变废为宝――你的垃圾就是罗斯巴特的宝藏

　　还记得CE:Teens 2008年4月号的专题《“贴秘”不能说的秘密》吗?本期专题的主人公戴维・罗斯巴特也在从事类似的工作,将自己捡到和别人寄来的废弃纸条整理成杂志出版。看来一个人的垃圾确实能成为别人的宝物哦!一起来看看罗斯巴特是如何开始“发现”之旅的吧。 　　 　　In June of 2001, the first issue of FOUND was born. It began as a cut-and-tape magazine. As editor 　　and creator of FOUND Magazine, Davy Rothbart spends a lot of time crisscrossing[使交叉成十字状] the U.S. � sort of an apostle[倡导者] of ephemera[短时效物品的收藏系列], champion[拥护者] of anonymous[匿名的] shopping lists and love letters and pained adolescent[青少年] diary entries that fans find and send in to his magazine. Sometimes on his tours, he travels with his brother, Peter, a musician. At events, the younger Rothbart plays music inspired by found notes, while the elder reads aloud some of his favorites. “I try to read them with the energy and emotion that they were written with, and I get a little carried away, you know,” says Davy. 　　The particulars of each story in the book are unique. But the commonality[共性] is in the curiosity and the belief that there’s something a little bit magical about finding something that once belonged to somebody else. 　　Rothbart, who grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, says he was always interested in “trash and clutter[杂乱的东西],” but that interest went from casual to something else while he was living in Chicago. “There was this note on the windshield…you know, my name’s Davy, but on the windshield was this note to Mario. So 　　I’m like, ‘Well, what’s this all about?’ 　　“It said: ‘Mario, I f**king hate you. You said you had to work then why’s your car HERE at HER place? You’re a f**king LIAR. I hate you. I f**king hate you.’ Signed, ‘Amber.’ ‘P.S. Page me later. ’” 　　Rothbart fell in love with the note � with its tiny explosions of contradicting emotions: jealousy and rage, hope, a touch of the kicked dog注1. And of course, the final irony � it wasn’t Mario’s car. Rothbart started showing the note to his friends, and they in turn started showing him their own finds, and from there the thing snowballed. As has Rothbart’s career: He published his first short story collection, The Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas, in 2005 and contributes regularly to[投稿] This American Life注2 and GQ注3. 　　For Rothbart, the finding isn’t restricted to the page. “That’s part of the magic for me in a trip like this � it’s sort of like a real-life FOUND Magazine, you know. All the strange people we meet. If you’re doing a road trip to 55 cities in 60 days, you’re going to bump into[偶然遇见] people along the way. 　　“There was one guy in Knoxville, Tennessee. After a show, we were loading up boxes outside of the bar, and he came up. He’s like: ‘I’ve been all around the world, man. If I see something, I’ll send it to you.’ 　　“And I was like, ‘Well, what’s your favorite place, if you’ve been all around the world?’ And he’s like: ‘Hmmm. Oh, I got it. I got it. Phuket, Thailand: dollar Heinekens.’” Rothbart laughs. “I thought that was amazing.” 　　 　　2001年6月,第一期《发现》诞生了。起初,它只是一本剪贴而成的杂志。作为《发现》杂志的编者及创办人,戴维・罗斯巴特花了很长时间游走于美国各州,号召人们倡导收集短时效物品(如明信片、票据),鼓励粉丝们寻找无名购物单、情书和充满成长苦痛经历的青少年日记碎片,并将收集到的东西寄给杂志。有时他会和音乐家弟弟皮特一同出去宣讲。在宣讲会上,小罗斯巴特会表演一些他受捡到的字条启发而创作出来的音乐,哥哥则给听众即场念几张他最喜欢的字条。“我试着将别人写下字条时的心情和力量读出来,你知道,我总会有所触动,”戴维说。

　　《发现》杂志上的每一个故事都是独一无二的。而它们的共性是一份好奇心,以及一个这样的信念――你总能在捡到的、曾经属于某人的物件里找到那么一点特别的东西。 　　罗斯巴特在(美国)密歇根州的安阿伯市长大,他说自己一直对“垃圾和杂物”很感兴趣,但是在他住在芝加哥的那段时间,这种随兴的消遣发生了质变。“(我车上的)挡风玻璃上夹着这么一张纸条……你知道,我的名字叫戴维,但挡风玻璃上的这张纸条是写给马里奥的。于是我就想:‘这是怎么回事啊?’ 　　“字条上写着:‘马里奥,我真是恨死你了。你说你要工作,那么为什么你的车会停在她家这里?你真是个大骗子。我恨你,恨死你了。’署名‘琥珀’,‘还有,晚点给我传呼。’” 　　罗斯巴特爱上了这张字条――它的字里行间充斥着各种矛盾的情感:嫉妒、愤怒、希望和被拒绝的感受。当然,最后的讽刺是――这不是马里奥的车。罗斯巴特把这张字条展示给朋友看,朋友也与他分享他们找到的东西,从那时开始,这种活动就像滚雪球般壮大起来。罗斯巴特的事业也红火了。2005年,他出版了自己的第一本短篇故事集《堪萨斯州的孤独山区冲浪者》,还会定期向电台节目“美国生活”和《GQ》杂志投稿。 　　对于罗斯巴特来说,发现并不仅限于纸张文字。“对我来说,这样的旅程本身就是一种美妙的享受――你知道,它就像一本现实版的《发现》杂志。我们遇到各种各样的陌生人。如果你在60天里驾车游历55个城市,那么在路上你肯定会碰到一些人。 　　“在田纳西州的诺克斯维尔市,我们遇到了这样一个人。表演结束之后,我们从酒吧往外搬箱子,他走了过来,说:‘哥们,我去过世界各地。如果我发现了什么东西,我会寄给 　　你们的。’ 　　“然后我回答道:‘既然你曾经周游列国,你最喜欢哪个地方?’他就说:‘唔。噢,我想到了,想到了。泰国的普吉岛――那里的喜力啤酒只卖一美元一瓶。’”罗斯巴特大笑起来。“我觉得那实在是太棒了。” 　　 　　注1:a kicked dog指的是“被拒绝的人,被社会遗弃的人,可怜虫”,整句的意思是“体会到被拒绝、抛弃的感受”。 　　注2:“美国生活”(This American Life)是一档叙事类广播节目,每周一期,每期60分钟。由芝加哥公共电台(Chicago Public Radio)出品,艾拉・格拉斯(Ira Glass)主持。它于1995年11月17日首播,2007年3月进入电视领域。该广播节目每期围绕一个主题,通常由两至五个小故事展开,多数采用新闻采访的形式,由当事人以第一人称讲述,偶尔也有随笔、回忆录、实地录音、小说等其他内容。 　　注3:《GQ》为美国知名男性时尚杂志,是关于时尚、风格、时事、名人及男性物件的杂志。