2016-04-23

【Aiden in English】

        And we're back in the Lai-Lai Garden tonight. It wasn't initially planned, as the first dinner plan was at the newly opened Madang Korean & BBQ nearby, but we like our food the Chinese way. You may be wondering, however, what the occasion is. Mom is hosting her college folk and his wife, whom she has only seen once in three decades. That was thirteen years ago, when I was carried around in a cradle. The couple just moved from the Midwest to Philadelphia early this year. Jefferson University professors are engaged in immunoneurological study of the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis, or MS, an autoimmune inflammatory disease affecting the brain and spine. Hopefully, their research will help find a novel therapeutic target for treating MS.

        Although the Lai-Lai Garden is great, many intense NBA playoffs are happening. Seeing how the Boston Celtics have tied the series with the Atlanta Hawks after being down 0-2 makes me wonder if the league has a reincarnation of Isiah Thomas (with an extra "a" in between the "s" and the "i"). Indeed, I was growing tired of the same food. The purpose was not to satisfy me but my mom's friends. It has been 13 years since they last met, having come face to face once in my birth year. It's creepy when strangers say they saw you when you were so much smaller. I usually place them under the "stalker" category, but that's just what I do. The reunion wasn't all that exciting for me, but Mom seemed to care a ton about her long-lost friend from college. The moment the guests said they weren't big on spicy foods, the look on Mom's face was a facsimile of the time I realized I didn't like my birthday gift. Please remember that I didn't care too much about birthdays. Luckily, the tofu in a clay pot with assorted seafood and vegetables was great, and not a drop of oily red was visible on the surface. Coincidentally, it was the fastest to go. Although I enjoyed the pot, I still appreciated the red pepper particles on my plate. It may be food coloring, but I'll never know. Not that it matters since it still tastes the same.

        A similar feeling often occurs for me at the beginning of the school year. Having that feeling amplified for 13 years is quite remarkable. Not having a trustworthy person to talk to is nerve-racking, and my experience with this has been limited to just three months. Friends are indispensable for comfort and to help you through life. Over time, they become a part of your soul, and the piece breaks off when they leave. The bridges between the friendships can't be broken, and even thirteen years later, the bonds are still strong between Mom and her friend. Whether at a park, in a movie theater, or at Lai-Lai Garden, it is essential to continue strengthening the bonds.

        Good friends are like angels, and they add blessings to life.

【紅霞譯】

        今晚我們重返“來來花園”酒家，說來選擇到此就餐並非初衷，原本打算去附近一家新開張的“韓式庭院燒烤”餐廳嘗嘗鮮，但最終還是執拗不過眷戀家鄉風味的中國胃。你或許好奇怎麼回事？如你所知，媽媽正為她的大學同學及其太太接風，過去30年間彼此僅打過一次照面，那是13年前我剛出生不久，當時只能躺在搖籃里訪親會友。這對夫婦年初才從美國中西部搬到東海岸費城，共同在傑弗遜大學擔任教授，主要針對多發性硬化症發病機制進行神經免疫方面的研究，他們希望通過努力能夠找出治療這種腦幹和脊髓自體免疫性疾病的新方法。

        “來來花園”不失為款待朋友的好去處，但再好也無法與當下許多牽動人心的美職籃季後賽相媲美，眼見波士頓凱爾特人隊與亞特蘭大老鷹隊相遇，並在零比二落後的情況下奮起直追將比分拉平，我禁不住聯想到美職籃聯盟怎麼偏叫伊塞亞·托馬斯“神聖救贖·雙”旗下戰將起死回生，莫非緣於他的名字中“S”與“I”之間多了一個“A”不成。確確實實，我難免對一成不變的食譜心生膩歪的感覺，但今天這頓飯我滿不滿意並不重要，關鍵在於媽媽的朋友是否開心，畢竟雙方距離上次見面已經時隔13年之久，看我都長這麼大了。其實每當有生人對你說他在你很小的時候見過你，冷不丁會叫你發怵，通常我把他們視作“盯梢者”，這完全出於個人之見。長輩之間的故友重逢對我來說沒啥大不了的，但媽媽看起來卻情真意切，對於久違的大學同學尤感非同尋常，當聽說來賓不能吃辣時，她立馬面帶愧疚，如同意識到我不喜歡她送的生日禮物一般，實際上我從不在意任何生日禮物。幸好“三鮮豆腐煲”美味可口，表面沒有丁點麻辣油花，真可謂歪打正着，這道菜備受推崇，不知不覺地便被一掃而光。煲固然可嘉，但我還是更傾向於盤上麻辣玩意，當然究竟是否貨真價實，我沒法辨認，反正兩者味道差不多。

        每當新學年來臨我難掩緊張之情，若把13年來的不安疊加在一起簡直不可思議，沒有信得過的人聽你傾訴衷腸，即使三個月也難以支撐過來。朋友的安慰和幫助都是人生必不可少的，久而久之，朋友勢必變成自己的精神伴侶，當他們離你而去，你會心如刀絞。友誼的橋梁牢不可破，即使13年過後依然如故，因為塵封年少的情感早已烙印於彼此內心深處，無論在公園、影院或是“來來花園”酒家，繼續加強相互聯繫對於人生意義重大。

        好朋友就像天使，他們為生活帶來祝福。

Today in History(歷史上的今天):

2014: Fifth Grade Reading Olympics(五年級閱讀奧林匹克賽)

2009: 玩中學(Learning Through Play)

Ping-Pong Players (乒乓球手 04-23-2016)

Ping-Pong Fan (乒乓球迷 04-23-2016)

Lai Lai Garden (來來花園 04-23-2016)

Crosslinks(相關博文)：

Old Friends’ Dinner @ Bacco, PA(賓州酒神意大利飯莊老朋友晚餐)

Reunion w/ Old Friends(老友重逢)

Auld Lang Syne(友誼地久天長)

有緣千里來相會(Find Each Other)

7th Grade(初中二年級)