCorps. Today, a dream deferred³ but not forgotten. Born into a musical family, Dez Rubano was pulled on stage as a drummer for the first time when he was just 12. He came to StoryCorps 80 years later with his daughter to remember.

DEZ RUBANO: My uncle Jimmy pulled up in his car. He said, hey, kid, I need a drummer tonight. He took two teaspoons⁴ and showed me how different beats were played. I thought, this guy's crazy. However, I got the bug⁵. I said to myself, this is pretty cool.

MARTIN: Dez knew he had found his calling. What he didn't know was that because his opera singer mom gave birth to him in Montreal, he wasn't a U.S. citizen.

RUBANO: Well, one night I was sitting with Grandma and Grandpa having dinner, and there's a knock on the door. Bursting into the apartment were two uniformed immigration guys with pistols⁶ on their hips⁷, and they clicked a pair of handcuffs on me and said, you're getting deported⁸. I called Grandpa's lawyer, and I said, you know, what do I do? He says, join the service tomorrow, and they can't touch you. So the next day, I went and joined the Air Force.

GINA LIVINGSTON: Had you ever thought about joining the military before?

RUBANO: Never. Good Lord⁹, no.

LIVINGSTON: What might have been different about your life?

RUBANO: I probably would have stayed in the music business. When you get musicians cooking on the bandstand, the hair goes up on the back of your neck. And it's a feeling I can't describe in words, but it's almost like the love of a woman.

LIVINGSTON: Our house was always the house where every kid in the neighborhood was. My favorite thing was when it was time for everybody to go home, and you would play a march, the Get Out of My House song.

(LAUGHTER)

LIVINGSTON: I feel like the musical talent skipped me. You made me get up on stage and sing "My Blue Heaven" with you. Maybe I was 12. And I hated every second of it.

RUBANO: Did you really? You never told me that.

LIVINGSTON: Well, 'cause I would do anything for you. But I don't know why anybody wants to be on stage.

RUBANO: It gets in your blood. The urge is still there. But who wants to hire a 92-year-old guy? Be sitting up behind the center drums, waiting for him to drop dead. No, no (laughter). I did one thing right in my life - I raised you. You've been a joy as a daughter. Everybody should be as lucky as I am.

(SOUNDBITE OF GENE¹⁰ KRUPA'S "DRUMMIN' MAN")

MARTIN: Ninety-two-year-old Dez Rubano. He spent most of his career in consulting. He was interviewed by his daughter, Gina Livingston, in Decatur, Ga. This holiday season, NPR and StoryCorps invite you to interview a loved one as part of The Great Thanksgiving Listen. More information at thegreatlisten.org.

1 veteran   

n.老兵；经验丰富的人，老手

参考例句：

• My grandfather is a veteran of the Second World War.我祖父是二战时的老兵。
• We often asked the veteran workers for advice.我们常常向老工人求教。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 deferred   

adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从

参考例句：

• The department deferred the decision for six months. 这个部门推迟了六个月才作决定。
• a tax-deferred savings plan 延税储蓄计划

4 teaspoons   

n.茶匙( teaspoon的名词复数 )；一茶匙的量

参考例句：

• Add two teaspoons of salt. 加两小匙盐。
• Add 3 heaped teaspoons of sugar. 加满满的三匙糖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

6 pistols   

n.手枪( pistol的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Meantime he was loading the pistols. 而同时他在往手枪里装子弹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Two strangers menaced him with pistols and forced him to give up his money. 两个陌生人用手枪威胁他并强迫他拿出所有的钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 hips   

abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的

参考例句：

• She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。
• They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 lord   

n.上帝，主；主人，长官；君主，贵族

参考例句：

• I know the Lord will look after him.我知道上帝会眷顾他的。
• How good of the Lord not to level it beyond repair!上帝多么仁慈啊，竟没有让这所房子损毁得不可收拾！

10 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。