N.T. was the hint for 2023

上周收到了Prof. Johnson 2023年的年度Newsletter。我依旧记得四年前第一次读到Newsletter时的惊喜，因为如今的感受依旧。字字句句之间，也仿佛又让我看到了那个熟悉的乔森（详见《乔森·道格拉斯冷杉》）。因为是他，所以会有这样新奇的点子；也因为是他，所以总是有趣、乐观、充满活力。

这周的周记，不如就为这封Newsletter写下一些注脚吧。

For several decades the “Bah Humbug” Super Curmudgeon (SC) of the J/D clan has used a theme to help SC buy Christmas gifts on the day before Christmas, within a self-imposed four-hour time window. The theme serves as a negative filter for SC to makequick decisions, thus accomplishing the purchasing tasks within the allotted time. Part of this holiday ritual involves attaching the same coded hint to each gift so the recipients can try to guess the theme. N.T. was the hint for 2023. It is normally deciphered by one of the members of the clan after SC provides a few more hints. This year was no exception, but it took a while. It was not Never Trump although that might have been appropriate in our circles. (Drum roll here) The 2023 theme was: there is NO THEME! And that pretty well sums it all up for this year. Another yearly slog through a fourth COVID restricted annual event calendar! We are hoping for more next year. There is ALWAYS HOPE. This report could end here but we will provide a few bits and pieces from our sparse diary of 2023.

乔森给自己起了一个新的代称—SC （ a curmudgeon is the crusty grey haired neighbor who refuses to hand out candy at Halloween and shoos away holiday carolers with a “bah humbug!")。 从前发工作邮件时他的落款一直是 JJ，以至于我每次看到总是心里打趣这是北美林俊杰。

SC， 这个脾气执拗暴躁的老头（其实现实里是个慈祥幽默的老爷爷），总是在圣诞节前一天的四小时内完成购买圣诞礼物的任务。且每一年的圣诞总有一个“主题”， SC会把代表主题的编码贴在每个礼物上，收礼人在收到礼物时也要尝试猜测主题，这是J/D家族传统的一部分。（”D“ 是乔森太太姓氏的打头字母，在每一封Newsletter的标题处总是完整地写上他和太太两人的姓氏，让人感受到一个家庭内部的平等和相互尊重。）

N.T.是2023年的主题编码。通常在SC给了更多提示后，家族中的某位成员便会把编码破译出来。今年也不例外，不过还是花了一些时间。它并不是Never Trump哦，尽管在我们的圈子里这可能是很合适的—此处应有掌声— 2023年的主题是：没有主题！（ N.T. — No Theme， 这真是好难猜；胡乱揣度也许SC想把 “Never Trump” 留给2024年的年底，as a celebration instead of a wish。又及，公司组里最近的一次聚餐，领导们还是继续谈论政治，惊讶地发现一大半的人都认为Trump很有可能再度当选。我不太懂，但是大受震撼。）

Both Chris and SC are now fully retired. Chris religiously takes long daily walks, usually in Magnuson Park along the shore of Lake Washington. She reads books which arrive in green canvas bags from the public library. Dozens per week. She loves her cats. And she cooks good meals for SC. SC rides a bike a lot to verify he still lives in a world filled with trees and lakes. SC has many projects he needs to get done and doesn’t.

Chris （乔森太太）和SC如今都完全退休了。（Chris 在退休前是一个公诉检察官。前疫情时代我听SC说过她每天都得看厚厚的几沓材料，也时常写诉状到深夜）。Chris如今每天去Magnuson 公园沿着华盛顿湖畔散步。她还是读很多的书，每周都会有数十本从公共图书馆借来，装在绿色帆布包里的书如约而至。（Chris和SC都超级爱看书，据说他们的相遇就是在西雅图的一家二手书店。而之后一位记者从店主处听说了这段姻缘的奇遇，还将他们的故事写成文章发表在西雅图时报上，成为一段佳话。）

Ian and Madhini are doing well in their apartment. They even grew some tomatoes on their kitchen table. They have acquired ownership of Greybeard, our old Volvo, since we now have Wallaby, the Subaru, who had two windshields replaced in one year with no evidence why they developed cracks. Madhini will graduate this June with a Nursing degree and a new chapter in their life will begin. She has maintained an excellent grade point average.

（Ian 和 Madhini 是SC的小儿子和儿媳。他们相识于纽约，那时Ian是位大提琴手，而Madhini则是个画家。在2019年年末，SC和Chris远赴印度Madhini的家乡参加了他们的婚礼。之后Ian和Madhini从纽约搬回了西雅图生活，Madhin也考入华大的护理系读研。SC把他的那辆沃尔沃“灰胡子”给了Ian他们，因为他和Chris在2021年左右买了“小袋鼠” 斯巴鲁。SC其实还有辆亮蓝色的90年代初丰田皮卡，总是开着它去学校，好奇它会叫什么可爱的名字，如果让我现在盲起一个不如就叫“Lake Monster”。）

Chris and SC have even begun going to the symphony again. And to the Seattle Art Museum to observe Hokusai wood block prints. You know, the big wave that is about to completely swamp the tiny fishermen in their boats (below). We will muster up optimism and believe the boats survived the onslaught just like we will overcome this damn pandemic.

生活在逐渐恢复正常，Chris和SC甚至开始再次去听交响乐，去西雅图艺术博物馆欣赏葛饰北斋的浮世绘。在那副经典的《巨浪》之中，小小渔船险些就要被这惊天巨浪所淹没，但我们鼓起乐观主义，相信这只小船也会像我们将克服这该死的疫情一样生存下来。（希望我们每个人的小船亦是如此。）

On the back side of this meager report, we have placed some photos in keeping with the tradition we started a few years ago. Art continues to help us to make it through the days. We hope you all are doing well and that some time in the future we can see you in person.

艺术继续帮助我们在生活里有所倚靠（“make it through the days”, 这让我不自觉地联想到近日去世的齐邦媛女士所说的：“我希望中国的读书人，无论你读什么，能早日养成自己的兴趣，一生内心有些倚靠，日久产生沉稳的判断力……”)

Oh, by the way, we did have a minor disaster happen last spring. The front concrete stairs to our house almost collapsed. SC turned into the Step Meister (der schrittmeister) and with the help of a friend patched the thing up. He claimed in a written document that he made a great discovery. It is somewhat lengthy so we have not included it in the envelope we are sending you, but if you are interested you can get to it by computer (url) or cell phone using the QR code below.

顺便说一下，去年春天确实发生了一场小灾难。家里前面的混凝土楼梯几乎坍塌了。于是SC变成了楼梯大师（真是行走的大师了），在朋友的帮助下对楼梯进行了修补。他在一份书面文件中声称他发现了一个重大发现，但那份文件有些长，所以我们没有将它包含在这封Newsletter里，但如果你感兴趣，可以通过扫描下面的二维码获取。（我曾去SC家做客，看见房子的外墙和屋顶分别被粉刷成明亮的蓝色和黄色，真像是童话故事里的仙女屋。SC说这样的搭配正好为西雅图时不时的阴天增添一道亮色。而看到最后的二维码，不得不感叹一句，SC never fails to surprise you~）