16 keep walking in sunshine

keep walking in sunshine

Years of storms had taken their toll¹ on the old windmill. Its wheel, rusted² and fallen, lay silent in the lush bluegrass. Its once animated³ silhouette⁴ was now a tall motionless steeple in the twilight⁵ sun.

I hadn‘t walked across our old farm in fifteen years. Yet the sensations came flooding back. I could smell the freshness of new mown alfalfa. I could feel the ping of the ice cold summer rain, and the sun‘s sudden warmth on my wet shoulders when it reappeared after a brisk July thunderstorm.

Rain or shine, I used to walk this path each day to see Greta. She always made me smile, even after Sis and I had just had a big squabble. I would help Greta with her chores. Then we would visit over a generous helping⁶ of her delicious homemade chocolate cookies and ice cream. Being confined to a wheel chair didn‘t stop Greta from being a fabulous⁷ cook.

Greta gave me two of the greatest gifts I‘ve ever received. First, she taught me how to read. She also taught me that when I forgave Sis for our squabbles, it meant I wouldn‘t keep feeling like a victim. Instead, I would feel sunny.

Mr. Dinking, the local banker, tried to foreclose on Greta‘s house and land after her husband passed away. Thanks to Pa and Uncle Johan, Greta got to keep everything. Pa said that it was the least he could do for someone talented enough to teach me to read!

Soon folks were coming from miles around to buy Greta‘s homemade cakes, pies, breads, cookies, cider, and ice cream. Hank, the grocery store man, came each week to stock his shelves and bring Greta supplies.

Greta even had me take a big apple pie to Mr. Dinking who became one of her best customers and friends. That‘s just how Greta was. She could turn anyone into a friend!

Greta always said, "Dear, keep walking in sunshine!" No matter how terrible my day started, I always felt sunny walking home from Greta‘s house-even beneath the winter starlight.

I arrived at Greta‘s house today just after sunset. An ambulance had stopped a few feet from her door, it‘s red lights flashing. When I ran into the old house, Greta recognized me right away.

She smiled at me with her unforgettable twinkling blue eyes. She was almost out of breath when she reached out and softly touched my arm. Her last words to me were "Dear, keep walking in sunshine!"

I‘m sure that Greta is walking in the brightest sunshine she‘s ever seen. And, I‘m sure that she heard every word I read at her memorial service.

I chose a beautiful verse by Leo Buscaglia. It‘s one that Greta taught me to read many years ago…

"Love can never grow old. Locks may lose their brown and gold. Cheeks may fade and hollow grow. But the hearts that love will know, never winter‘s frost and chill, summer‘s warmth is in them still."

 

多年的风雨毁坏了古老的风车。车轮已经锈了，倒了，静静地躺卧在茂盛的六月禾丛中。在落日的衬托下，曾经散发着生气的风车如今如耸立的尖塔般冰冷、生硬。

我已经有十五年没有走过我们的农场了。然而，那些感觉又汹涌而至。我仿佛闻到了新割的苜蓿的清新气息，感觉到了冰冷夏雨敲打在身上，还有七月的雨后阳光照射在湿漉漉的身上骤然传来的暖意。

无论雨天或晴天，我曾经天天沿着这条小径去探望葛丽塔。即使我刚和姐姐大吵了一场，她也总能使我舒怀微笑。我会帮葛丽塔做些家务。然后，我们会大快朵颐，品尝她亲手做的巧克力曲奇饼和冰淇淋。以轮椅代步并不妨碍她成为一名出色的厨师。

葛丽塔送给我两件最了不起的礼物。首先，她教会了我认字。而且，在她身上我还学会一样东西，让我不再记恨于与我争吵的姐姐，让我不再觉得委屈，心情因此也就开朗起来。

在葛丽塔的丈夫去世后，当地的银行家丁肯先生曾经要收取她抵押给了银行的房子。幸亏有爸爸和约翰叔叔的帮忙，葛丽塔才保住了一切。爸爸说，对一位聪明得能教会我认字的人，这只是他力所能及的一件小事！

很快，方圆数英里的人们都来买葛丽塔做的蛋糕、馅饼、面包、曲奇饼、苹果酒和冰淇淋。每周，杂货店老板汉克都会给她送来材料，并从她那里进货。

葛丽塔甚至让我给丁肯先生送去一个大苹果馅饼。他也成为了她的顾客和朋友。这就是葛丽塔。她可以把任何人都变成朋友！

葛丽塔常说：“亲爱的，记得要走在阳光里！” 每天，不管一开始怎么糟糕，从葛丽塔的小屋走回家时，即使是披着冬夜的星光，我都会感觉心情舒畅。

这天，太阳刚下山我就来到葛丽塔家了。她门前几尺外已然停着一辆救护车。车上的红灯闪烁不停。当我冲入那所旧房子时，葛丽塔立刻认出了我.

她冲我微微一笑，令人难忘的那双蓝眼睛闪着光芒。当她伸手轻抚我的手臂时，她已经奄奄一息了。她最后对我说的话是：“亲爱的，记得要走在阳光里！”

我肯定葛丽塔此时正漫步在她所见过的最明媚的阳光里。我也肯定她听见了我在她的追悼仪式上所念的每一个字。

我选了利奥·巴斯卡格里亚的一首优美的诗，正是那首葛丽塔多年前教我念的诗。

“爱能历久常新。华发或会失去原有的光彩。双颊或会日显消瘦黯淡。然而，有爱的心中，从无寒冬霜冰，只有夏之温热。”

1 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

2 rusted   

v.（使）生锈( rust的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I can't get these screws out; they've rusted in. 我无法取出这些螺丝，它们都锈住了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My bike has rusted and needs oil. 我的自行车生锈了，需要上油。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

4 silhouette   

n.黑色半身侧面影，影子，轮廓；v.描绘成侧面影，照出影子来，仅仅显出轮廓

参考例句：

• I could see its black silhouette against the evening sky.我能看到夜幕下它黑色的轮廓。
• I could see the silhouette of the woman in the pickup.我可以见到小卡车的女人黑色半身侧面影。

5 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 fabulous   

adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的

参考例句：

• We had a fabulous time at the party.我们在晚会上玩得很痛快。
• This is a fabulous sum of money.这是一笔巨款。