土豆土豆,没完没够

Just after relocating to a new town, my father was let go from his job as a welder（焊工）. Dad diligently （坚持不懈地） searched for work, and Mom tried to scrape1 together meals for my brother, sister and me. Soon my parents had spent all their savings. When things got desperate, a nearby farmer offered us potatoes from his field. We ate potatoes three times a day: fried（油炸） for breakfast, baked（烘，烤） for lunch and mashed （把……捣成糊） for dinner. Several weeks passed and Dad was still unem- ployed. Mealtimes grew quiet and morose（阴郁的）.

After breakfast one morning Dad pushed his chair away from the table and headed outside. I followed, and saw him rummaging （仔细查找） under the seats in the car. He found some coins, pocketed them and said, "Tell your mother I'm going to town. I'll be back before supper."

What is he doing? I wondered.When he returned he was clutching2 a small brown bag. He whispered to Mother,who shooed3 us out of the kitchen.

"We're going to have a special meal to celebrate,'' Dad announced.

"Celebrate what?" I asked. It didn't seem like we had much to be happy about. And surely Dad would have told us if he had found work.

"Life, Roy. We're celebrating life. Things may be tough for us right now, but I know that with God's help we will get through this. He has truly blessed us."

Then Mom brought out dinner.Mounds4 of pink, green, blue and orange were piled on our plates! What' s this? After devouring5 the first bite （一口食物）, I knew: mashed potatoes. But because of all the colors, they were fun to eat. My brother, sister and I giggled（咯咯地笑） as we ate, and the cloud that had been hanging over （笼罩） us at mealtimes was lifted （解除，结束）.

A couple of weeks later Dad found a job. We happily quit our potato diet. My father had bought food coloring with those coins. His purchase brightened our meals that night, and his philosophy（哲学） continues to color my life. Now, when my family experiences tough times,I make rainbow mashed potatoes as a reminder6 of how fortunate we are.

注释：

1.scrapevt.（艰难地）凑集，勉强过（日子） 4．moundn.（一）堆，（一）垛

2．clutchvt. .紧抓，紧握 5．devourvt. 狼吞虎咽地吃光

3.shoovt． 用“嘘声”赶走，吓走6．remindern. 提示，帮助记忆的记号

当我们刚刚迁居到一个新的市镇之后，我那当电焊工的父亲失业了。他努力地求职，而母亲则千方百计地凑合着给我们兄弟姐妹们提供饭食。父母的积蓄很快花光了。当事情到了一筹莫展的地步时，附近一个农民给我们送来了他地里种的土豆。我们一日三餐都吃土豆：早餐吃炸土豆，午餐吃烤土豆，晚餐吃土豆泥。几个星期过去了，爸爸仍然没有找到工作。吃饭时全家都静默无声，气氛阴郁沉闷。

有一天早饭后，爸爸把椅子从餐桌旁推开就出门了。我跟着他走出去，看见他在汽车座位下面翻找。他找到一些硬币，把它们放入衣袋中说：“告诉你妈妈说我到城里去了，我会在晚饭前回来。”

我很纳闷，他要干啥呢？他回家时，手里抓着一只棕色的小袋子。他轻声地向妈妈说了些什么。接着妈妈把我们从厨房轰了出来。

爸爸宣布说：“我们要吃一顿不平常的晚餐来庆祝一下。”

我问：“庆祝什么呢？”我们似乎没有什么值得高兴的事。如果爸爸找到了工作，他肯定早就告诉我们了。

“生活，罗伊，我们要庆祝的是生活。眼下我们也许度日艰难，但是我知道上帝会帮助我们渡过难关的，他确实已经降福于我们。”

然后，妈妈把晚饭端出来了。几个碟子上都堆了一些粉红色、绿色、蓝色和桔黄色的东西。那都是些什么东西呀？当我吞下第一口之后，我知道了：原来还是土豆泥。但是由于它们五颜六色，吃起来感到很逗乐。我们兄弟姐妹们边吃边咯咯地笑，而且在进餐时那一向笼罩着我们的愁云也消散了。

几周后，爸爸找到了工作。我们不再把土豆当饭吃了，为此大家兴高采烈。父亲曾用那些硬币来买食品颜料，使那晚的土豆泥大为生色。打那之后，父亲的人生哲学继续在我的生活中呈现光彩。现在每当我的家庭遇到困难时，我就做一顿五彩缤纷的土豆泥来提醒全家我们是多么幸运。