晃三兄70歲 自行車環島壯遊 。
整理照片
到派屈克莊園一天了,我還沒見到派屈克莊園唯一的租客羅德里克先生,不過他的形象己經在我心裡翊翊如生:曾經英俊的面孔上有着刀削般的皺紋,高大的身體微駝著,臉色蒼白,目光如炬,以上這些特徵在他身上都加倍誇張,刻畫出來的才是羅德里克先生,那個半瘋的藝術家兼老單身漢,介於巴爾札克筆下的邦斯舅舅和加謬筆下默索爾之間的一個人物。
第一次聽聞羅德里克先生的事跡,是在我們來莊園的那天晚餐。大家正為阿蘭和他老婆的事爭得不可開交,伊莎貝突然將一根食指放到嘴邊,口中吐出輕輕的一聲「噓」,仰頭對著天花板。
大家立時肅靜,都仰頭向天,包括莫名其妙的我。肅靜中,只聽見一種聲音:的的的,的的的……是從天花板上傳來的。
派屈克與伊莎貝四目相視,搖頭,我朋友則為這一切作注:
「羅德里克先生又在室內散步了。」
「他一天散幾回步?」我問。
「誰說得準?」派屈克道,「這種腦筋有毛病的人,行動沒有規律。」
伊莎貝為了照顧我語言不通,便老是以手勢表達意思,她合起雙手放在右臉,將頭枕在上面,作安睡狀,然後手指天花板大幅擺動雙臂作大步流星疾走狀,然後,兩手一攤,作無奈狀。
「你是說他半夜三更也會在房間裡散步?擾你們清夢?」我問道。
派屈克先生苦笑了。他說:
「唉,馬上就要夫妻雙雙散步了──羅德里克找了個非洲老婆,下個月就到。」
「嘩,慘了!」朋友驚叫失聲,「她會要招來一大幫非洲親戚,一大幫非洲人加上一個意大利失業藝術家,你們這地方要變成聯合國難民分署了。
派屈克先生突然站了起來,先是指指樓上,然後走到門口,作了一個恭送客人出門的姿勢,臉上卻是一副調皮的笑容。頓時,我們都哈哈大笑起來:
「請他走路,你是說請他走路?!」我道。
「是的,是的。」派屈克笑著大聲說。
「話是這麼說,哪裡作得到呀?」笑過之後,朋友解說似地道,「羅德里克先生只要兩天不下樓,派屈克和伊莎貝就要去敲門送水送柴送食物。他們真當他是一個懷才不遇的落難藝術家。」
伊莎貝指給我看客廳裡陳列的一張人物素描,說這是羅德里克的作品。畫中人物性別年齡都難以界定,看輪廓是個女子,看頭髮卻像男人,雖然是正面像,但五官都空著,使得它看去像是半成品。難道這是後荒誕派的新招?或者是這位怪誕藝術家的獨特風格?我心想。但為免暴露我在美術方面的無知,便只是默默點頭微笑。
伊莎貝誤讀了我的表情,她比劃著道:「你喜歡嗎?你喜歡的話,我可以請羅德里克先生給你畫一張。」
我還沒完全明白她說甚麼,我朋友就忙道:
「不不不,不不不,不用了!」她一邊說還一邊伸出雙手,好像那幅畫就在面前,要大力將之推送回去。
「你要是真的喜歡這種畫,我給你畫。」她一邊推一邊對我道,「這種畫我一天可以畫一百張。哈,只有伊莎貝,人家說甚麼就信甚麼。要不然也不會讓這瘋子在這裡安營扎寨。」
她告訴我,大約一年多前一個深秋之夜,羅德里克好像從天而降似地出現在古堡門口,背個揹包,拄根手扙,敲門。最神奇的是顯然他沒有坐騎,是步行而至,卻衣冠整潔,毫無長途跋涉的僕僕風塵。
「連衣領都是白的。一定是上帝把他派來。」虔誠的伊莎貝對每個質疑羅德里克身分的人都這麼說。就算是給羅德里克的夜半散步騷擾,夜不成寐,她也只是聽天由命地道:
「藝術家總是有點特別對不對。上帝派了他們來考驗我們的意志,我們對他們一定要特別耐心。」
我很想見識一下這位上帝的使者,但一直到我們離開,他始終沒有出現。傍晚,我們都站在屋外草地上看阿蘭趕羊群入欄時,派屈克先生突然碰碰我的肩膀,示意我抬頭看二樓:
「喏,羅德里克。」他說。
我隱約看見玻璃窗裏似乎有張面影,但一閃就消失了。這時我不由得想起了伊莎貝台面上的那張畫,沒有五官,只有斷續的一些線條,勾勒出一個模糊的面部輪廓。我靈機一動:說不定那正是羅德里克的自畫像?
圖一 和派屈克、伊莎貝在餐桌旁合影,我們身後的小畫中有羅德里克先生的作品。 圖二 壁爐中的火都是真的哦,看見我身後那堆劈柴嗎?都是從莊園裏的樹林伐來的。圖三 和 夏婕在樹林旁。不過我們沒有伐過木。
不老騎士-歐兜邁環台日記- About | Facebook
2007年11月13日,在弘道老人福利基金會的推動下,17位平均81歲的長者,開始了為期13天的騎摩托車環島壯 舉,他們從台中出發,一路往南行經台南、高雄、屏東、台東、花蓮、宜蘭、台北,再回到台中,總路程長達1178公里!17位長者中,有兩位曾罹患癌症,四 位需帶助聽器,五位患有高血壓,途中歷經險峻的蘇花公路,歷經團長三進三出醫院,但他們一一克服困難,用無懼的心、熱血的行動,完成了這個在外人眼中「不 可能的夢想」。17位長者的生命歷程各不相同,他們有的來自本土台灣、有的隨國民黨軍隊來台,職業有警察、退伍軍人、牧師、書法老師、理髮師等,更有趣的是,有的外省爺 爺不會講台語,但為了要跟本省同伴溝通,互相以很重的口音講著對方的語言,畫面煞是有趣。13天的環島旅程下來,16位爺爺和1位奶奶從不相識到發展出有 如家人般的感情,更不約而同表示自己變得更年輕、更有活力!
他們勇敢追夢的精神感動了無數台灣人,如今這段熱血上路的旅程,以及爺爺們近期的生活記錄,即將於2012年10月12日搬上大銀幕,旨在鼓舞更多人:追求夢想,永不嫌晚!
Taiwan's Grandriders visit San Jose and ride down Highway 1, breaking aging stereotypes
The
plot is straight out of Hollywood--17 seniors with an average age of 81
set off on motor scooters for a 13-day, 730-mile journey around the
perimeter of their island home of Taiwan, smashing old-age stereotypes
and enjoying every minute of it.
The plot may be Hollywood, but the story is true.
The
2007 ride by the group calling itself the Grandriders is portrayed in
Go Grandriders, a feel-good documentary released in the United States in
August.Although the story is just starting to garner attention in the U.S., when 10 of the original 17 decided to visit California, they found both a welcome and the offer of a road trip from San Jose down Highway 1 to Los Angeles.
Edward Perry, a former Santa Clara County sheriff married to a Taiwanese native, offered to organize the trip, working with Hondao Senior Citizens' Welfare Foundation in Taiwan, which sponsored the 2007 trip as well as the California one.
Perry recruited fellow members of the BMW Club of Northern California to provide rides for the Grandriders, who now have an average age of 87. The group of nine men and one woman had to ride on the back of the motorcycles as none of them have a California driver license.
Willow Glen resident Dan Carter, 48, was one of the volunteers and his passenger was Sun Xiang-cun, an 85-year-old retired soldier.
Although Carter learned a few Mandarin phrases in advance, Sun spoke no English and it took them awhile to get in sync riding.
"Within a day we had it down and he hopped on and off without assistance," says Carter, who describes their trip as "magic.
"It was awesome to see the excitement and enthusiasm from them — just feeling their energy.
"The oldest rider was 95 and it was cold and it was hot and it was a long ride.
"At every stop, they got off the bikes with smiles. A bus followed so they always had the opportunity to ride on the bus, but that pretty much never happened."
On Aug. 20 they left San Jose City Hall, stopping in Monterey the first night, before heading down Highway 1, which Carter says was "absolutely gorgeous."
They stopped to visit the Northern Elephant Seals at the Piedras Blancas rookery above Cambria; Hearst Castle and Mission San Luis Obispo.
On the third day they turned inland to visit the Solvang Vintage Motorcycle Museum, went on to Santa Barbara and spent the night in Ventura.
On the fourth day, they stopped at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library before heading to a press reception at the UCLA Medical Center.
Along the way they made time to visit two senior centers as well.
Carter left the group on Aug. 24, riding his BMW up Highway 101 to get home in time to celebrate his teenage daughter's birthday.
"Sitting in traffic on 101 in 102 degrees" returning to San Jose was the most unpleasant part of the journey for Carter, but he says, "I would do it again in a heartbeat."
The Grandriders headed back to Taiwan from Los Angeles and Carter says he hopes to visit them there some day.
"The most amazing thing is they kept thanking us," he says. "We felt it was a privilege for us," he says.
沒有留言:
張貼留言