John O’Hara to His Daughter约翰•奥哈拉给女儿的信

By John O’Hara

Quogue，Long Island

16 September1962，Sunday

于奎基，长岛，星期日

1962年9月16日

My dear：

Well，here we are——but not here.You at St.Tim’s，Sister in Princeton，and me in Quogue，and another brand new year is about to start for you.For me，too.I always seem to approach the autumn in the frame of mind that spring induces in most people.The excitement of new things;the new plays，the new books，new clothes，etc.，etc.，etc.At the same time the autumn for me is a season of a sweet melancholy that is hard to explain. I love the early evenings，the leaves burning，the lights in houses.

好了，我们到了——但不是到这儿。你在圣•蒂姆斯，西斯特在普林斯顿，而我在奎基，对你来说崭新的一年又开始了。对于我，也是如此。我似乎总是带着一种春天在大多数人身上所激发的心情走近秋季。新生事物给人们带来的兴奋;新剧目、新书、新服装，等等，等等，等等。同时，秋天对于我则是带着美丽的忧郁的季节。这是难以用言语表达的。我爱黄昏，爱像火一样燃烧着的红艳艳的树叶，爱房屋里的灯光。

It is the beginning of a big year for you，in many respects your biggest so far.By the time June comes around you will be 18，and graduating from school.In the past week or so I have called you“Kid” but subconsciously I have been doing that because your kid days are over，or just about.I suspect that you are going through the experience of first love，and no matter what else happens，after that experience you are never a kid again.

对你来说，这是至关重要的一年的开始，从许多方面来说这是你最重要的一年。到六月份你就18岁了，将中学毕业。在过去的几周里，我称你为“小孩子”，但在潜意识里我这样做是因为你的少年时代已经过去，或正要过去。我猜想你已在经历你的初恋，不管发生什么，有过初恋的经历之后，你再也不是小孩子了。