美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Notes From A Public Typewriter' Muse On Everything From Cats To Commencement

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Five years ago, a husband and wife opened a bookstore in Ann Arbor¹, Mich. Michael and Hilary Gustafson called it Literati. And, almost on a whim², they did something that would make them famous in the town.

MICHAEL GUSTAFSON: We based our logo on my grandfather's Smith Corona³. And we thought, well, wouldn't it be fun to put out a typewriter that anybody could use.

SHAPIRO: And people did use it.

M. GUSTAFSON: They would type confessions⁴ and jokes and even marriage proposals on this typewriter. And over the years, thousands of people have typed these notes. And it's just been a wonderful sort of diary of a town happening in a bookstore.

SHAPIRO: Each night, after he locks up the doors, closes out the cash registers and re-shelves stray books, Michael Gustafson stops by the typewriter one last time. He pulls out the page, reads the messages left behind and files them away before he heads out. And now he has published some of his favorites in a new book called "Notes From A Public Typewriter." When we talk to the Gustafsons we spent some time flipping⁵ through the book reading a handful of those anonymous⁶ messages.

OK, let's take turns. You go first.

M. GUSTAFSON: (Reading) When we were younger, we would color our skies purple, our trees blue. And it always looked perfect to us.

SHAPIRO: Hilary.

HILARY GUSTAFSON: (Reading) Two days sober - thrilled about the first, terrified of the second. Do not have enough money to buy a book today, but I am comfortable here. Thank you.

SHAPIRO: Wow. (Reading) If I had to write a five-paragraph essay on this thing, I would withdraw from middle school.

(LAUGHTER)

H. GUSTAFSON: (Reading) Dear Max, you are a good old cat. I'm sorry I pushed you off the couch sometimes when you wanted to sit in my lap, and I was touched out from the babies, and my eyes were itching⁷. I'm sorry for the time I cut your skin by accident trying to cut out the mats and didn't realize how bad it was at first. I'm sorry I sometimes let your nails get too long or ran out of wet food and that I let you go an extra day without your sub-Q fluids at the end. There are a lot of opportunities to not take perfect care of you as I had intended. But I hope you felt that those were the rare exception in the six years you were with us. I had a great day with you yesterday and hope you enjoyed some of your favorite things on your last day. It will always be a special memory for me. Please know you were loved. And I - we will always remember you, love your human mama.

M. GUSTAFSON: I remember when we got that note. And I took the page out at the typewriter, and I showed it to staff. And we're all just bawling⁸. All of us were just crying. And that was one of the first few notes that we got that really struck a chord in me that there was something happening here.

SHAPIRO: You have selected some really lovely, funny, heartbreaking, insightful messages. How much of what you get on the typewriter is that? And how much is (laughter) not that?

M. GUSTAFSON: There is a lot of not that.

SHAPIRO: OK.

H. GUSTAFSON: Lots of fart jokes.

M. GUSTAFSON: Lots of fart jokes.

(LAUGHTER)

M. GUSTAFSON: Sure, yeah. We have to sift⁹ through maybe 200 notes to find that one note that really just makes you laugh out loud or acts like a gut¹⁰ punch. But once you find that note, you instantly recognize it. It's very authentic¹¹. It's very true. It's not trying to impress.

SHAPIRO: Tell me about how the messages change depending on the time of year or the time of day or the day of the week.

H. GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I think it's interesting. You know, it's a university town, Ann Arbor. And University of Michigan is here. And when graduation rolls around, we get lots of advice for graduates from newly graduated or from parents visiting - things like that. And then I feel like also around kind of the holidays we get a lot of people who write notes to loved ones who have passed, and people are looking back and remembering those people that meant a lot to them.

M. GUSTAFSON: And on Michigan-Ohio State football game days, we get a lot of Ohio State fans saying go, Bucks¹².

SHAPIRO: Well, Hilary and Michael Gustafson, it's been great talking with you. Thank you.

H. GUSTAFSON: It's been so wonderful talking to you. Thank you so much.

M. GUSTAFSON: Thank you, Ari.

SHAPIRO: They own Literati bookstore in Ann Arbor, Mich. And Michael is the author of the new book "Notes From A Public Typewriter," written with the designer Oliver Uberti.

1 arbor   

n.凉亭；树木

参考例句：

• They sat in the arbor and chatted over tea.他们坐在凉亭里，边喝茶边聊天。
• You may have heard of Arbor Day at school.你可能在学校里听过植树节。

2 whim   

n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想

参考例句：

• I bought the encyclopedia on a whim.我凭一时的兴致买了这本百科全书。
• He had a sudden whim to go sailing today.今天他突然想要去航海。

3 corona   

n.日冕

参考例句：

• The corona gains and loses energy continuously.日冕总是不断地获得能量和损失能量。
• The corona is a brilliant,pearly white,filmy light,about as bright as the full moon.光环带是一种灿烂的珠白色朦胧光，几乎像满月一样明亮。

4 confessions   

n.承认( confession的名词复数 )；自首；声明；（向神父的）忏悔

参考例句：

• It is strictly forbidden to obtain confessions and to give them credence. 严禁逼供信。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Neither trickery nor coercion is used to secure confessions. 既不诱供也不逼供。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 flipping   

讨厌之极的

参考例句：

• I hate this flipping hotel! 我讨厌这个该死的旅馆！
• Don't go flipping your lid. 别发火。

6 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

7 itching   

adj.贪得的，痒的，渴望的v.发痒( itch的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The itching was almost more than he could stand. 他痒得几乎忍不住了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My nose is itching. 我的鼻子发痒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 bawling   

v.大叫，大喊( bawl的现在分词 )；放声大哭；大声叫出；叫卖（货物）

参考例句：

• We heard the dulcet tones of the sergeant, bawling at us to get on parade. 我们听到中士用“悦耳”的声音向我们大喊，让我们跟上队伍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• "Why are you bawling at me? “你向我们吼啥子？ 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

9 sift   

v.筛撒，纷落，详察

参考例句：

• Sift out the wheat from the chaff.把小麦的壳筛出来。
• Sift sugar on top of the cake.在蛋糕上面撒上糖。

10 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

11 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

12 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》