TED演讲:我无家可归的一年(4)
A friend told me, shortly after that, that she had heard that Tim Russert, a nationally renowned journalist, had been talking about me on national T.V.
在那不久后，我的一个朋友就告诉我，她听说提姆·路塞特，一个全国知名的记者，在全国播放的电视节目上谈论到了我。
An essay I’d written about my father, the year before he died, was in Tim’s new book.
一篇我写的关于我父亲的短文，在他去世前一年写的，被收录到了提姆的新书里。
And he was doing the talk show circuit. And he was talking about my writing.
他那时在做巡回演讲，提到我的写作。
And when I realized that Tim Russert, former moderator of “Meet the Press,” was talking about my writing,
当我发现提姆·路塞特，前Meet the Press节目的调解员，在谈论我的写作。
while I was living in a van in a Wal-Mart parking lot, I started laughing. You should too.
而我却生活在停在沃尔玛停车场里的旅行车里面，我开始笑了，呵，你们也该笑笑。
I started laughing because it got to the point where, was I a writer, or was I a homeless woman?
我开始笑，因为这正是问题根结，我是一位作家呢，还是一位无家可归的女人？
So I went in the bookstore. And I found Tim’s book.
于是我走进一家书店。找到提姆的书。
And I stood there. And I reread my essay. And I cried.
我站在那，又重新读了一遍我写的短文。我哭了。
Because I was a writer. I was a writer.
因为我是一位作家，是一位作家。
Shortly after that I moved back to Tennessee.
在那之后，我很快就搬回了田纳西。
I alternated between living in a van and couch surfing with friends. And I started writing again.
有时住在车里，有时会去朋友家睡沙发。我又重新开始写作了。
By the summer of the following year I was a working journalist.
在接踵而来的夏天里，我又成为了一名新闻记者。
I was winning awards. I was living in my own apartment.
我得了奖，住在我自己的公寓里。
I was no longer homeless. And I was no longer invisible.
我不再无家可归。我也不再被无视。
Thousands of people work full and part-time jobs, and live in their cars.
无数的人在从事着全职和兼职的工作，而且住在他们的车里。
But society continues to stigmatize and criminalize living in your vehicle or on the streets.
但是社会还继续污蔑他们，并视住在交通工具里或者睡在街上为犯罪。
So the homeless, the working homeless, primarily remain invisible.
所以那些无家可归，有工作但是无家可归的人，大部分还是隐藏着的。
But if you ever meet one, engage them, encourage them, and offer them hope.
但是如果你见到了，雇用他们，鼓励他们，并给予他们希望。
The human spirit can overcome anything if it has hope.
只要有希望，人类的精神可以克服一切困难。
And I’m not here to be the poster girl for the homeless.
我并不是来这里为无家可归的人做宣传的。
I’m not here to encourage you to give money to the next panhandler you meet.
我不是来这里鼓励你们去施舍下一个你见到的乞丐。
But I am here to tell you that, based on my experience, people are not where they live, where they sleep,
而我在这里是来告诉你们，根据我过去的经历，人不是由他们所住的地方，睡的地方，
or what their life situation is at any given time.
或者他们在任何一个时间的生活状态所决定的。
Three years ago I was living in a van in a Wal-Mart parking lot, and today I’m speaking at TED.
三年前，我住在一个停在沃尔玛的停车场的汽车里。而今天我却在TED演讲。
Hope always, always finds a way. Thank you.
希望永远，永远，会指引前路。谢谢。
贝基·布兰顿计划在一年里就在他的小货车里住并且游历全国，但是当沮丧加剧而且自由作家的工作泡汤的时候，他的旅营就变成了无家可归了。在这个温馨的演讲中，她描述了她作为美国无家可归的工作者之一的独特经历。