美國(guó)前總統(tǒng)小布什給父親老布什總統(tǒng)的悼詞

小布什講話英文原稿：

THE FULL TRANSCRIPT OF GEORGE W. BUSH'S MEMORIAL FOR HIS FATHER:

Distinguished guests, including our Presidents and First Ladies, government officials, foreign dignitaries, and friends; Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Doro, and I and our families thank you all for being here.I once heard it said of man that the idea is to die young as late as possible. At age 85, a favorite pastime of George H.W. Bush was firing up his boat, the Fidelity, and opening up the three 300 horsepower engines to fly, joyfully fly across the Atlantic with the Secret Service boats straining to keep up.At age 90, George H.W. Bush parachuted out of an aircraft and landed on the grounds of St. Anne's by the Sea in Kennebunkport, Maine, the church where his mom was married and where he worshipped often. Mother liked to say he chose the location just in case the chute didn't open.In his 90s, he took great delight when his closest pal, James A. Baker, smuggled a bottle of Grey Goose vodka into his hospital room. Apparently it paired well with the steak Baker had delivered from Morton's.To his very last days, dad's life was instructive. As he aged he taught us how to grow with dignity, humor and kindness. When the good lord finally called, how to meet him with courage and with the joy of the promise of what lies ahead.One reason dad knew how to die young is that he almost did it, twice. When he was a teenager, a staph infection nearly took his life. A few years later he was alone in the Pacific on a life raft, praying that his rescuers would find him before the enemy did. God answered those prayers. It turned out he had other plans for George H.W. Bush.For dad's part, I think those brushes with death made him cherish the gift of life, and he vowed to live every day to the fullest.Dad was always busy, a man in constant motion, but never too busy to share his love of life with those around him. He taught us to love the outdoors. He loved watching dogs flush a covey. He loved landing the illusive striper. And once confined to a wheelchair, he seemed happiest sitting in his favorite perch on the back porch at Walker's Point contemplating the majesty of the Atlantic.The horizons he saw were bright and hopeful. He was a genuinely optimistic man, and that optimism guided his children and made each of us believe that anything was possible. He continually broadened his horizons with daring decisions.He was a patriot. After high school he put college on hold and became a navy fighter pilot as World War II broke out.Like many of his generation, he never talked about his service until his time as a public figure forced his hand. We learned of the attack, the mission completed, the shootdown. We learned of the death of his crewmates whom he thought about throughout his entire life. And we learned of the rescue.And then another audacious decision; he moved his young family from the comforts of the East coast to Odessa, Texas. He and Mom adjusted to their arid surroundings quickly. he was a tolerant man. after all, he was kind and neighborly to the women with whom he, Mom and I shared a bathroom in our small duplex. Even after he learned their profession, ladies of the night.Dad could relate to people from all walks of life. He was an empathetic man. He valued character over pedigree, and he was no cynic. He looked for the good in each person and he usually found it.Dad taught us that public service is noble and necessary, that one can serve with integrity and hold true to the important values like faith and family. He strongly believed that it was important to give back to the community and country in which one lived. He recognized that serving others enriched the giver's soul. To us, his was the brightest of a thousand points of light.When he lost, he shouldered the blame. He accepted that failure is a part of living a full life. but taught us never to be defined by failure. He showed us how setbacks can strengthen.None of his disappointments could compare with one of life's greatest tragedies, the loss of a young child.Jeb and I were too young to remember the pain and agony he and Mom felt when our 3-year-old sister died. We only learned later that Dad, a man of quiet faith, prayed for her daily. He was sustained by the love of the Almighty and the real and enduring love of her Mom. Dad always believed that one day he would hug his precious Robin again.He loved to laugh, especially at himself. He could tease and needle but never out of malice. He placed great value on a good joke. That's why he chose Simpson to speak.On e-mail he had a circle of friends with whom he shared or received the latest jokes. His grading system for the quality of the joke was classic George Bush. The rare 7s and 8s were considered huge winners, most of them off-color.George Bush knew how to be a true and loyal friend. He nurtured and honored his many friendships with a generous and giving soul. There exists thousands of handwritten notes encouraging or sympathizing or thanking his friends and acquaintances.He had an enormous capacity to give of himself. Many a person would tell you that Dad became a mentor and a father figure in their life. He listened and he consoled. He was their friend. I think of Don Rhodes, Taylor Blanton, Jim Nantz, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and perhaps the unlikeliest of all, the man who defeated him, Bill Clinton. My siblings and I refer to the guys in this group as brothers from other mothers.He taught us that a day was not meant to be wasted. He played golf at a legendary pace. I always wonder why he insisted on speed golf; he's a good golfer. Here's my conclusion. He played fast so he could move on to the next event, to enjoy the rest of the day, to expend his enormous energy, to live it all. He was born with just two settings, full throttle, then sleep.He taught us what it means to be a wonderful father, grandfather and great grandfather. He was firm in his principles and supportive as we began to seek our own ways. He encouraged and comforted but never steered. We tested his patience. I know I did. But he always responded with the great gift of unconditional love.Last Friday when I was told he had minutes to live, I called him. The guy answered the phone, said "I think he can hear you but he hasn't said anything for most of the day." I said, "Dad, I love you and you've been a wonderful father," and the last words he would ever say on Earth were, "I love you too."To us he was close to perfect. but not totally. His short game was lousy. He wasn't exactly Fred Astaire on the dance floor. The man couldn't stomach vegetables, especially broccoli. And by the way, he passed these genetic defects along to us.Finally, every day of his 73 years of marriage, Dad taught us all what it means to be a great husband. He married his sweetheart. He adored her. He laughed and cried with her. He was dedicated to her totally.In his old age dad enjoyed watching police show reruns, the volume on high, all the while holding Mom's hand. After Mom died, Dad was strong, but all he really wanted to do was hold Mom's hand again.Of course Dad taught me another special lesson. He showed me what it means to be a President who serves with integrity, leads with courage and acts with love in his heart for the citizens of our country.When the history books are written, they will say that George H.W. Bush was a great President of the United States, a diplomat of unmatched skill, a Commander in Chief of formidable accomplishment, and a gentleman who executed the duties of his office with dignity and honor.In his inaugural address the 41st President of the United States he said this: "We cannot hope only to leave our children a bigger car, a bigger bank account, we must hope to give them a sense of what it means to be a loyal friend, a loving parent, a citizen who leaves his home, his neighborhood and town better than he found it. What do we want the men and women who work with us to say? That we were more driven to succeed than anyone around us or that we stopped to ask if a sick child had gotten better and stayed a moment there to trade a word of friendship?"Well, Dad, we're going to remember you for exactly that and much more, and we're going to miss you. Your decency, sincerity, and kind soul will stay with us forever. So through our tears, let us know the blessings of knowing and loving you, a great and noble man. The best father a son or daughter could have. And in our grief, let us smile knowing that Dad is hugging Robin and holding Mom's hand again.

尊敬的來賓，總統(tǒng)和第一夫人，政府官員，外國(guó)客人，朋友們； 杰布，尼爾，多羅和我，以及我的家人，感謝你們的光臨。

我曾經(jīng)聽說，人最好趁身心尚年輕時(shí)候去世，當(dāng)然，時(shí)間要越晚越好。在我父親85歲高齡的時(shí)候，他的一個(gè)娛樂就是開快船，他的船叫“忠心號(hào)”，他開足300馬力，快得象飛一樣，在大西洋上馳騁，留下保安船只在后面拼命追趕。

在90歲的時(shí)候，我父親依然從飛機(jī)中跳傘而出，降落點(diǎn)是緬因Kennebunkport鎮(zhèn)海邊的圣安妮教堂，我的祖母就在這個(gè)地方舉行的婚禮，這也是我父親經(jīng)常去禮拜的地方。母親說，父親特意選擇了這個(gè)地方降落，就是為了應(yīng)對(duì)傘包萬一打不開的意外。

90歲了，有一天父親正在住院，他的老朋友，前國(guó)務(wù)卿貝克，偷偷給他帶進(jìn)來一瓶灰鵝牌伏特加，他高興壞了。這酒配上貝克從默頓牛排店買來的外賣，真是棒極了。

即便是在他最后的日子，父親的生命也有啟迪。他一邊老去，一邊教會(huì)我們?nèi)绾螏е饑?yán)，幽默和善良而老去。當(dāng)慈愛的上帝最終來叩門的時(shí)候，怎樣帶著勇氣，帶著對(duì)天國(guó)的期盼和喜樂，去迎接死亡的來臨。

我父親知道如何在“年輕”時(shí)死亡，因?yàn)樗麕缀踉?jīng)歷過兩次。十幾歲的時(shí)候，一個(gè)葡萄球菌感染幾乎要了他的命。幾年后，他躺在一個(gè)救生筏里在太平洋上飄蕩，一邊禱告希望救生部隊(duì)能先于敵人找到他。顯然上帝聽到了他的禱告，因?yàn)樯系劢o父親的命運(yùn)做了其他的安排。

從我父親的角度，這些瀕死的經(jīng)歷讓他更加珍惜生命的可貴，他發(fā)誓要把每一天活到極致。

父親是個(gè)大忙人，永遠(yuǎn)處于無窮動(dòng)態(tài)之中。但是，他就是再忙，也不會(huì)忘記和周圍的人分享快樂。他教會(huì)我們熱愛戶外運(yùn)動(dòng)，他喜歡看愛犬追逐被驚飛的野鳥，他愛釣狡詐的鱸魚。即便是受限于輪椅而行動(dòng)不便，他就坐在沃克海角的碼頭，沉思大西洋的宏偉，這仿佛是他最快樂的時(shí)刻。

他所看到的天邊明亮而充滿了希望。父親是個(gè)真正樂觀的人。這種樂觀主義，也影響了下一代，讓我們每一個(gè)人都堅(jiān)信，可能性無處不在。一直以來，他都用一個(gè)個(gè)果敢的決定來拓展他的空間。

他是愛國(guó)者 。高中畢業(yè)后，二戰(zhàn)爆發(fā)，他暫停大學(xué)計(jì)劃而成為海軍飛行員。

父親和很多同代人一樣，本來不大喜歡宣揚(yáng)自己報(bào)效國(guó)家的事跡。但是，作為公眾人物，我們都知道了他的經(jīng)歷，他執(zhí)行攻擊，完成任務(wù)，被擊落。 我們知道了他機(jī)組人員的犧牲，以及他對(duì)此窮其一生的思索。我們也知道他最終獲救了。

另一個(gè)大膽的決定，他把自己的小家庭從舒適的東部搬到了陌生的德州奧德賽。他和母親很快就習(xí)慣了周邊荒涼的環(huán)境。為了節(jié)省家用，我家當(dāng)年和另幾位女士共享一棟獨(dú)立房子，我家在一邊，她們?cè)诹硪贿叄莾杉倚枰蚕硪粋€(gè)衛(wèi)生間。后來，我們知道了這些女士是從事“特殊”職業(yè)的，但我父親依然以善良和藹的態(tài)度對(duì)待她們，他是個(gè)非常寬容大度的人。

父親能夠和來自生活不同軌道的人交往，他善于推己及人，感同身受。他重品格而不是背景，他決不憤世嫉俗，他善意地從每個(gè)人身上找優(yōu)點(diǎn)，總是能找到。

父親教會(huì)我們，當(dāng)“官”， 為公眾服務(wù)是必須的，也是崇高的。當(dāng)“政客”，也可以當(dāng)?shù)谜?，并且?duì)家庭信仰這樣重要的價(jià)值觀問心無愧。他堅(jiān)信我們必須回報(bào)國(guó)家和社會(huì)。他知道，為他人服務(wù)，也能豐富自己的靈魂。對(duì)我們而言，父親是“閃耀繁星”中最亮的那一顆（the brightest of a thousands points of light）（小編注：“閃耀繁星”是老布什成立的非盈利機(jī)構(gòu)，旨在提倡志愿者服務(wù)）。

當(dāng)他失敗，他鐵肩擔(dān)責(zé)難。他承認(rèn)，失敗是完整人生的一部分。但他告訴我們，永遠(yuǎn)不要讓失敗來定義你的人生。他親身實(shí)踐，挫折怎樣可以轉(zhuǎn)化為強(qiáng)大。

在他所有的不幸中，沒有什么能比得上他人生最大的悲劇，年幼愛女的過世。

我們有個(gè)姐姐，在三歲就去世了，這給我父母帶來的痛苦和絕望，我和杰布那時(shí)太小了都記不住。我們后來知道，父親這個(gè)把信仰深藏內(nèi)心的人，天天為她禱告。只有依靠了神的愛，和他對(duì)母親真正持久的愛，他才能堅(jiān)持下去。父親總是相信，有一天他能夠再次擁抱他珍貴的女兒羅賓。

他喜歡大笑，特別是自嘲。他樂于開玩笑，但絕非惡意。他特別熱衷于精彩的笑話。 這也是他選擇辛普森參議員致悼詞的原因。

他有一個(gè)電子郵件群，專門用于朋友之間分享最新的笑話。他對(duì)笑話有一個(gè)很典型的喬治·布什笑話質(zhì)量評(píng)分系統(tǒng)：能得到十分罕見的7分和8分的笑話，大多數(shù)都是帶色的。

喬治·布什知道如何成為一個(gè)真正忠誠(chéng)的朋友?？犊蠖群驮敢飧冻?，讓他和各界友人成為至交。他曾經(jīng)給朋友和熟人寫了成千上萬的親筆信，出于鼓勵(lì)、同情或者感謝。

他能量驚人。 很多人會(huì)告訴你，父親是他們生活中的導(dǎo)師和父親。他樂于傾聽，善于安慰，愿意和人交流。 他的好朋友，除了唐·羅德斯，泰勒·布蘭頓，吉姆·南茨，阿諾德·施瓦辛格，最不可思議的，還有后來在總統(tǒng)競(jìng)選中打敗他的比爾·克林頓。對(duì)我和我的兄弟姐妹們來說，父親的這些朋友親如自己同父異母的兄弟。

他告訴我們要珍惜毎一天。 他在高爾夫球場(chǎng)上是一個(gè)傳奇。 他是一名優(yōu)秀的高爾夫球手，我總是想知道他高爾夫?yàn)槭裁创蚰敲纯?。我的結(jié)論是，打快點(diǎn)，才有時(shí)間參加下一個(gè)活動(dòng)，用一天中剩下的時(shí)間，來消耗他旺盛的精力，不讓一日虛度?？磥硭錾鷷r(shí)只有兩種設(shè)置：全力以赴，倒頭大睡。

他告訴我們?nèi)绾巫鲆粋€(gè)好父親，好祖父和好曾祖父。他有自己堅(jiān)信的原則，但當(dāng)我們想用自己的方法時(shí)，他支持、鼓勵(lì)、安慰，但從不試圖操縱。我們都挑戰(zhàn)過他的耐心。每次我觸及他的底線時(shí)，他總是用無條件的愛來回應(yīng)。

上周五，當(dāng)我被告知他不久于人世時(shí)，趕緊打電話給他。接電話的人說：“我覺得他能聽見你，但他己經(jīng)一整天沒怎么說話了。” 我說，“爸爸，我愛你，你是一個(gè)很棒的父親，”他留在世上的最后一句話是，“我也愛你。”

對(duì)我們來說，他并不完美，但已經(jīng)非常接近。他不擅長(zhǎng)于打短時(shí)比賽。在舞池里也比弗雷德·阿斯泰爾差遠(yuǎn)了。他不愛吃蔬菜，尤其討厭西蘭花。 順便說一句，他把這些缺陷也遺傳給了我們。

最后，在他73年的婚姻中，父親每天都在以身作則地教導(dǎo)我們?nèi)绾纬蔀橐粋€(gè)好丈夫。他娶了他的初戀，崇拜她，陪她大笑，陪她痛哭，對(duì)她始終忠誠(chéng)如一。

上了年紀(jì)的時(shí)候，父親喜歡握著母親的手，把電視機(jī)的音量調(diào)得老高，一遍遍地觀看警察節(jié)目。母親去世后，父親表現(xiàn)得很堅(jiān)強(qiáng)，但我們知道，他真正想做的事就是牽著母親的手。

父親還教給我另外一個(gè)特別一課。他身體力行地向我展示如何成為一個(gè)有誠(chéng)信，有勇氣的總統(tǒng)，如何充滿愛心地為國(guó)民服務(wù)。

歷史書上會(huì)記載，喬治·H·W·布什是一個(gè)偉大的美國(guó)總統(tǒng)，一個(gè)有著無與倫比技巧的外交官，一個(gè)成就顯赫的總司令，一個(gè)以尊嚴(yán)和榮譽(yù)捍衛(wèi)其職責(zé)的紳士。

在美國(guó)第41任總統(tǒng)的就職演說中，他說：“我們不能只希望孩子擁有更大的汽車，更多的錢財(cái)，我們必須讓他們知道如何成長(zhǎng)為一個(gè)忠誠(chéng)的朋友，慈愛的父母和好公民：當(dāng)他離世時(shí)，他所在的社區(qū)和城鎮(zhèn)因?yàn)樗膩磉^而變得更加美好。我們希望和我們一起工作的人們說什么？比周圍任何人都更渇望成功？還是停下來關(guān)心那個(gè)生病的孩子是否好轉(zhuǎn)，送上關(guān)愛和慰問？“

好了，爸爸，掛一漏萬,就說到這兒。我們會(huì)一直想念你。你體面、真誠(chéng)、善良的靈魂將永遠(yuǎn)和我們?cè)谝黄?。眼淚中，我們明白，這得是多么大的幸運(yùn)，能認(rèn)識(shí)你，愛戴你，一個(gè)偉大而高尚的人。一個(gè)孩子可能擁有的、最好的父親。在悲痛中，我們微笑著永別。親愛的父親，您總算可以擁抱羅賓，再次牽著母親的手了。

翻譯：項(xiàng)西行，七彩美國(guó)