承载着爱与思念的手表Mother’s Watch（1/1）
雷蒙德·巴里/Rayond Barry
It was a seventeen-jewel Elga locket-style case, and y other bought it before she was arriedSepteber 1916.It ical watch of the era, funh was given toaround the ti I was thirteen or fourteen, and I had it ed to a wrisatch.For , it was jt another one of the thgs I owned.When I left for the serviceApril 1941, I took the watch with .
My unit was sent to the Philippe Isnds.On board ship, crossg the Pacific, I alost lost the watch after carelessly leavg it tied to a waterle while takg a shower.Thankfully, an ho GI found it aur.The watch still did not see that special to .It was jt one of y practical possessions.
After the bobg of Pearl Harbor, we retreated to the Bataan Pensu.Now I started to bee a little ned about y watch.With the eney so close by, I felt foolish f sothg that had been given toby y other.When we were told to surreo the Japanese.I khat y watch uld bee a Japanese souvenir.I uldn’t brg yself to throw it to the jungle, but I didn’t want to lose it to the eney, either.I did what I uld to outsart y captors.I fastehe watto y left ankle and pulled y sock over it.For ore prote, I put on a pair of legggs.Little did I know that I was about to ebark on thirty-four onths of pyg a“hide the watch”ga.
My unit surrendered, and then we were forced to the now fao Bataah March.I ed the band around the watk, guarded by one of the ever present Japanese soldiers.His eyes were at jt the right level to notice the py sall pocket.He reached out with a gloved hand and touched the spot.I froze and held y breath, fearg that I was about to lose y now prized possession.Surprisgly, the guard was not curio enough to ask about what I hady pocket, and aga the watch was safe for a while.Later, I ao fd a new chaois, and I swaddled the watchit, ncealg ity shirt pocket.No atter how wet I beca, the watch reaed safe and dry.
The work detail sted about seventy days.After that, it was back to another death ard on to atuan Prison Cap where I reaed for o and a half years.There I reoved the band fro the watd ed the facedical gauze and tape.It ade a sall, easy-to-hide package.At st, when y cap was liberated, the watd I ade the trip ho.When I walked through the door, I learhat y other had died.Now her watch, which had bee a reder of y own survival, was also a reder of her life.
I had the watch restored to its al case and added a cha identical totheal.Onceaga,yother’swatchwasadelicate dies’locket-style watch.I gave it to y wife.Later, I found that y brother still had the al watch cha.When he heard that I had restored the watch, he gavethe ow, eighty-four years after y other bought it, y daughter wears the watch.It is stillw ndition.
放在精美礼品盒里的是一块镶有17颗宝石的“爱而近”牌手表，那是我的母亲在1916年9月结婚前买的。那块表极具时代感，功能齐全又有装饰作用——对于当时的女性而言，那是一件非常珍贵的饰物。当你按一下发条钮，小盒就会弹开，表盘便随之露出。在我十三四岁时，母亲将那块表送给我，我让人把它改造成了一块手表。对我而言，那仅仅是另一件属于我的物品。1941年4月，我离家参军时，带走了那块表。
我们的部队被派往菲律宾群岛。在横渡太平洋的海船上，我很粗心，在洗澡时将表系在吃水线上，险些丢掉。幸运的是，一位好心的美国兵发现了它，并将其归还于我。当时，那块表对我来说只是一件物品。除此之外，似乎再没有什么特别之处了。
空袭珍珠港之后，我们退到巴丹半岛。我开始关注我的手表了。敌军如此临近，我将母亲给我的手表带在身边真是笨极了。当我们被告知要向日本投降时，我意识到我的手表可能会成为日本人的战利品。我不忍将其扔进丛林，又不想其落入敌军之手，我想靠智慧躲过逮捕人员。我将表拴在左脚踝上，用袜子盖上。为了加强保护，我又穿了一双护腿。想不到的是，从此我开始了一场长达34个月之久的“藏表”游戏。
我们的部队投降了，被迫进入现在臭名昭著的“巴丹死亡行军”。我用带子将表裹住，塞入短裤的小表袋里。一天，我被遣往吕宋岛北部进行分队劳作，在一辆卡车的后斗里，我被一个始终都不离开的日本兵看守着。他的眼睛恰好看到了我小口袋的鼓包。他伸出一只带着手套的手摸了一下鼓包。我整个人都僵住了，屏住呼吸，恐怕会失去这件现今已很珍贵的物品。令人惊奇的是，守卫并没有好奇地询问我的口袋，我的表再一次安全了一段时间。之后，我想方设法找到了一件新的皮革，并将表放在里面，藏在了我的衬衣口袋里。无论我的身体或衣服有多么潮湿，这块表都始终完好无损并保持干燥。
持续了大概70天的分工劳作后，我们再一次回到死亡行军中，步行到了卡巴那端战俘集中营。我在这里待了两年半。我取下表的绷带，用药、纱布和胶带裹住表面，这样的包既小又易于藏匿。最终，我所在的集中营得到解放，我带着表回到家。进门后，我得知母亲已经去世了。如今，这块表让我回忆着自己的劫后重生，也让我回忆着母亲的一生。
我将表放回到它原来的盒子中，并加了一条与原来相同的链子。母亲的表再次成为一款精美的女士纪念表，我将它送给了妻子。后来，我发现我的兄弟还保留着原先的表链。当听说我要重修这块表时，他将表链送给了我。如今，在母亲买这块表的84年之后，我的女儿带上了那块表。它还一直在工作着。
1.那块表极具时代感，功能齐全又有装饰作用——对于当时的女性而言，那是一件非常珍贵的饰物。
2.无论我的身体或衣服有多么潮湿，这块表都始终完好无损并保持干燥。
3.如今，在母亲买这块表的84年之后，我的女儿带上了那块表。它还一直在工作着。
1.o: If you he troers to a skirt, nobody uld identify it.
2.hold one’s breath: If you don’t want to be detected, you t hold your breath.