美国国家公共电台 NPR Nashville Mayor Mourns Son's Overdose Death, Urges Families To Talk About Addiction

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

In Nashville, Tenn., the opioid epidemic¹ has become a personal tragedy for the mayor. Her 22-year-old son died last month in an apparent² overdose. Mayor Megan Barry spoke³ about it publicly for the first time yesterday. Barry is calling for families to speak openly about addiction⁴. Tony Gonzalez of member station WPLN has more.

TONY GONZALEZ, BYLINE⁵: The knock on the mayor's door rustled⁶ her from bed around 3 a.m.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MEGAN BARRY: And the way my transom is, is I can see through. So I could see a police officer.

GONZALEZ: She assumed, as mayor, that it was bad news, perhaps about a fallen officer or a family that needed to be consoled. But it was something else, something about her family.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

M. BARRY: And he told me that Max had passed away. And he had to repeat it several times because that was not what my brain could hear.

GONZALEZ: And then, days of mourning - and about as public as can be. Civic⁷ leaders and everyday citizens turned out to two open memorials, along with songwriter and family friend John Prine.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JOHN PRINE: This is a song called "Souvenirs." This is for Max Barry. (Playing guitar).

GONZALEZ: The mayor received hugs for hours from hundreds who came. While she didn't speak at the funeral, her husband Bruce did.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BRUCE BARRY: We all, of all ages, have made incredible⁸ mistakes in our lives. And we almost always walk away from them. And he made one that you don't walk away from. But the point I really want to make here is that the circumstances tell the story of his death and not the story of his life.

GONZALEZ: It was a life of humor and hiking and love of the outdoors. Yet, from the beginning, there was no hiding from the fact that an overdose claimed her son.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

M. BARRY: The reality is - is that Max overdosed on drugs. I don't know exactly what the combination of drugs was. But I do know, and we all know, that that's what caused him to die.

GONZALEZ: She says paramedics near Denver, where her son was living, administered⁹ Narcan, the anti-overdose medicine. But it didn't save his life. Nashville first responders have been carrying Narcan, too.

Overdoses have been increasing. There were 261 deaths in the city last year. And the mayor has budgeted for a new opioid specialist this year. She says she'll find ways to do even more, including using her platform.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

M. BARRY: If you see another child who is struggling, don't ever hesitate to pick up the phone and call that parent because parents, you know, sometimes we don't see everything that's in front of us.

GONZALEZ: The mayor had taken her son to rehab last summer before he completed his bachelor's degree.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

M. BARRY: Our hearts will always be sad and empty because we can never replace our child.

GONZALEZ: Mayor Megan Barry says her son's problems already inspired some of her policies. And now his death, which shows that overdoses can affect any family, will add urgency to her work. For NPR News, I'm Tony Gonzalez in Nashville.

(SOUNDBITE OF YEARS OF RICE AND SALT'S "AMONGST YOUR EARTHIEST WORDS THE ANGELS STRAY")

1 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

2 apparent   

adj.表面上的，貌似真实的，显然的，明明白白的

参考例句：

• The apparent truth was really a lie.表面上看似实话，实际上是个谎言。
• His guilt is apparent to all.他的罪恶尽人皆知。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

5 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。

6 rustled   

v.发出沙沙的声音( rustle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He rustled his papers. 他把试卷弄得沙沙地响。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Leaves rustled gently in the breeze. 树叶迎着微风沙沙作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

8 incredible   

adj.难以置信的，不可信的，极好的，大量的

参考例句：

• Some planets run at incredible speed.某些星球以难以置信的速度运行着。
• Her answer showed the most incredible stupidity.她的回答显示出不可思议的愚蠢。

9 administered   

管理( administer的过去式和过去分词 )； 治理（国家）； 给予； 执行

参考例句：

• An oath was administered to the newly elected President. 新当选的总统执行了宣誓手续。
• In summary, all government departments are administered rather differently. 概括地说，各政府部门的管理方式是很不相同的。