散文佳作108篇 第63期:A Tale of Two Smut Merchants 兩個淫穢照片商的故事

A Tale of Two Smut Merchants

兩個淫穢照片商的故事

Mike Royko

邁克·羅伊科

In simpler times, there lived a self-employed photographer in Chicago who worked weddings,anniversaries, graduations and other family events. He also padded his income with goods hedidn’t advertise in the neighborhood paper. He sold nude photos—the kind we used to calldirty pictures.

那年頭比較純樸，芝加哥有一名個體照相師，專營結(jié)婚照、周年紀念照、畢業(yè)照和其他家庭大事照。有的貨色他并沒在當?shù)貓蠹埳献鰪V告，他也拿來湊數(shù)，添點收入。他出售裸體照——就是我們過去常說的下流照片。

His model was usually his wife, an empty-faced woman who tended their second-floor flat andtwo small kids and did what her husband told her to do. Other than having a big chest, therewasn’t much to recommend her as a model, except that she was willing to pose inembarrassingly revealing positions.

他的模特兒通常是他的妻子——一個面孔毫無表情的婦女。她照管著他們在二樓的那套房間和兩個小孩，凡事都聽她丈夫的。她當模特兒，無非是有一個高高挺起的胸脯，旁的沒什么好說的，不過她很樂意擺出各種露得叫人看不下去的姿勢就是了。

The photographer would sell stacks of the wallet-size photos to guys he knew in factoriesand taverns, and they would sell them to guys they knew. That’s the way such things circulatedin the days before porn stores and national smut magazines.

照相師把皮夾子大小的照片成批賣給他在工廠和酒館里的熟人，這些人再賣給他們的熟人。那年頭還沒有賣淫穢東西的商店和全國性的黃色雜志，這類東西就是這么流傳的。

The photographer’s neighbors didn’t know about his dirty-picture business because he soldthem outside the neighborhood. But then he made the mistake of asking a teenage girl fromthe next block if she would be interested in making some money as a model.

照相師的街坊們對他賣下流畫的勾當一無所知，因為他是在別的街區(qū)干的。但是后來出了紕漏：他竟問隔壁街區(qū)的一個十幾歲的小女孩想不想當模特兒掙錢。

When he told her exactly what he had in mind, she told her mother. The mother told the father,who owned a corner tavern. And the father and his large son, carrying baseball bats, went tothe photog’s home and banged on the door. Not being a dummy, he wouldn’t open the door.So the father yelled that if he ever came near the girl again, they’d kill him.

他把想法向小女孩原原本本說了，上女孩告訴了她的母親。她母親又告訴了她父親，他在街角上開有一小酒館。于是他父親帶上大個頭兒子，提著棒球棍，跑到照相師家，把房門敲得砰砰響。照相師又不傻，哪能開門。做父親的于是大喊大叫，說他要是再接近他的女兒，他們就宰了他。

A few weeks later the tavern keeper was at the local grammar school, attending the graduationof one of his other children. During the ceremony, he glanced around and saw thephotographer with a camera in his hand. “What’s that creep doing here?” he shouted.

幾個星期過后，酒館老板到當?shù)氐某跫壷袑W，參加他另外一個孩子的畢業(yè)典禮。典禮正在進行，他四下瞅瞅，一眼看到那個照相師，手拿一架照相機。他喊到：“那混蛋來這兒干嗎?”

It turned out that the creep was the official photographer of the graduation. “He ain’t takingmy kid’s picture,” said the tavern keeper. He got up and bashed the creep in the jaw, and thephotographer fled.

那混蛋原來是來拍畢業(yè)典禮的正式攝影師。“不許他給我的孩子照相。”酒館老板說。他站起身來，朝那混蛋下巴上猛揍一拳，照相師一溜了事。

The tavern keeper then explained to parents and teachers that he had driven a degeneratefrom their midst, so someone else was called to take the class picture. Within two days, thephotog had moved from the neighborhood and was never again seen.

接著，酒館老板向家長和老師們說明，他是替大伙趕走了一個壞分子，于是另請了一個人給全班照相留念。不到兩天，那個照相師就從這條街搬走了，再也沒露面。

I thought of that incident while watching Bob Guccione, owner of Penthouse magazine, beinginterviewed some time ago on a network news show, and it occurred to me what remarkablechanges have occurred in only a few decades.

不久前一家新聞電視網(wǎng)播放了采訪《藏春閣》雜志的老板鮑勃·古西翁的實況，我看后不禁想起這件往事。我在想，時隔不過幾十年，竟是世事滄桑啊。

The neighborhood pornographer was punched around and had to move away in disgrace.Guccione, a multimillionaire, wears gold chains, travels the world in jets and is invited to thebest parties in New York City.

那個街道上的黃色販子挨了揍，不得不夾起尾巴走人。古西翁卻是腰纏萬貫，穿金戴銀，坐著噴氣式飛機周游世界，應(yīng)邀蒞臨紐約市首屈一指的集會。

If the photog tried to explain why he did what he did, nobody would have cared. They wouldhave just punched him some more. But Guccione speaks with great seriousness about thejournalistic necessity of publishing nude photos of a well-known woman. And there are peoplewho take him seriously.

那個照相師要是想解釋一下他的所作所為，沒人會聽他的。人們只會對他揍得更狠。古西翁卻是在一本正經(jīng)地談?wù)搱笳码s志有必要刊登什么名媛的裸照。而且還有一個一本正經(jīng)地聽信他。

Actually, there’s little difference between that neighborhood pornographer and Guccione, themagazine publisher, other than financial success. The only significant one is that the photogwas born before his time.

其實，那位街道上的黃色販子與雜志出版商古西翁之間并沒有什么兩樣，他倆無非財運不同罷了。唯一值得注意的不同倒是那位照相師生不逢辰。

Maybe, I prefer to think that it was the tavern keeper, unfortunately, who was born before histime.

也許是吧。可我倒以為正是那位酒館老板——說來可嘆——他才生不逢辰呢。