2006年NPR美国国家公共电台一月-Social Work: The Ideal vs. The Reality（在线收听） |
| In 1991, I lived with a murderer, an albino Elvis impersonator, and a girl whose TV told her she was wicked. I was in London as a volunteer working with mentally ill homeless people, testing out a possible future as a social worker. Smith Lodge was the euphemistic name for the nuthouse where I worked and lived. As the only staff member there after 4 o clock, I became the housemother to an unholy herd of schizophrenics, violent offenders and HIV-positive prostitutes. Even though I had no mental health training, I was upbeat about my assignment and intrigued by some of the characters and residents. Colin, the albino Elvis personator surfaced right after I did. He was thin as dental floss and obsessed with destroying the building s elevator. I d find him with his arms and face drenched in black elevator grease. The streaks on his transparent white face made him look like the warlord of the asylum. He passed the time with Elvis s songs, jittery renditions of Love Me Tender and Viva Las Vegas . He performed at the nearby pub until becoming convinced that Win Skeletons were kept birding him when he ventured outside. He had to be hospitalized. His breakdown affected me deeply. I started to realize that I was too connected to his suffering to really help him. I did make some progress, finding grant money for a resident's bike ride across England to raise awareness of his disease, Tourette's syndrome. The disease can cause convulsions and vulgar outburst. Andrew always attired in glaring spandex bike-shorts was so thrilled about the grant that he cussed like a sailor and collapsed in a shining heap at my feet. Despite the good news, I still fretted over his mental problems. In fact, I worried about everyone, and it was taking a toll. My doubts about becoming a social worker grew with each pint of gins I consumed, and eventually I consumed six pints every night. Finally, there was Clyde, a 4-feet-11-inch native of French Guyana and a gentle sweet man. It was determined that he was ready for independent living but he never would be. He needed a supportive community. He cried when the moving van arrived to transport his belongings to his new home, a urine drenched housing project in one of London s welfare waste lands. His few things, clothes, toiletries, a framed photo of his long-dead mother, looked lonely in the back of the van. I couldn t bear the cruelty of the situation. I knew then and there that I d never be a social worker because I never have or want the emotional detachment necessary for the job. I crossed the Atlanta to test out a career, I left there seeing that this kind of work would destroy me. I was the wrong person, too empathetic, too concerned about Colin, Andrew and Clyde. In the end, I came to understand the old saying: If you live next to the cemetery, you can not cry for everyone. And it was clear that I d have to move on and live someplace else. NEW WORDS: albino 白化病患者 impersonator 模仿(名人等)的艺人 euphemistic 委婉的 schizophrenic 精神分裂症的 asylum 收容所, 精神病院 Guyana 圭亚那 dental floss 牙线 jittery = trembling convulsion 震撼,动乱 attire in 穿上 toiletry 化妆品 detachment the state of not reacting to or being involved in something in an emothinal way |
| 原文地址：http://www.tingroom.com/lesson/NPR2006/40760.html |