美国国家公共电台 NPR--A Black family in Maryland is navigating the economic strain

A Black family in Maryland is navigating¹ the economic strain

Transcript²

Record high inflation is affecting millions of American households. A Black family in Maryland keeps perspective — and thrives — during these trying times.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

High inflation, the ongoing³ coronavirus pandemic, grown children moving back home - issues that remind us how for all the ways that we're different, Americans have a lot in common right now. Today, NPR's Alana Wise reports on how one Black family keeps perspective and thrives during these times.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOG BARKING)

TYRONE FERRENS: Shut up, shut up.

ALANA WISE, BYLINE⁴: A fluffy⁵ white handful of a dog greets visitors at the Ferrens house.

T FERRENS: This is the only biological child we have together. His name is Ashe Ferrens.

WISE: Tyrone Ferrens and his family are a tightly knit blended group. Between Ferrens and his wife, Michele, the family has six children.

T FERRENS: I have two, and my wife has four. And so we're like the real-life Brady Bunch.

WISE: Since the start of the pandemic, two of the couple's adult children have returned home. The children saw their finances stunted⁶ by the pandemic while it energized⁷ their parents' professional growth. Michele had been a retired⁸ respiratory therapist. When the pandemic hit, she found her expertise⁹ in high demand.

MICHELE FERRENS: They were offering large amounts of money for people to come to these hospitals, but it was out of necessity.

WISE: But the money alone wasn't enough to put Michele in harm's way.

M FERRENS: You have to believe in something. You have to have a love for it and a heart for people to do it. It's not money that gets you to go and do things.

WISE: While Michele worked the front lines, she and Tyrone came up with a plan.

T FERRENS: While she was doing that and I was doing the things that I was doing, we could afford to build this home, our forever home.

WISE: Tyrone Ferrens picked up extra shifts for his work as an electrician. He worked over 115 hours in two recent pay periods.

T FERRENS: Just gave me less time to miss her. It was a lot of sacrifice because I would see my wife once, one weekend, every two months, and while she's gone, I'd just work because there became a lot of opportunities for overtime¹⁰.

WISE: The family's success is a far cry from where he started his life. Ferrens spent years of his early adult life selling and addicted¹¹ to drugs. That time saw him land in correctional facilities across the country. He estimates he's been arrested about a dozen times over the years, spending about a year and a half incarcerated¹².

T FERRENS: It changes the way you view everything. My dog goes to the groomer, and he's in a cage for an hour, I get upset. I just - it's such a miserable¹³ experience.

WISE: Ferrens outlines his once-bleak reality from his bespoke¹⁴ home in Maryland. The six-bedroom, five-bath house with a pool and two ponds in the backyard was built during the pandemic, a testament¹⁵ to the Ferrens' financial success. After his last stint¹⁶ of incarceration¹⁷, a six-month bid for felony assault in 2007, Ferrens had an awakening¹⁸.

T FERRENS: When I got released, I was determined¹⁹ because I had sons that I didn't want to continue in that line. I wanted to change my life.

WISE: Tyrone Ferrens was trained in the Navy as an electrician. He was dishonorably discharged after a failed drug test. But since getting clean, he reconnected with his teenage love, Michele. They share their new home with Ferrens's mother, two children and one grandson.

T FERRENS: I think it's just made me aware of how fortunate I am, to be honest with you, because the things that my mother sees that would impact her - she's on a fixed²⁰ income. So when you raise the price of milk or a half a pound of bacon, it affects her.

WISE: Tyrone makes sure his mother, Patricia, has everything she needs. That includes costly²¹ dental work. The family's children have also needed extra support during the economic downturn. Again, Michele Ferrens.

M FERRENS: We get calls weekly - seriously - just for gas, you know, like, and they haven't had to do that before. You know, it is scary because we don't know what's coming - I mean, how long we can keep it up.

WISE: Issues like this and his time behind bars inspired Tyrone Ferrens to become politically active. The Justice Department says that more than 650,000 people like Ferrens are released from prison each year. Unlike Ferrens, many of those returning citizens will be rearrested within three years of their release.

T FERRENS: Everyone deserves a second chance because you make a bad decision, you do your time - I mean, at some point you've paid your debt.

WISE: Tyrone Ferrens was able to take advantage of opportunities to put him on the right path, opportunities he says others should be afforded as well.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Mr. Ferrens, you may begin.

WISE: He testified in 2017 to the House Ways and Means Committee.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

T FERRENS: It bothers me because I feel as though my son and my children are still paying for that mistake in regards to the opportunities that I have that would affect their lives and our living situation.

WISE: His two children at home are now both training to become licensed²² electricians.

ANDRE LEE: I would just see him at work, and I would just be amazed by, like, the amount of things he would talk about or the amount of things we would see or people we would, like, motivate to be doing what we're doing.

WISE: Andre Lee is Ferrens's 22-year-old son. The two aren't blood-related, but they share an undeniable bond.

LEE: Although he is my stepfather, he is my real father at the end of the day, because of what he's done for me in my life. It's because of him that I can call myself a man and be proud of it.

WISE: Lee lost his job a year ago at a juvenile²³ correctional facility. He says he was racially targeted. He gives this example.

LEE: There was a CO that literally²⁴ said, as I'm getting checked in - she was like, you look like you're supposed to be in here.

WISE: He filled in the gaps of losing his job, picking up work at McDonald's and DoorDash. But when Lee's roommate lost his job, Lee made the difficult choice to move back home.

LEE: I felt like I failed. I felt like I didn't do what I was supposed to do with the opportunity that I was given.

WISE: Lee now rents out that house, a property that he had bought from his dad. Ferrens said his daughter Regina lives on the basement level.

T FERRENS: That was going to be my man cave down there. We got a 100-inch screen that comes down. You know, it was going to be my man cave thing, but, you know, kids need a place to stay. That's far more important than a man cave.

WISE: The family keeps perspective. Michele continues her work in health care. Lee does volunteer work for the less fortunate, and Tyrone Ferrens is a passionate²⁵ advocate for human rights, including things like banning the box for returning citizens. The family will vote in the midterm elections, motivated by issues that impact their loved ones most.

Alana Wise, NPR News, Aberdeen, Md.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 navigating   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的现在分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• These can also be very useful when navigating time-based documents, such as video and audio. 它对于和时间有关的文档非常有用，比如视频和音频文档。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Vehicles slowed to a crawl on city roads, navigating slushy snow. 汽车在市区路上行驶缓慢，穿越泥泞的雪地。 来自互联网

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 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

4 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。

5 fluffy   

adj.有绒毛的，空洞的

参考例句：

• Newly hatched chicks are like fluffy balls.刚孵出的小鸡像绒毛球。
• The steamed bread is very fluffy.馒头很暄。

6 stunted   

adj.矮小的；发育迟缓的

参考例句：

• the stunted lives of children deprived of education 未受教育的孩子所过的局限生活
• But the landed oligarchy had stunted the country's democratic development for generations. 但是好几代以来土地寡头的统治阻碍了这个国家民主的发展。

7 energized   

v.给予…精力，能量( energize的过去式和过去分词 )；使通电

参考例句：

• We are energized by love if we put our energy into loving. 如果我们付出能量去表现爱意，爱就会使我们充满活力。 来自辞典例句
• I am completely energized and feeling terrific. 我充满了活力，感觉非常好。 来自辞典例句

8 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

9 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

10 overtime   

adj.超时的，加班的；adv.加班地

参考例句：

• They are working overtime to finish the work.为了完成任务他们正在加班加点地工作。
• He was paid for the overtime he worked.他领到了加班费。

11 addicted   

adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的

参考例句：

• He was addicted to heroin at the age of 17.他17岁的时候对海洛因上了瘾。
• She's become addicted to love stories.她迷上了爱情小说。

12 incarcerated   

钳闭的

参考例句：

• They were incarcerated for the duration of the war. 战争期间，他们被关在狱中。 来自辞典例句
• I don't want to worry them by being incarcerated. 我不想让他们知道我被拘禁的事情。 来自电影对白

13 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

14 bespoke   

adj.（产品）订做的；专做订货的v.预定( bespeak的过去式 )；订（货）；证明；预先请求

参考例句：

• His style of dressing bespoke great self-confidence. 他的衣着风格显得十分自信。
• The haberdasher presented a cap, saying,"Here is the cap your worship bespoke." 帽匠拿出一顶帽子来说：“这就是老爷您定做的那顶。” 来自辞典例句

15 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

16 stint   

v.节省，限制，停止；n.舍不得化，节约，限制；连续不断的一段时间从事某件事

参考例句：

• He lavished money on his children without stint.他在孩子们身上花钱毫不吝惜。
• We hope that you will not stint your criticism.我们希望您不吝指教。

17 incarceration   

n.监禁，禁闭；钳闭

参考例句：

• He hadn't changed much in his nearly three years of incarceration. 在将近三年的监狱生活中，他变化不大。 来自辞典例句
• Please, please set it free before it bursts from its long incarceration! 请你，请你将这颗心释放出来吧！否则它会因长期的禁闭而爆裂。 来自辞典例句

18 awakening   

n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的

参考例句：

• the awakening of interest in the environment 对环境产生的兴趣
• People are gradually awakening to their rights. 人们正逐渐意识到自己的权利。

19 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

20 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

21 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

22 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

23 juvenile   

n.青少年，少年读物；adj.青少年的，幼稚的

参考例句：

• For a grown man he acted in a very juvenile manner.身为成年人，他的行为举止显得十分幼稚。
• Juvenile crime is increasing at a terrifying rate.青少年犯罪正在以惊人的速度增长。

24 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

25 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。