I know now that the man who sat with me on the old wooden stairs that hot summer night over thirty-five years ago was not a tall man. But to a five-year-old, he was a giant. We sat side by side, watching the sun go down behind the old Texaco service station across the busy street. A street that I was never allowed to cross unless accompanied by an adult or at the very least, an older sibling.

现在，我知道三十五年多前那个炎热的夏夜和我坐在旧木楼梯上的那个男人个子并不高，但是对于一个五岁的孩子来说，他就是个巨人。我们肩并肩坐着，一起看太阳在繁忙的街对面那个老德克萨克加油站后面落下。我不能独自穿过那条街，除非跟着一个成人，或者很少的时候能跟着一个大点的兄弟姐妹。

Cherry-scented smoke from Grampy's pipe kept the hungry mosquitoes at bay while gray, wispy swirls danced around our heads. Now and again, he blew a smoke ring and laughed as I tried to target the hole with my finger. I, clad in a cool summer nightie, and Grampy, his sleeveless T-shirt, sat watching the traffic. We counted cars and tried to guess the color of the next one to turn the corner.

从祖父烟斗里喷出的散发着樱桃香味的灰白色烟雾在我们脑袋周围飘荡，使饥饿的蚊子不敢靠近。时不时的，他吹出一个烟圈，当我试图把手指穿过烟圈是他笑了。穿着凉爽夏日睡衣的我和穿着无袖T-恤的祖父坐着一起看着路上的交通。我们数着汽车，并猜下一辆要从街角拐过来的汽车的颜色。

Once again, I was caught in the middle of circumstances. The fourth born of six children, it was not uncommon that I was either too young or too old for something. This night I was both. While my two baby brothers slept inside the house, my three older siblings played with friends around the corner, where I was not allowed to go. I stayed with Grampy, and that was okay with me. I was where I wanted to be. My grandfather was baby-sitting while my mother, father and grandmother went out.

又一次，我陷入了两难的境地。作为对于很多事我的年龄不是太小就是太大，这是很寻常的。那天晚上我两者都是，当我的两个小弟弟在屋里睡觉的时候，我的三个哥哥姐姐和朋友们在街角玩耍，而我是不可以去的。我和祖父呆在一起，这是可以的，我在自己想呆的地方。在母亲，父亲和祖母都外出的时候，祖父就充当保姆的角色。