大使疫情手记 (双语8) —— 脑海中的星期五

作者：Geoff Raby

中文：罗曼

转自朱雀艺术

前澳大利亚驻华大使、艺术收藏家、经济学家、专栏作家 Dr Geoff Raby AO 原计划于二月底返回北京，后因疫情爆发滞留悉尼。朱雀艺术特别开设【号外】专栏，连载大使的疫情手记。今日连载至第8篇。

大使疫情手记（八）

脑海中的星期五

不出昨晚所料，今早醒来我就看到了全球感染破百万例的消息，并且这一数字还在持续增长，到下周五晚很有可能会翻倍。一些来自意大利、西班牙和澳大利亚的好消息称，有确凿证据表明这些国家的新感染率增速正在放缓。不过，即便是在感染率出现回落的地方，死亡率仍将继续显著上升。太残酷了。

又到了周五晚上。每到这个时刻，这个城市总是活力四射，热闹非凡。人们纷纷走出家门，与过去的一周挥手作别，将挫败抛诸脑后，用欢笑庆祝成就。今天，我们在黄昏的细雨里外出购置晚餐食材，当然，这也是我们能够摆脱空间束缚的一个小小的托辞。寂静的街头空无一人，世界宛若一座“空城”，也难怪新的感染率会下降。

了无生趣之时，我又忽然想起一首年少时挚爱的歌。《脑海中的星期五》是澳洲本土乐队“轻快节奏”（The Easybeats）发行于1965年的一首歌曲。乐队成员都是意气风发的年轻人，尽管当时我和朋友们都认为他们简直俗不可耐。他们的父母其实都是英国移民，时任澳大利亚政府为解决劳动力短缺问题，以十英镑的报酬吸引这些英国移民漂洋过海，定居在世界的另一头。而由甲壳虫乐队开创的独特音乐风格“默西之声”（Mersey Beat）也由这些人带到了澳洲。

这首歌整曲迸发着青春的朝气与澎湃的荷尔蒙，歌颂着结束一周的乏味生活、上街尽情玩乐、追求心仪的女孩。当然，当时的我还小，还不能实现歌词中的种种。但它将无限可能铺设在我眼前，告诉我生活之外还有另一种生活，总有一天，这会成为现实。而歌中所唱的确很快成真了，也成为了我的生活灵感，教我活在当下。

今时今日，封城后的周五晚上与疫情下的其他任何一个晚上并无不同。一周结束了，它结束得如此潦草干瘪，仿佛被压路机碾过，毫无立体感。所有的日常节奏都被抹去，除了天气变换，日复一日间并没有其他什么变化。

今天我的新书完成了1000字，远低于我在接下来20天需要完成的每日3000字目标。20天后，我还需要用10天密集完成文字编辑、文献搜索及材料补充等工作。

有充足的时间用来高效地进行一个项目是疫情附赠的礼物，但是难免分心。“轻快节奏”乐队的几句开场白在我脑海反复萦绕，淹没了其他所有念头——“我要去城里玩个痛快，我要去见我的漂亮女孩，哦，就让星期五填满我的脑海。”

Geoff Raby’s Pandemic Journal 8

Friday on my Mind

As expected last night, I awoke to the news that the global infection rate had climbed past one million and was continuing to rise. By next Friday evening it will most likely be double that again. Some good news from Italy, Spain and Australia where the rate of increase in new infections now seems to be falling convincingly. Even where infection rates are falling, death rates will still continue to rise significantly. It is all too grim.

It is also Friday evening. A time when the city heaves with energy and activity. People going out, going places, drawing a line under the week that has been and forgetting its frustrations or celebrating achievements. Tonight, we walked in the drizzle as the evening set in, buying a few groceries for dinner but also to have an alibi for being outside. The streets were empty. No wonder the new infection rate is falling, the city is deserted.  

Forlornly, I was reminded of yet another song of my youth, which I absolutely adored. Friday on my Mind by the Australian group The Easybeats released in 1965. The Easybeats were themselves young guys, though at the time they seemed so worldly to me and my friends. They were actually the kids of British immigrants to Australia who came out on an Australian government scheme to deal with labour shortages and were paid ten pounds to emigrate to the other side of the world. They brought with them the distinctive Merseybeat sound which the Beatles had pioneered.

Friday on my Mind was bursting with the energy of youth and super-charged testosterone. It was an anthem to getting out of the weekly rut, going out having fun, looking for a girl. Of course, I was still too young to be doing any of that, but it spoke to me of possibilities, of another life beyond what I was living. One day it would be a reality. Soon it was, and it remained an inspiration for living for the moment.

And here we are on Friday evening under lockdown. Tonight, could be any other night since lockdown. The week has been flattened. It may as well have been run over by a steamroller. It feels two dimensional. All the daily rhythms have been erased. The weather changes from day to day but not much else.

A thousand words were added to my book today. Way below the target of 3000 per day for the next 20 days. Were this achieved, it would allow ten days intensive editing and searching for references and other material that will need to be added.  

It is a gift to have all this time to do productive things, but there’s a catch. The Easybeats opening lines are bouncing around it my head drowning out all other thoughts – I’m going to have fun in the city, go’in to see my girl she’s so pretty, oh I’ve got Friday on my Mind.