Much of my childhood in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, was excruciatingly lonely.
在明尼苏达州的锡夫里弗福尔斯,我童年的大部分时光都是极度孤独的。
Family troubles, devastating shyness, and a complete lack of social skills ensured a life of solitude.
家庭烦恼、极度羞怯和完全缺乏社交技巧,注定了我生活的孤独。
Hunting was not only my opening into a world of wonder;
打猎不仅打开了我进入奇妙世界的大门;
it was my salvation. From the age of 12, I lived, breathed, existed to hunt and fish.
还是我的救赎。从12岁起,我就以打猎和捕鱼为生。
On school days I would hunt in the morning and evening.
上学的时候,早晚我都要去打猎。
On Fridays I would head into the woods by myself, often for the entire weekend.
每周五,我都会独自一人前往森林,通常整个周末都是如此。
Still, I had not learned to love solitude, as I do now.
尽管如此,我还是没有爱上孤独,现在也是如此
I would see something beautiful—-the sun through the leaves, a deer moving through dappled light—
我将看到美好的事物——阳光透过树叶,斑驳的日光下一只鹿急速穿过——
and I would want to point and say to someone, Look.
我想对某人说,“看。”
But there was no one there. Then I met Ike. It was the beginning of duck season.
但一个人也没有。然后我遇到了艾克,这是鸭子泛滥的季节。
I got up at 3 a.m. and walked from our apartment four blocks to the railway yard, then across the Eighth Street bridge.
凌晨3点钟,我起床从住处出发,走了四条街,来到了铁路站场,然后穿过第八街大桥。
There I dropped to the riverbank and started walking along the water into the woods.
我在那下河,开始顺着水流进入树林。
In the dark it was hard going. After a mile and a half, I was wading in swamp muck and went to pull myself up the bank to harder ground.
黑暗中水途艰难,走了一英里半后,我在沼泽地的泥土中艰难跋涉,然后上岸。
The mud was as slick as grease. I fell, then scrabbled up the bank again, shotgun in one hand and grabbing at roots with the other.
泥浆像油脂一样光滑,我摔倒了,然后又爬上了河岸,一手拿着猎枪,一手抓着树根。
I had just gained the top when a part of the darkness detached itself, leaned close to my face, and went woof.
我刚刚爬上山顶,这时,部分暗光打在我的脸上,