Text月“So?"he said.5“Er ... so what?"6“So what do you really want to do?" he asked.78. My father was a lawyer, and I had always assumed he wantedme to go to law school, and follow his path throughlife. So I hesitated.g Then I replied,“I want to travel, and I want to be awriter."io This was not the answer I thought he would expect.Travel? Where? A writer? About what? I braced myself forsome resistance to the idea.Translation
5 “So?” he said. 6 “Er . so what?” 7 “So what do you really want to do?” he asked. 8 My father was a lawyer, and I had always assumed he wanted me to go to law school, and follow his path through life. So I hesitated. 9 Then I replied, “I want to travel, and I want to be a writer.” 10 This was not the answer I thought he would expect. Travel? Where? A writer? About what? I braced myself for some resistance to the idea. Text
Text月Il There was a long silence.“Interesting idea,"”he said finally1213 There was another long silence.14 “I kind of wish I' d done that when I was yourage.15 I waited.6 “You have plenty of time. You don' t need to go into a16career which pays well just at the moment. You need tofind out what you really enjoy now, because if youdon' t, you won' t be successful later.17“So how do I do this?"Translation
11 There was a long silence. 12 “Interesting idea,” he said finally. 13 There was another long silence. 14 “I kind of wish I’d done that when I was your age.” 15 I waited. 16 “You have plenty of time. You don’t need to go into a career which pays well just at the moment. You need to find out what you really enjoy now, because if you don’t, you won’t be successful later.” 17 “So how do I do this?” Text
Text18 He thought for a moment. Then he said, “Look, it' slate. Let' s take the boat out tomorrow morning, just youand me. Maybe we can catch some crabs for dinner, and wecan talk more. "19 It was a small motorboat, moored ten minutes away, and myfather had owned it for years. Early next morning we setoff along the estuary. We didn' t talk much, but enjoyedthe sound of the seagulls and the sight of the estuarycoastline and the sea beyond.Translation
18 He thought for a moment. Then he said, “Look, it’s late. Let’s take the boat out tomorrow morning, just you and me. Maybe we can catch some crabs for dinner, and we can talk more.” 19 It was a small motorboat, moored ten minutes away, and my father had owned it for years. Early next morning we set off along the estuary. We didn’t talk much, but enjoyed the sound of the seagulls and the sight of the estuary coastline and the sea beyond. Text
Text月2o There was no surf on the coastal waters at that time ofday, so it was a smooth half-hour ride until my fatherswitched off the motor. “Let' s see if we get lucky, ” hesaid, picked up a rusty mesh basket with a rope attachedand threw it into the sea.2i We waited a while, then my father stood up and said, “Giveme a hand with this,” and we hauled_up the crab cageonto thedeck.Translation
20 There was no surf on the coastal waters at that time of day, so it was a smooth half-hour ride until my father switched off the motor. “Let’s see if we get lucky,” he said, picked up a rusty mesh basket with a rope attached and threw it into the sea. 21 We waited a while, then my father stood up and said, “Give me a hand with this,” and we hauled up the crab cage onto the deck. Text
Text月22 Crabs fascinated me. They were so easy to catch. It wasn' tjust that they crawled into such an obvious trap, through asmall hole in the lid of the basket, but it seemed as ifthey couldn' t be bothered to crawl out again even when youtook the lid off. They just sat there, waving theirclaws at you.23 The cage was brimming with dozens of soft shell crabs,piled high on top of each other. “why don' t they try toescape?" I wondered aloud to my father.24 “Just watch them for a moment. Look at that one, there! He' strying to climb out, but every time the other crabs pull ransationaidmyfathioackit
22 Crabs fascinated me. They were so easy to catch. It wasn’t just that they crawled into such an obvious trap, through a small hole in the lid of the basket, but it seemed as if they couldn’t be bothered to crawl out again even when you took the lid off. They just sat there, waving their claws at you. 23 The cage was brimming with dozens of soft shell crabs, piled high on top of each other. “Why don’t they try to escape?” I wondered aloud to my father. 24 “Just watch them for a moment. Look at that one, there! He’s trying to climb out, but every time the other crabs pull him back in,” said my father. Text