My cousin Mike walked over and told my sister that it was time to cut the cake. And then he dropped bomb number two on me. "Hey， did you guys hear that Charles Schultz died today？" He said it like it was no big deal.He took my sister's arm and turned to head back for the reception hall. "Coming？" They asked. "In a minute." I replied， and sat back down on the bench， dizzy from what he had just told me.
Dead？How could Charles Schultz be dead？He was my creator！And though I have never met the man personally， he has always been like an in-visible father to me. He did， after all， fashion a famous character after me.I lost so many things on this day.Innocence slipped away from me like a thief in the night：come and gone before I could do anything about it， tak-ing with it all the treasures that I held most valuable in my heart.I felt my-self grow up， all in one moment.Reality rushed in around me like a hurri-cane tide.There was nowhere to run to.All I could do was sit there and watch it destroy and reshape what had existed only a moment before.I was no longer a child.I was no longer Lucy who knew what was best for every-one else.I saw， for the first time， what I really was—a thirty-year old woman with a husband of my own， and soon， a child of my own.
I allowed the tide to carry my sadness out with it. Take it out to sea， for it serves no purpose in my life.I stood up from the bench；a little taller than I was when I sat down.I turned and headed back to the hall， hoping I didn't miss the cutting of the cake.It was the day my sister grew wings of her own and left the nest.It was the day that Lucy died， and I was born.
表弟邁克走過來告訴妹妹該切蛋糕了。接著他給我扔下了第二顆炸彈。“嘿，你們知道查爾斯·舒爾茲今天去世了嗎？”他說得很輕松，然后挽著妹妹的手臂向婚禮現場走去。“來嗎？”他們問道。“等會兒。”我回答說，又在椅子上坐了下來，他剛剛告訴我的消息讓我眩暈。
去世了？查爾斯·舒爾茲怎么可能會去世呢？是他創造了我！雖然我從來沒和他見過面，但對于我來說，他一直都像是一位看不見的父親一樣。他畢竟為我創造了一個有名的角色。就在那一天，我失去了那么多東西，童真就像一個在夜里行竊的小偷一樣，無聲無息地溜走了：在我還來不及做點什么的時候就已經走了，帶走了我心底深處最寶貴的財富。就在那一刻，我意識到自己已經長大了。現實像暴風浪一樣向我襲來。我無處可逃。我只能坐在那里，看著它把剛剛還存在的東西毀掉，接著又重塑。我不再是個孩子，我知道我不再是那個神通廣大的露西了。我第一次意識到真正的我——一個有自己的丈夫，很快會有我們的孩子的三十歲的女人。
我任由巨浪帶走我的悲傷，送到大海中去。因為它對于我的生命來說再沒什么意義了。我從椅子上站了起來，比我坐著時高了一些。我轉身向婚禮現場走去，希望沒錯過切蛋糕的場面。今天是妹妹展翅出巢的一天，也是露西死去，我得到新生的一天。
青春不是年華，而是心境
Youth Is Not A Time Of Life， It Is A State Of Mind
Youth is not a time of life；it is a state of mind. It is not a matter of rosy cheeks， red lips and supple knees.It is a matter of the will， a quality of the imagination， vigor of the emotions；it is the freshness of the deep spring of life.
Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidi-ty， of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease. This often exits in a man of 60， more than a boy of 20.Nobody grows merely by the number of years；we grow old by deserting our ideas.Years may wrinkle the skin， but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.Worry， fear， self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust.
Whether 60 or 16， there is in every human being's heart the lure of wonders， the unfailing childlike appetite of what's next and the joy of the game of living. In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station；so long as it receives messages of beauty， hope， cheer， courage and power from men and from infinite， so long as you are young.
When the aerials are down， and your spirit is covered with the snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism， then you've grown old， even at 20， but as long as your aerials are up， to catch waves of optimism， there's hope you may die young at 80.
青春不是年華，而是心境；青春不是桃面、丹唇、柔膝，而是深沉的意志、宏偉的想象、熾熱的感情；青春是生命的深泉在涌流。
青春氣貫長虹，勇銳蓋過怯弱，進去壓倒茍安，如此銳氣，二十后生有之，六旬男子則更多見。年年有加，并非垂老；理想丟棄，方墜暮年。歲月悠悠，衰微只及肌膚；熱忱拋卻，頹唐必至靈魂。煩憂、惶恐、喪失自信，定使心靈扭曲，意氣如灰。
無論年屆花甲，抑或二八芳齡，心中皆有生命之歡樂，奇跡之誘惑，孩童般天真久盛不衰。人人心中皆有一臺天線，只要你從天空接收美好、希望、歡樂、勇氣和力量的信號，你就青春永駐，風華常存。
一旦天線倒塌，銳氣被冰雪覆蓋，玩世不恭、自暴自棄油然而生，即使年方二十，實已垂垂老矣；然則只要豎起天線，捕捉樂觀的信號，你就有望在八十高齡告別塵寰時仍能感受到自身的年輕。
夏日最后的玫瑰
The Last Rose Of Summer
It is the last rose of summer
Left blooming alone；
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone；
No flower of her kindred，
No rosebud is nigh，
To reflect back her blushes，
Or give sigh fora sigh.
I'll not leave thee， thou lone one！
To pine on the stem；
Since the lovely are sleeping，
Go， sleep thou with them.
Thus kindly I scatter
Thy leaves o'er the bed
Where thy mates of the garden
Lie scentless and dead.
Soon may I follow，
When friendships decay，
And from Love's shining circle
The gems drop away.
When true hearts lie withered，
And fond ones are flown，
O！ Who would inhabit
This bleak world alone？
這是夏日最后的玫瑰
獨自綻放著；
所有昔日動人的同伴
都已凋落殘逝；
身旁沒有同類的花朵，
沒有半個玫瑰花苞，
映襯她的紅潤，
分擔她的憂愁。
我不會離開孤零零的你！
讓你單獨地憔悴；
既然美麗的同伴都已入眠，
去吧！你也和她們一起躺著。
為此，我好心散放
你的綠葉在花床上
那兒，也是你花園的同伴
無聲無息躺著的地方。
不久我也可能追隨我朋友而去，
當友誼漸逝，
像從燦爛之愛情圈中
掉落的寶石。
當忠誠的友人遠去，
所愛的人飛走，
啊！誰還愿留在
這荒冷的世上獨自凄涼？
人生禮頌
A Psalm Of Life
Tell me not in mournful numbers，
Life is but an empty dream！
For the soul is dead that slumbers
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real！Life is earnest！
And the grave is not its goal；
Dust thou art， to dust returnest，
Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment， and not sorrow，
Is our destined and our way；
But to act，
That much to-morrow.
Find us farther than to-day.
Art is long， and time is fleeting.
And our hearts， though stout and brave.
Still， like muffled drums， are beating.
Funeral marches to the grave.
In the world's broad field of battle，
In the bivouac of Life，
Be not like dumb， driven cattle！
Be a hero in the strife！
Trust no future. however howe'er pleasant！
Let the dead Past bury its dead！
Act， act in the living Present！
Heart within， and God O'er head！
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime，
And departing， leave behind us
請別用哀傷的詩句對我講；
人生呵，無非是虛夢一場！
因為沉睡的靈魂如死一般，
事物的表里并不一樣。
人生是實在的！人生是熱烈的！
人生的目標絕不是墳墓；
你是塵土，應歸于塵土。
此話指的并不是我們的精神。
我們的歸宿并不是快樂，
也不是悲傷，
實干，
才是我們的道路，
每天不斷前進，蒸蒸日上。
光陰易逝，而藝海無涯，
我們的心啊——雖然勇敢堅強，
卻像被布蒙住的銅鼓，
常把殯葬的哀樂擂響。
在這人生的宿營地，
在這遼闊的世界戰場，
別做無言的牲畜任人驅趕，
做一名英雄漢立馬橫槍！
別相信未來，哪怕未來多么歡樂！
讓死去的往昔將死亡一切埋葬！
上帝在上，我們胸懷勇氣，
行動吧——趁現在活著的好時光！
偉人的生平使我們想起，
我們能使自己的一生變得高尚！