时代周刊:我在新冠期间遇到的5个人(2)（在线收听）

I live in a part of New York City one writer recently described as "not a people place."

我住在纽约市的一个地方，这里最近被一位作家描述为“不适合人类居住的地方”。

Less residential neighborhood than busy commuter hub, it has been particularly hard hit by the shift to work-from-home.

比起繁忙的通勤中心，这里的居民较少，受到向在家办公的转变的打击尤其严重。

Every month a restaurant that used to rely on workers buying lunch drops its gate for the last time:

过去依靠员工去买午餐的餐馆每个月都会有一家最终倒闭：

the fancy French-sounding bakery was the first to go, then several fastcasual outlets, the bar across the street, the Chinese takeout on the corner, eventually even pizza places and fastfood joints.

那家听起来有浓重法国口音的面包店是第一家被淘汰的，然后是几家休闲快餐店，街对面的酒吧，街角的中餐外卖店，最后甚至连披萨店和快餐店也关门了。

Aside from the patisserie, I rarely frequented any of those establishments, yet I feel a twinge in my chest every time I see the padlocks.

除了那家糕点店我平时很少光顾这些餐馆，但每次看到那些挂锁时我都会感到胸口一阵刺痛。

It's like heartache, except for a vendor. (Is there such a thing as mart-ache?) I mourn the staff, the signage, the squandered entrepreneurial energy.

就像心痛一样，除了一家小摊贩。（有“市场痛”这一说吗？）我为这里的员工、广告牌和浪费掉的创业精力而哀悼。

Somehow, the local Indian restaurant has survived, staffed six days a week by a young guy named Ram.

不知怎么的，当地的印度餐馆存活了下来，一个叫拉姆的年轻人每周工作六天。

As our dining options narrowed, and his customer options narrowed, we began to see each other a lot.

随着我们的用餐选择越来越少，他家消费者的选择范围也缩小了，我们开始经常见面。

Ram now knows our order, that we will pick it up late and that we don't want flatware or napkins.

拉姆现在知道我们的订单了，知道我们会晚点去取，知道我们不要餐具和餐巾纸。

But he also knows where we grew up, that we know a bit about cricket, that only one member of our family can tolerate spicy cooking.

后来他还知道了我们在哪里长大，知道我们对板球有一点了解，知道我们家里只有一个人能吃比较辣的食物。

Recently he asked me for book recommendations, which either means business is even slower than I feared or we're getting to be pals.

最近他让我给他推荐书看，这说明要不他的生意比我所想的还要惨淡，要么就是我们要成为朋友了。

I want to ask him how he could possibly be earning enough from the restaurant when huge chains around him are getting the heck out of Dodge, but instead I just inquire if things are picking up.

我想问他周围的大型连锁餐厅都关门大吉了，他还怎么可能从餐馆挣到足够的钱呢，但一开口我问的却是生意有没有好转。

His answer is always the same: No, but we are hopeful they will soon. It's hard to know if I keep going there for the tikka masala, which is delicious, or the optimism, which is even more nourishing.

他一直都是那个回答：没有，但我希望能够快些好转。我每次都去那里是为了美味的印度香料，还是为了那更有营养的乐观？真的不好说。

On one of my excursions to Ram, I met Kenny. I have probably walked past him at least 100 times in my life.

在我去拉姆的一次短途旅行中，我遇到了肯尼，我这辈子至少有大概100次从他身边走过。

He's the superintendent of a building nearby, and he lingers around his doorway a lot.

他是附近一栋大楼的管理员，经常在门口徘徊。

I regret the many years I did not give Kenny much thought, because he's a lovely man with a beautiful spirit, but also because he's an unstoppable gossip and knows everything that happens on his turf.

我很后悔多年来都没有注意过肯尼，因为他是一个有着好心态的可爱的人，还因为他是一个很厉害的八卦狂，知道他的地盘上发生的一切。

Were there suddenly a lot of cops on the street? Kenny knows why. Did a store recently close down? Kenny will tell you how much the rent was hiked.

为什么突然有很多警察在街上？肯尼知道为什么。最近有商店倒闭了吗？肯尼会告诉你房租涨了多少。

Is there an unsightly stain on the sidewalk? Kenny will have the gory details.

人行道上有难看的污渍吗？肯尼会告诉你血腥的细节。

Kenny and I now have the kind of arguments you can only have with people in the flesh, because on social media you'd be dismissed as a Nazi/ communist/journalist.

肯尼和我现在有了那种你只能和活生生的人进行的争论，因为在社交媒体上，你会被当作纳粹/共产主义/记者而被鄙视。

Are bike lanes a scourge? Is the mayor a disaster? Does a local business have the right to put parking cones on the street outside its door? (He's wrong on all three.)

自行车道是一种祸害吗？市长是个灾难吗？当地的商家有权利把停车锥放在门外的街道上吗？(这三项他都错了。)