Courage ‘fer’ Love

February, a month full of excitement, surprises, but also changes. All the entries on this blog seem to remind me of every single moment that has once come into my life. Most of them are good memories but only I know what has been in my mind between those day-by-day gaps. Soon, the calendar turned to another new page, and so was my life.
二月，一個充滿驚奇興奮卻又無端充滿變化的月份。部落格裡的每篇文章彷彿提醒著我在這當中經歷的每一個珍貴時刻，多數是開心的回憶，但大概也只有我自己才知道在這些銜接每一天的縫隙裡究竟又藏了什麼秘密在我心裡。很快地，月曆翻到了新的一頁，我的生活也是這般。

After the entire February past, Jennifer’s photobook finally came to my door. “The L Word Book” may be its official name but I tend to believe it is just a phrase to describe the condition of this book – an ‘L’ ‘word’ on the cover of a ‘book.’ A black hardcover with leather-like texture makes holding this photobook like holding a treasure. Indeed, it is a treasure. As the pages turned, stories are told, not of others but of the cast.
直等到整個二月完整地過去，Jennifer的攝影集才乖乖地躺在家門口。《The L Word Book》或許是它的正式書名，但對我而言，它卻只是形容這本書的一個代名詞，一本封面上寫著「L」字樣的書。皮質的黑色精裝封面讓拿著這本書反而像是捧著一份珍寶，確實，這是一份貴重的寶藏。當書頁被翻開，故事彷彿在眼前跟著展開，不是別人的故事，卻是這群演員的故事。



Through Jennifer’s photos, through the call sheets, through those interviews, through each smiling face. Even six years after, even 4,629 miles from the set, I can still feel the happiness filled in the air back at those moments.
透過Jennifer的照片、透過那些排程表、透過那些Jennifer所作的訪問、透過每一張真摯開懷的笑臉，即使六年已過、即使片場距離我4629英哩之遙，我依舊能感受到當時彌漫在空氣中的愉悅之情。

Picking up the memory is a tiring job. Putting all the pieces together even needs tremendously horrible work. It requires a mind of logic and more importantly a heart of passion. I believe. I believe one must be able to tell when the gift is given from a true heart. I simply feel all the efforts Jennifer has put in this book and thank her for being compelled to do this. There is absolutely no doubt that Jennifer loves this show and she has chosen a wonderful way to leave an incredible gift for all of us – the cast, the crew, and the fans.
拾起回憶是很累人的工作，拼湊記憶的碎片更是無法想像地艱辛，那不僅需要一顆思緒俐落敏捷的頭腦，更需要一顆充滿熱情的心。我深信，我深信當一個人收到一份真心的禮物時他是能清楚感受到的；正如同現在的我，清楚地感受到Jennifer為這本書所付出的心力，只想說謝謝妳的真心。無庸置疑，Jennifer愛這齣電視劇，而她也選擇了一個美好的方式把這份禮物送到我們的手上。致所有演員、致所有工作人員、致所有影迷。

It was really fun reading Lu’s note to Jennifer first and then starting reading Jennifer’s words at the very beginning of the book. In the cute hand-written note, Lu said Jennifer would be the first one coming into her mind while thinking of ‘courage.’ In the preface, Jennifer recalled the beginning of this journey. Nine people arrived in Vancouver that day and six of them remained in the show for the following six years. On the set, they were connected by something they could not see – intuition, hope, love, pain, fear, and courage. Use your fingers now.
我是先看了Lu寫給Jennifer的那張紙條後才翻到最前面看Jennifer寫的序，這讓結果變得相當有趣。在Lu可愛的筆跡下，她說如果講到「勇氣」她第一個想到的人是Jennifer。而在序言裡， Jennifer說最初拍攝《The L Word》時有九個人到溫哥華作最終試鏡，其中的六個人留了下來，而一留就留了六年；在《The L Word》的片場裡，她們因著看不見的幾股力量互相牽引著，那些是「洞察力」、「希望」、「愛」、「痛苦」、「恐懼」、「勇氣」。現在，舉起你的手指吧！

Intuition. Hope. Love. Pain. Fear. Courage.
「洞察力」、「希望」、「愛」、「痛苦」、「恐懼」、「勇氣」。

Six characters? How coincident this is! So, if Jennifer took that ‘Courage,’ could I say Laurel took that part of ‘Love?’
六個特質？這是巧合嗎？如果Jennifer已經把「勇氣」的選項拿走了，我可以說Laurel絕對擁有那個「愛」的資格嗎？

Courage to love? Courage for love? Ponder on it. See the difference?
有勇氣去愛？為愛而來的勇氣？想一想，發現了不同之處嗎？

Every time staring at the neat pink ‘L’ on the black cover, I just can not help wondering if that ‘L’ tells about stories of ‘Love’ or if it is whispering “Laurel.”
每一次，看著黑色封面上那個粉紅色的漂亮「L」字，我總是不禁猜想：究竟那個「L」是透露書裡記錄著的愛的故事？還是它正悄悄地對我喊著「Laurel」呢？

Tag: Jennifer Beals, Laurel Holloman, The L Word Book


《延伸閱讀》
Jennifer Beals' Words About Her Photo Book