 For his seventh birthday, Michael Wong-Sasso got down and dirty, totally trashed--well, you know.
The grade schooler is passionately interested in garbage trucks, compost and recycling -- and dreams of being a trash hauler when he grows up. So he convinced his parents to bypass the usual kiddie venues and toss him a party on Saturday at a real dump. Landfill operator Browning-Ferris Industries agreed to the unusual plan, and set about preparing an odor- and trash-free spot on the edge of the Sunshine Canyon Landfill in suburban Los Angeles, wheeling in piles of fresh dirt to accommodate 82 little feet. Michael and 40 of his friends were so happy as they scampered over mounds of dirt, pushing a variety of toy back hoes, bulldozers and dump trucks. The kids also made animals from homemade clay and recycled materials, and got an up-close tour of the landfill, Sophia Wong, Michael's mother said. "In addition to that we had a ranger bring live animals native to the landfill. He brought ... a black widow spider, a python, a stuffed rattler, a falcon, a dwarf rabbit. He brought pine cones and showed where some had been eaten. " Wong and Sasso are restaurant owners and never had a special interest in trash until Michael, at age two, began showing an unusual interest in trailing garbage trucks through the neighborhood, his mother said, noting that "trash" and "truck" were among his first words. "As a 4-year-old he wrote a book about our local trash collector, Gilbert Gregory, and what he does during his daily route," she said. (Agencies) | 這是他的七歲生日，可小壽星邁克·翁·薩索卻渾身臟兮兮，活脫脫從垃圾堆里爬出來的樣子——而事實上也正是如此。 盡管還是個小學生，邁克卻有著不一般的愛好——垃圾車、垃圾堆、垃圾回收——和垃圾有關的都是他的最愛，而他的理想是：長大后成為一名垃圾搬運工。邁克還說服了父母，在12月7號為他在真正的垃圾堆上舉辦生日派對，而不是像其他孩子那樣過個普通而平淡的生日。 布朗寧-費里斯垃圾場同意協助這個不同尋常的計劃，并立即在洛杉磯郊區的桑夏恩-坎寧垃圾場邊緣找到一處沒有垃圾和異味的空地，堆上幾堆干凈的塵土，供82只小腳丫盡情地玩鬧。  邁克和他的四十個小伙伴們在土堆上歡快地奔跑。他們開心地把玩具鋤耕機、推土機和垃圾車在土堆上開來開去。孩子們還用自制的黏土和可循環利用材料做成小動物。邁克的母親索菲婭把這些看在了眼里，她說，孩子們和垃圾有了近距離的接觸。
她還介紹說："來參加孩子們的派對的還有一位護林員。他把許多野生的動物帶到了垃圾場。有一只黑寡婦蜘蛛，一條巨蟒，一條響尾蛇標本，一只獵鷹，一只侏儒兔。他還帶來了松果并告訴孩子們哪些部分已經被吃掉了。" 邁克的父母經營一家餐館。他們兩人對垃圾都沒有任何特殊的興趣。但邁克兩歲時，就開始異常喜歡追逐附近經過的垃圾車。他母親說，當邁克還在牙牙學語的時候，嘴巴里呢喃著的始終是"垃圾"和"卡車"。 她還說："邁克在四歲的時候寫了一本書，專門介紹我們當地收垃圾的吉爾伯特·格雷戈里，并描述了他在每天收垃圾的固定路線上所做的工作。" grade schooler: 小學生。grade school 相當于elementary school
odor- and trash-free: 沒有臭味，沒有垃圾
up-close: 相當于close, 表示近距離接觸。 (中國日報網站譯) |
Updated: 2002-12-11 01:00
