Renee Montagne (Host): Time now for StoryCorps. Earlier this year, we aired a story about two families that came together after a car accident.
(Soundbite of Archived Broadcast)
Megiddeh Goldston: Raphael, you could easily be still in that hospital bed, angry, like, screaming at the world.
Raphael Hameed: Nah, we love; that’s how we roll.
Montagne: That story of forgiveness led to another StoryCorps interview. A listener named Jeff Wilson heard that conversation and was reminded of something that happened to him in high school in 1984. He was driving to school when the sun got in his eyes and he hit another student as she was crossing the street. Jeff shared his story in an online comment, and StoryCorps suggested they do an interview together. So Jeff and the woman he hit with his car 30 years ago, Tammie Baird, came to StoryCorps in San Francisco. They had exchanged e-mails, but this was the first time they’d seen each other since high school.
Jeff Wilson: I saw something fly over the 1)hood of my car. And then I saw you lying there, and I pulled over and, you know, got out, and you were unconscious. I was absolutely sure that I had killed you. And then for a few days after that I really did not want to live. I just felt like dirt. But I called to find out how you were, and I remember speaking with your dad. And he could’ve just been 2)irate and angry—and I was prepared for that because I felt that’s what I deserved—but I told him how sorry I was, and he said I know what you’re going through because I went through that same thing when he was about my age. He’d hit a child that had run into the street after a ball and got really hurt. He said that he forgave me, and I’m forever grateful for that.
Tammie Baird: I’m glad that that day he answered the phone because he was just so kind, and he didn’t hold 3)grudges. I’m surprised, honestly, he didn’t make you come over for dinner.
Wilson: No, I didn’t know you when I hit you.
Baird: Right.
Wilson: If I saw you, I’d be like, oh, God, that’s the person I hit. I don’t want to deal with this.
Baird: So did you think it was crazy when 20-something years later, out of the blue, I just send you this e-mail?
Wilson: Yeah. I opened it up, and the first thing you said is, you may have been the first person to hit me with your car, but you weren’t the last.
Baird: Yeah. I became a 4)stunt woman. And now what I’m known for in my industry is car hits. I just really felt like I had to let you know that.
Wilson: I’m so glad you did.
Baird: You know, people will say things like wow, you do car hits. How did you get so good at it? Oh, well, this guy hit me my freshman year walking to school.
Wilson: The fact that you made something good out of it, it just amazes me. It really does. And it’s just kind of this beautiful 5)symmetry because I’m a 6)surgical technician and I do a lot of 7)orthopedic surgery, so I see a lot of people that come in from car accidents. And it gives me a great deal of satisfaction feeling like I’m helping people, I’m putting people back together.
Baird: That’s awesome.
Wilson: But I’m, you know, forever sorry.
Baird: But I hope now you won’t be.
Wilson: It’s 8)spectacular to be able to, to make this connection after so many years. It really 9)blows me away.(Soundbite of Music)
蕾妮·蒙塔(主持人):又到了“故事團(tuán)”的時(shí)間。今年早些時(shí)候,我們播出了一則因一場(chǎng)交通意外而讓兩個(gè)家庭走到一起的故事。
(存檔廣播片段)
瑪吉德·高德斯通:拉斐爾,你原本很可能仍躺在醫(yī)院的病床上生著氣,對(duì)著這世界尖叫。
拉斐爾·哈米德:不,結(jié)果我們相愛了;我們就是這樣的。
蒙塔:這則關(guān)于諒解的故事為我們引出了另外一個(gè)“故事團(tuán)”的訪談。一位名為杰夫·威爾遜的聽眾聽到了這一對(duì)話,想起了他在1984年上高中的時(shí)候發(fā)生在自己身上的事情。當(dāng)時(shí)他正開著車去學(xué)校,因陽(yáng)光刺眼,他撞到了一位正在穿過(guò)馬路的女學(xué)生。杰夫把他的故事分享到了在線評(píng)論網(wǎng)上,“故事團(tuán)”建議他們聚到一起做一次訪談。因此,杰夫和那個(gè)3 0年前被自己的車撞倒的女人,塔米·貝爾德,來(lái)到了舊金山的“故事團(tuán)”。他們之前有通過(guò)電子郵件聯(lián)系,但這是他們自高中以來(lái)的第一次見面。
杰夫·威爾遜:當(dāng)時(shí)我看到有什么東西從我汽車的引擎蓋上飛過(guò)。接著我見到你躺在那里,我靠邊停車,你知道的,接著下車,然后發(fā)現(xiàn)你已經(jīng)不省人事。我當(dāng)時(shí)十分肯定我已經(jīng)撞死了你。在那之后的幾天,我簡(jiǎn)直不想活了。我覺得自己是個(gè)混蛋。但當(dāng)我致電你家想知道你的情況的時(shí)候,我記得和我通話的是你爸爸。他當(dāng)時(shí)完全可以大動(dòng)肝火——我做好了準(zhǔn)備,因?yàn)槲矣X得那是我罪有應(yīng)得——但當(dāng)我告訴他我有多么自責(zé)和抱歉的時(shí)候,他說(shuō)他明白我正在經(jīng)歷什么,因?yàn)楫?dāng)他大約在我這個(gè)年紀(jì)的時(shí)候他也經(jīng)歷了同樣的事情。他曾經(jīng)撞到一個(gè)追著球跑到大街上的小孩子,撞得很嚴(yán)重。他說(shuō)他原諒我,而我永遠(yuǎn)感激于此。
塔米·貝爾德:我很欣慰那天他接了電話,因?yàn)樗悄敲瓷屏迹麤]有心懷怨恨。坦白講,我很驚訝他當(dāng)時(shí)沒有邀請(qǐng)你來(lái)吃晚飯。
威爾遜:沒有,我撞倒你時(shí)我還不認(rèn)識(shí)你。
貝爾德:是的。
威爾遜:如果我看到你,我會(huì)想,噢,天哪,那是我撞倒的那個(gè)人。我可不想面對(duì)。
貝爾德:那我在二十幾年后發(fā)郵件給你,你覺不覺得這樣非常瘋狂而且出乎你的意料?
威爾遜:是的,我打開郵件,你說(shuō)的第一句話就是,“你可能是第一個(gè)開車撞到我的人,但其實(shí)你不是最后一個(gè)。”
貝爾德:沒錯(cuò),我成為了一名女特技演員?,F(xiàn)在我在我的行業(yè)里以表演撞車而得名。我就是覺得我得讓你知道這個(gè)。
威爾遜:我真為你感到高興。
貝爾德:你知道嗎,人們會(huì)說(shuō),“哇,你會(huì)表演撞車。你怎么這么擅長(zhǎng)這個(gè)?”“噢,其實(shí),這個(gè)家伙在我大一走路去上學(xué)的時(shí)候就撞到我了?!?/p>
威爾遜:你能把“禍”變成“?!?,真讓我感到驚訝。的確是。這可說(shuō)是一種美好的對(duì)稱,因?yàn)槲椰F(xiàn)在是一名外科技師,會(huì)做很多整形手術(shù),所以我遇到很多因汽車交通事故而來(lái)就醫(yī)的人。這工作讓我感覺我能幫助到別人,能幫助人們平安重聚,給了我很大的滿足感。
貝爾德:這真是太棒了。
威爾遜:不過(guò),你知道,我永遠(yuǎn)對(duì)你感到抱歉。
貝爾德:但我希望你從此不會(huì)了。
威爾遜:這么多年后還能重新與你進(jìn)行這樣的聯(lián)系,真是太激動(dòng)了。真的讓我難以置信。
(音樂片段)
小鏈接
關(guān)于“故事團(tuán)”(StoryCorps)
2003年,紐約曼哈頓的中央車站出現(xiàn)了第一個(gè)公共錄音亭——這便是美國(guó)歷史上最大規(guī)??谑鍪酚?jì)劃的開始,稱之為“故事團(tuán)”(StoryCorps)。
“故事團(tuán)”是一個(gè)美國(guó)非營(yíng)利組織,在全美的一些樞紐地段,像地鐵站、購(gòu)物中心等地,提供錄音設(shè)施,邀請(qǐng)南來(lái)北往的人們進(jìn)入錄音亭或在流動(dòng)錄音車上,講述他們自己的故事。
這些故事的錄音,將被永遠(yuǎn)收藏在美國(guó)國(guó)會(huì)圖書館,成為美國(guó)最大的口述資料庫(kù),給后人留下美國(guó)普通人生活、經(jīng)歷、思想、情感的珍貴原始記錄。我們可以想象,在50或100年后,這些個(gè)人生活的真實(shí)記錄,將是多么難得的資料。
美國(guó)國(guó)家公共廣播電臺(tái)(NPR)配合這個(gè)計(jì)劃,每周五的清早都會(huì)選播一個(gè)錄音故事。這些故事中有夫妻之情、有子女父輩關(guān)系、有新移民的打拼、有成果的經(jīng)驗(yàn)、有失敗的教訓(xùn)……他們具有不同年齡、種族、職業(yè)、階層、出生地、家庭背景。錄音多是夫妻、父女、祖孫、朋友等兩個(gè)人的對(duì)話,深情流露,表達(dá)感恩之情和領(lǐng)悟到的人生哲理。故事感人肺腑,令人唏噓,觸動(dòng)心靈。
這個(gè)計(jì)劃的發(fā)起者稱,“在美國(guó),普通人的故事至關(guān)重要,這亦是‘故事團(tuán)’的初衷?!睂?duì)參與者來(lái)說(shuō),他們所講的故事,是他們“想給世人留下的記憶”,展示他們“生命中最重要的時(shí)刻”。這個(gè)計(jì)劃就是要“人們把心里的話講出來(lái)”,使全美國(guó)的人有機(jī)會(huì)進(jìn)行心靈的交流。據(jù)報(bào)道,美國(guó)有上千萬(wàn)人收聽這個(gè)節(jié)目。