親歷歷史：希拉里回憶錄：比爾遠(yuǎn)比想象中復(fù)雜

We both had wanted to see a Mark Rothko exhibit at the Yale Art Gallery, but because of a labor dispute, some of the university's buildings, including the museum, were closed. As Bill and I walked by, he decided he could get us in if we offered to pick up the litter that had accumulated in the gallery's courtyard. Watching him talk our way in was the first time I saw his persuasiveness in action. We had the entire museum to ourselves. We wandered through the galleries talking about Rothko and twentieth-century art. I admit to being surprised at his interest in and knowledge of subjects that seemed, at first, unusual for a Viking from Arkansas. We ended up in the museum's courtyard, where I sat in the large lap of Henry Moore's sculpture Draped Seated Woman while we talked until dark.

我們都想去耶魯美術(shù)館欣賞馬克·羅思科的畫(huà)展，不過(guò)因?yàn)閯谫Y糾紛，校園內(nèi)一些大樓被迫關(guān)閉，美術(shù)館也不例外。比爾和我經(jīng)過(guò)那里時(shí)，他說(shuō)他有辦法讓我們進(jìn)去，只要我們提出幫忙收拾美術(shù)館院子里的垃圾?？粗f(shuō)服人家讓我們進(jìn)去，我第一次發(fā)現(xiàn)他的說(shuō)服力驚人。整個(gè)美術(shù)館就只有我們兩人，穿梭在各個(gè)展示廳之間，討論羅思科與20世紀(jì)的畫(huà)作。我承認(rèn)被他的藝術(shù)修養(yǎng)與興趣嚇了一跳，畢竟一個(gè)從阿肯色來(lái)的維京人，乍看之下根本不像有藝術(shù)細(xì)胞。我們最后來(lái)到美術(shù)館的院內(nèi)，我坐在亨利·摩爾的雕像作品《穿褶縐服坐著的女人》的腿上，和他一直聊到天黑。

I was starting to realize that this young man from Arkansas was much more complex than first impressions might suggest. To this day, he can astonish me with the connections he weaves between ideas and words and how he makes it all sound like music. I still love the way he thinks and the way he looks. One of the first things I noticed about Bill was the shape of his hands. His wrists are narrow and his fingers tapered and deft, like those of a pianist or a surgeon. When we first met as students, I loved watching him turn the pages of a book. Now his hands are showing signs of age after thousands of handshakes and golf swings and miles of signatures. They are, like their owner, weathered but still expressive, attractive and resilient.

我這才開(kāi)始意識(shí)到，這位阿肯色州的年輕人遠(yuǎn)比第一印象復(fù)雜。他能在思想與詞語(yǔ)間編織出恰當(dāng)?shù)穆?lián)系，言語(yǔ)精當(dāng)靈活，至今這還常令我吃驚。我也欣賞他的思考方式與神態(tài)。打一開(kāi)始，我就注意到比爾雙手的形狀。他手腕細(xì)瘦優(yōu)雅，手指又長(zhǎng)又靈活，有如鋼琴家或外科醫(yī)生的手。自我們從學(xué)生時(shí)初識(shí)，我便喜歡看他翻書(shū)的樣子。這雙手至今已握過(guò)數(shù)以千計(jì)的手，揮桿不下千余次，簽過(guò)的名連起來(lái)也有好幾英里長(zhǎng)。如今經(jīng)過(guò)歲月磨煉，這雙手跟它的主人一樣多了幾許風(fēng)霜，但它的表現(xiàn)力、魅力與靈活度不減當(dāng)年。