序
陳孝恬
I once learned that Pablo Picasso had many stages in his artistic career: the Blue period, the Rose period, the Cubism period and so on. I suppose all creative people go through phases in their lives. My dad had some of his own stages, including the Fish Tank period, the Broadway period, and now, the Artistic period. Whoever believes that we should live life in moderation obviously does not know my dad, because his whirlwind adventures continues to sweep me along…and I love it.
據我所知，畢卡索的藝術生涯分成許多階段，像是藍色時期、玫瑰時期、立體派時期等等。我想凡是有創造力的人一生都會經歷不同的階段，老爸的人生也是如此，例如魚缸時期、百老匯時期、還有現在的藝術時期。那些認為人生平淡才是福的人顯然不了解我老爸，他天馬行空般的精彩人生不斷帶給我驚喜，令我深深樂在其中。
I remember pressing my nose against the cool glass pane as blurs of colors scattered in response. I remember the lingering smell of seaweed. Ah yes, the Fish Tank era, the time when my dad painstakingly read all the manuals on fish tank maintenance. I would help him go through books on the optimum temperatures and pH levels and how to raise proper-looking sea-grass (the secret is in the amount of light). My favorite thing however, was having him introduce each and every fish to me. “Where’s this little one from? What’s it called?” I would point to one of the tanks with my chubby finger. “That’s a gorgeous one from the tropics. It’s called an Angelfish.” I would nod and move on to the next tank. This name game would last for a while because we had eight tanks in total during the pinnacle of the Fish Tank era.
我還記得我把鼻子緊貼著冰涼的玻璃缸，看著五顏六色在眼前模糊地晃動，一股水草味如今依稀猶存。沒錯，那正是老爸的魚缸時期。那時候他不厭其煩地研讀如何保養魚缸的說明書，我也會幫他翻書查資料，看看如何維持適當的水溫和酸鹼值，還有如何把水草養得好看（秘訣在於光照量）。但我最喜歡的部分是他教我認識每條魚的時候。我總會用我胖胖的手指指著魚缸問：「這隻小的是從哪兒來的？牠叫什麼魚？」老爸就會回答：「這是隻很漂亮的熱帶魚，牠叫『神仙魚』。」然後我就會點點頭，繼續看下一個魚缸裡的魚。這個認魚的遊戲會花上好一會兒時間，因為在老爸魚缸時期的全盛時期，我們家最多有八個魚缸。
His adventures soon segued into the Broadway period, in which “Memory” from Cats became my morning wake-up call and weekends became reserved for Broadway films. There were some that I loved, some that I gawked at, think La Cage aux Folles, but all that introduced me to new places and people and storylines. My two all-time favorites, Cats and Phantom of the Opera, led me to practice singing and playing their hits. Perhaps I could never pass off as a true Jellicle Cat or have a deep baritone voice like that of the Phantom when singing “Past the Point of No Return”, but that didn’t matter. I would experiment with different combinations with my sister and my dad would sit on the side, with crinkled eyes and a smile, clapping his hands wildly and singing along. At the end of it all, he would suggest a piece for next time or a new show.
不久之後，他的人生進入到百老匯時期。那時候我每天早上的起床號就是音樂劇「貓」的主題曲「回憶」（Memory），每個週末全家都會去看百老匯歌劇。有些劇我很愛，有些劇我不太敢恭維，好比說「一籠傻鳥」（La Cage aux Folles），但無論如何，這些劇都讓我認識新的人、地、物和故事。我這輩子最喜歡的兩部劇是「貓」和「歌劇魅影」，它們讓我開始練習唱和彈奏其中一些膾炙人口的曲子。儘管我大概永遠無法唱得像「傑利可貓」（Jellicle Cat）那麼好，也沒辦法用渾厚的男中音唱「歌劇魅影」裡的「無路可退」（Past the Point of No Return），但那些都不重要。每當我跟姊姊嘗試不同的合聲，老爸總是坐在一旁笑瞇瞇地，大聲拍著手跟我們一起唱，唱完的時候，他就會提議下次再唱另一首歌或是去看別齣劇。
Recently, my dad turned his attention to creating beautiful art pieces that capture his diverse interests and curiosity in life. The subjects of his crayon paintings range from animals to portraits to religious scenes, which offer a glimpse into my dad’s colorful and vivacious life. My dad stated in his last art collection that the best treasure he could leave my sister and me is not wealth nor power, but these paintings that represent his love for us. There are more treasures that he has given us: the ability to appreciate life’s beauty, the spirit of exploration and the thirst for knowledge. Without a doubt, my dad has taught us how to live life with our eyes, arms and heart wide open through the way he lives his life. In these pages, there are more than exquisite strokes of color; there is an entire lifetime of wonderment and rumination. What more can I say? I am thankful for the journeys I’ve been on, and I look forward to more adventures with my dad.
最近，爸爸的心思轉到了繪畫創作上頭，把他人生中的各種興味用畫表達出來。他的蠟筆畫主題廣泛，從動物、人像到宗教，處處可以窺見他多采多姿、朝氣蓬勃的人生。爸爸在上次畫展時說過，他能留給我和姊姊最珍貴的資產，不是財富權勢，而是這一張張充滿了愛的畫作。其實，他給我們的東西還不只如此，還有審美能力、心靈探索、以及求知慾望。毋庸置疑，爸爸教我們睜大眼睛去看世界、張開雙臂去擁抱世界、敞開心胸去感受世界，就如他面對人生的方式一樣。他的畫作不僅僅是一筆一畫的色彩堆疊，更蘊含了他一生的精彩時刻和心靈沈思，這些即使用千言萬語也不足以形容。我感謝他帶我走過的旅程，也期待繼續跟他一起體驗更多的驚奇人生。
