Grandmother's China
克里斯蒂娜·朗德奎斯特 / Kristine Lundquist
In 1949 my parents made the big move from Rockford, Illinois, to Southern California, along with three very tiny children and all their household possessions. My mother had carefully wrapped and packed many precious family heirlooms, including four cartons of her mother’s hand-painted dinner china. Grandmother had painted this lovely set herself, choosing a forget-me-not pattern.
Unfortunately, something happened during the move. One box of the china didn’t make it. It never arrived at our new house. So my mother had only three-quarters of the set—she had plates of different sizes and some serving pieces, but missing were the cups and saucers and the bowls. Often at family gatherings or when we would all sit down for a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, my mother would say something about the missing china and how she wished it had survived the trip.
When my mother died in 1983, I inherited Grandmother’s china. I, too, used the set on many special occasions, and I, too, wondered what had happened to the missing box.
I love to prowl antique shops and flea markets, hunting for treasures. It’s great fun to walk up and down the aisles early in the morning, watching as the vendors spread their wares on the ground.
I hadn’t been to a flea market in over a year when, one Sunday in 1993, I got the itch to go. So I crawled out of bed at 5 a.m. and drove an hour in the predawn darkness to the giant Rose Bowl Flea Market in Pasadena. I walked up and down the outdoor aisles, and after a couple of hours I was thinking about leaving. I rounded the last corner and took a few steps down the row when I noticed some china strewn on the macadam. I saw that it was hand-painted china... with forget-me-nots! I raced over to look at it more closely and gingerly picked up a cup and saucer... forget-me-nots! Exactly like Grandmother’s china, with the same delicate strokes and the same thin gold bands around the rims. I looked at the rest of the items—there were the cups! The saucers! The bowls! It was Grandmother’s china!
The dealer had noticed my excitement, and when she came over I told her the story of the missing box. She said the china had come from an estate sale in Pasadena—the next town over from Arcadia, where we had lived when I was a child. When she was going through the contents of the estate, she had found an old unopened carton stored in the garden shed, and the china was in it. She questioned the heirs about the china and they said that they knew nothing about it, that the box had been in the shed “forever.”
I left the Rose Bowl Flea Market that day laden with my amazing treasure. Even now, six years later, I am filled with wonder that “all the pieces in the universe” tumbled together to let me find the missing china. What would have happened if I had slept in? What gave me the itch to go to the Rose Bowl on that particular day? What if I hadn’t turned that last corner, choosing instead to leave and rest my aching feet?
Last week I had a dinner party for fifteen friends. We used Grandmother’s china. And at the end of the meal, I proudly served coffee in those beautiful cups and saucers that had been missing for so long.
1949年，父母带着我们3个年幼的孩子，从伊利诺伊州的罗克福德搬到了很远的加州南部。母亲把许多珍贵的传家之物小心翼翼地包裹起来，其中包括祖母留下来的4箱手绘瓷器餐具。祖母选用了“勿忘我”的图案，并亲手绘制在了这些瓷器上。
遗憾的是，在搬家的时候发生了一些意外，其中一箱瓷器没能运到新家，此后也没有再找到。因此，母亲失去了那些茶杯、茶托和碗，只剩下3箱大小不一的盘子和一些其他小餐具。在家庭聚会、感恩节或圣诞节大餐时，母亲就会怀念起丢失的瓷器，并说她多么希望那箱瓷器能够在搬运时平安到达。
1983年，母亲去世了，我继承了祖母的瓷器。就像母亲一样，我会在许多特别的场合拿出来使用，并一直想搞清楚，那箱丢失的瓷器到底发生了什么事情。
我非常喜欢到古董店和跳蚤市场去搜寻宝贝。清晨，去走道里转转，看着小贩们把瓷器摆出来，那真是一种很大的乐趣。
我已经一年多没去逛跳蚤市场了，1993年的星期天，我忽然想去转转。早上5点，我从床上爬了起来，在黎明之前，摸着黑开了一个小时的车，到了位于帕萨迪纳的非常大的“玫瑰碗”跳蚤市场。在市场的走道里，我转了几个小时，然后打算离去，在转过最后的一个拐角往前走了几步后，我注意到了碎石路上摆着的几件瓷器。那些是手绘的瓷器，画着“勿忘我”的图案。于是，我跑上前去，拿起一个茶杯和一个茶托，放在眼前仔细看，那真的是“勿忘我”！精致的手法，还有描绘的金边，与祖母的瓷器一模一样。我又看了看其他瓷器，有茶杯、茶托，还有碗！这就是祖母的瓷器呀！
我的兴奋之情引起了卖主的注意，她走了过来，我把丢失的那箱瓷器的故事讲给她听。卖主说，她在帕萨迪纳购买了一处房产，就是在那里发现了这箱瓷器。帕萨迪纳是与阿卡迪亚相邻的一个小镇，我小时候就住在阿卡迪亚镇。卖主说，她在清理物品时，在花园的一个小屋里发现了这个密封的旧箱子，里面就装着这些瓷器。她向那处房产的继承人询问了此事，他们说那个箱子一直就在小屋里放着，并不知道那个箱子里装了什么、从何而来以及它的主人是谁。
带着这些令人惊异的宝贝，我离开了“玫瑰碗”跳蚤市场。6年后的今天，我对此事仍然感到惊奇，觉得这就是“一切机缘的巧合”才使我找回了丢失的瓷器。如果我那天赖床睡到很晚；如果那天我没有去“玫瑰碗”市场；如果我没有路过那个拐角，而是离开那里找个地方休息，那事情又会是怎样呢？
上个星期，我邀请了15位朋友到家里参加聚会，并把祖母的瓷器拿出来使用。用完餐，我用失去很久的茶杯和茶托为大家送上咖啡时，心中燃起了一种自豪感。
记忆填空
1. my mother died in 1983, I inherited Grandmother’s . I, too, used the set on many special occasions, and I, , wondered what had happened to the missing .
2. Exactly Grandmother’s china, with the same delicate strokes and the thin gold bands around the rims. I looked at the of the items—there were the cups! The saucers! The bowls! It Grandmother’s china!
3. What would have if I had slept in? What gave me the to go to the Rose Bowl on that particular ?
佳句翻译
1. 祖母选用了“勿忘我”的图案，并亲手绘制在了这些瓷器上。
2. 精致的手法，还有描绘的金边，与祖母的瓷器一模一样。
3. 卖主说，她在清理物品时，在花园的一个小屋里发现了这个密封的旧箱子，里面就装着这些瓷器。
短语应用
1. I love to prowl antique shops and flea markets, hunting for treasures.
flea market：跳蚤市场；廉价市场
2. I raced over to look at it more closely and gingerly picked up a cup and saucer...forget-me-nots!
race over：跑过去，狂奔过去