每日社評 0604 尋【根 】記

尋 【根 】記

早年我們初抵台灣時，父母親因人生地不熟選擇了中壢平鎮鄉忠貞新村一個非常簡陋之眷村棲身。父親在雲南家鄉二十歲就當上鎮長並配有護兵，可說是青年得志, 到了台灣後一直非常不得志,因而英年早逝，那年他只有六十歲， 意志堅強的母親擔起重任從不向困難低頭。

上週末我在接受母校政治大學傑出校友獎後,再次造訪了忠貞新村，雙親之老眷村已經撤除，如今已經是二十層高之住宅大樓，唯一留下的是在附近設立的忠貞新村會館。 當我們到達時鄉親長輩們給予熱情之接待。我在大堂上捐款並承諾每年為雲南同鄉捐助三名獎學金, 表達對家鄉之回饋和感激。 忠貞新村正央寫道[忠孝立根本 貞操樹典型]之上下聯， 真令人感動。

父母之眷村屋我們都沒有住過，但是每逢假日還是會回到這棟小屋來相聚。室內非常簡陋，傢具陳舊。大學一年級我們到石門水厙郊遊，母親從家裡烹調一鍋紅燒雞送到現場要給我撐面子。這棟寒酸的廚房豈能燒出如此美味佳餚? 事實上父母之清寒深植我心。

次年暑假我在廣播公司找到了工作，領了第一份薪水後，在表姐之陪同下立即前往忠貞大街的傢具店購票全套傢俱和電視機，让父母宅內煥然一新,她們都大為吃驚,媽媽的淚水掉下來 。那年我才二十歲,但是我已下定決心絕不能是窮人。

今天我和妻感觴再次踏上這片故土，雖然往事如煙,雙親早在天國。此次尋根之旅，感傷和興奮交熾心頭。

Roots Journal

Upon arriving Taiwan in the 60’s, my parents chose to settle in Chung Chen, a new village in Pingshen Village. My father, who had achieved success at  his young age in Yunan, China, faced continuous hardships in Taiwan and passed away prematurely at the age of sixty. My resilient mother then took on the heavy responsibility without ever bowing down to difficulties.

Last weekend, after receiving the outstanding Alumni Award from       

my Alma Mater, National Chengchi University, my wife and I revisited Chung Chen village. The old military dependent village where my parents lived has been replaced by a twenty-story residential building. The only remnant is a community hall nearby. Upon our arrival, we were warmly welcomed by the elder villagers.       

We made a donation and pledged        to provide three scholarships annually for fellow students as our way of giving back to my hometown and to express our gratitude.

The couplet displayed in the hall there    read, “Loyalty and Filial Piety are the Foundation, Chastity sets the standard,"

deeply moved me.Although we never lived in my parent’s house, we still gathered there on the holidays. The interior was simple,   

with old and worn out furniture. In my freshman year of college, during a trip to a picnic, my mom cooked a pot of braised chicken at home and brought it to the site to save face for me in front of my classmates. How could such delicious dishes be cooked in that humble kitchen? The modesty and hardships of my parents left a lasting imprint on my heart.

The following summer, I secured a job at the radio station and received my first paycheck. I immediately went out to a furniture store and purchased a complete set of new furniture and a  

TV set to add to my parent’s home.They were both astonished and tears welled up in their eyes. I was only twenty year's old at that time, but I was determined that myself and my family would not remain poor.

Today, my wife and I once again set foot on this familiar land, though the past is like smoke, my parents are already in heaven. This journey of rediscovering my roots stirs a mixture of emotions in my heart of both nostalgia and excitement.