When I was 17, I read a magazine article about a museum called the McKay, once the home of a watercolorist named Marian McKay. She had requested the community to tum it into a museum upon her death. On a sunny Saturday, Sally and I drove over to the museum. She asked, "Do you have the address? " "No, but I'll recognize it, there was a picture in the magazine. "
我17岁时，读了一篇关于麦凯博物馆的杂志文章，这个博物馆曾经是水彩画家玛丽安·麦凯的家。她要求社区在她死后把它改建成博物馆。一个阳光明媚的周六，我和莎莉开车去博物馆。她问：“你有地址吗？”“没有，但我会认识，杂志上有一张照片。”
"Oh, stop. There it is!”
“哦，停车。就在那！”
The museum was free. We entered, excited. A group of people sitting in the hall stopped talking and stared at us.
博物馆免费，我们激动地走了进来。坐在大厅里的一群人停止了谈话，盯着我们看。
"May I help you?" a man asked. "No, "I said. "We're fine.” Tour guides got on my nerves. What if they talked a long time about a painting you weren't that interested in? Sally had gone upstairs. The people in the hall seemed very nosy, keeping their eyes on me with curiosity. What was their problem? I saw some nice sculptures in one room. Suddenly I sensed a man standing behind me. "Where do you think you are? " he asked. I turned sharply. "The McKay Art Museum!" He smiled, shaking his head. "Sorry, the McKay is on New Braunfels Street." "What’s this place?” I asked, still confused. "Well, it's our home." My heart jolted. I raced to the staircase and called out, "Sally! Come down immediately! "
“需要帮忙吗？”一个男人问。“不用，”我说，“我们可以的。”导游让我很紧张。如果他们长时间谈论一幅你不太感兴趣的画怎么办？莎莉已经上楼了。大厅里的人似乎很爱窥探，好奇地看着我。他们的问题是什么？我在一个房间里看到了一些漂亮的雕塑。突然，我感觉到一个男人站在我身后。“你知道这是哪吗？”他问道。我快速转身，“麦凯美术馆！”他微笑着摇了摇头。“对不起，麦凯号在新布朗费尔斯街。”“这是什么地方？”我问道，仍然很困惑。“嗯，这是我们的家。”。“我的心怦怦直跳. 我跑到楼梯口喊道：“莎莉！马上下来！”
"There are some really good artworks up there." She stepped down, looking confused. I pushed her toward the front door, waving at the family, saying, "Sorry, please forgive us, you have a really nice place." Outside, when I told Sally what happened, she covered her mouth, laughing. She couldn't believe how long they let us look around without saying anything.
“那里有一些非常好的艺术品。”她走下来说，看起来很困惑。我把她推到前门，向这家人挥手，说：“对不起，请原谅我们，你们的住所非常棒。”当我在外面告诉莎莉发生了什么时，她捂着嘴笑了起来。她简直不敢相信他们允许我们四处参观了那么久，什么都没说。
Thirty years later, a woman came up to me in a public place. “Excuse me, did you ever enter a residence, long ago, thinking it was the McKay Museum?”
三十年后，一个女人在公共场所向我走来。“对不起，很久以前，你是不是走进一个住宅，以为那是麦凯博物馆？”
"Yes. But how do you know? We never told anyone. "
“是的。但是你怎么知道？我们从来没有告诉过任何人。”
"That was my home. I was a teenager sitting in the hall. Before you came over, I never realized what a beautiful place I lived in. I never felt lucky before. You thought it was a museum. My feelings about my home changed after that. I've always wanted to thank you."
“那是我的家。我是一个十来岁的少年，坐在大厅里。在你来之前，我从未意识到我住的地方有多漂亮，我以前从未感觉幸运。你认为这是一家博物馆，从那以后，我对家的感觉变了。我一直想谢谢你。”
