一個加拿大人驅車1000英裡帶著一家被困的美國人前往阿拉斯加

這一切都是因為琳恩·馬切索，她13歲的兒子佩頓，10歲的女兒麗貝卡和家裡的寵物需要從喬治亞州前往阿拉斯加。馬切索的丈夫是美國陸軍的一名上士，駐紮在阿拉斯加費爾班克斯的溫賴特堡。

馬切索收拾好他們所有的東西，買了一輛能應付阿拉斯加冬天的4驅型卡車，租了一輛拖車，計劃在初秋和煦的日子裡進行一次橫跨全國的家庭冒險。

但是,2020年發生了。由於冠狀病毒，加拿大對美國人前往阿拉斯加的旅行制定了嚴格的指南。等她把事情都安排好了，她9月份的自駕遊就被推遲到了11月份。

他們越往北走，天氣就越壞。馬切索在南方長大，她第一次遇到了冬天白雪皚皚的環境。她用完了擋風玻璃擦拭液。雪水蓋住了她的窗戶，使她無法開車。更可怕的是，她的輪胎似乎失去了牽引力。

一個好心人開車把馬切索送到一家輪胎店，在那裡他們可以當場把輪胎換掉。但馬切索已經沒法開車了。「我通常不會認輸，但我認輸了，」她說。那時，善良的加拿大開始行動，在Facebook上發出請求是否有人能來幫馬切索駕駛卡車和拖車完成最後的1056英裡到達邊境。這趟旅程需要熟悉危險的阿拉斯加高速公路的好司機花大約兩天的時間。

如果馬切索一家不能很快到達邊境，他們就會超過到達阿拉斯加的五天上限。

加裡·巴斯(Gary Bath)是一名遊騎兵，他的工作包括訓練加拿大軍隊成員如何在北極生存下來。「看到了求助帖子，我發現沒人能幫上忙，所以我和妻子商量了一下，決定一路開車送她到邊境。」巴斯覺得這次長途旅行平安無事(除了輪胎爆了，而且很快修好了)，他們在一起很愉快。

馬切索這樣評價巴斯:「我們只是從一開始就相處愉快。」「就像老朋友一樣。開車真的很愉快。這一切都是他應得的。他是個好人。」

A Canadian man drives a stranded American family 1,000 miles to Alaska

Martha Shade, CNN
December 10, 2020

注釋[1] Dashing

注釋:猛衝

備註:美 [ˈdæʃɪŋ]
英 [ˈdæʃɪŋ]
v. 猛衝（dash 的現在分詞）
adj. （尤指男子）風度翩翩的，浪漫迷人的；時髦的，流行的

[2] staff sergeant

注釋:陸軍上士

備註:（美）參謀軍士；（英）陸軍上士

[3] U-Haul

注釋:拖車

備註:n. 出租卡車公司名（等於You Haul）

[4] packed up all their belongings

注釋:收拾好他們所有的東西

[5] balmy

注釋:溫和的

備註:美 [ˈbɑːmi]
英 [ˈbɑːmi]
adj. 芳香的；溫和的；止痛的

[6] got things in order

注釋:把事情安排妥當

[7] glued to

注釋:盯住不放

備註:不願離開；盯住不放;粘在

[8] order any food to-go

注釋:點任何外帶食物

[9] White-knuckling

注釋:引起神經緊張的

[10] White-knuckling it all the way

注釋:一直緊張不安

[11] white-out

注釋:極地大暴風雪

備註:n. 極地大暴風雪；疏排；修正液

[12] windshield wiping fluid

注釋:擋風玻璃擦拭液

[13] Slush

注釋:爛泥

備註:美 [slʌʃ]
英 [slʌʃ]
n. 爛泥；汙水；水泥砂漿；胡說八道
vt. 濺溼；給…灌砂漿；給…上潤滑油
vi. 濺潑；在融雪中走

[14] losing traction

注釋:失去動力

[15] Samaritan

注釋:樂善好施者

備註:美 [səˈmærɪtən]
英 [səˈmærɪtən]
n. 撒馬利亞人；樂善好施者
adj. 撒馬利亞人的

[16] throw in the towel

注釋:認輸

備註:認輸
throw in the towel
    扔毛巾
    拱手認負
    放棄

[17] kind folks

注釋:善良的人

[18] putting out a plea

注釋:提出請求

[19] dire

注釋:極差的

備註:美 [daɪr]
英 [daɪə(r)]
adj.極其嚴重的；危急的；極糟的；極差的

[20] the stranded American family

注釋:被困的美國家庭

(CNN)There’s nice, and then there’s Canadian-nice, which sometimes involves driving a total stranger[1], her two kids, a pair of elderly dogs and a cat named 「Midnight」 more than a thousand miles through a snowstorm to another country.

Dashing[2] through the snow

It all started because Lynn Marchessault, her 13-year-old son Payton, 10-year-old daughter Rebecca and the family pets needed to get from Georgia to Alaska. Marchessault’s husband, a staff sergeant[3] in the US Army, is stationed at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks.
In a 4x4 and a U-Haul[4], eh?
So Marchessault packed up all their belongings[5], bought a 4x4 truck that could handle Alaska winters, rented a U-Haul, and made plans for a cross-country family adventure during the balmy[6] days of early fall.
But, 2020 happened.
Marchessault waited months for the travel documents that would allow her to drive from Georgia, through Canada and up to Alaska. Due to the coronavirus, Canada had instituted strict guidelines for Americans traveling through the country, en route to Alaska.
By the time she got things in order[7], her September road trip was pushed to November. Besides the restrictions placed on her by the Canadian government, she knew she』d have to keep up a good driving pace to avoid the worst of winter weather.

O』er the roads we go

The first 3,000 miles of the trip went well. The weather was good, the kids were glued to[8] electronic devices, the dogs behaved and the cat slept.
They entered Canada through the province of Saskatchewan. Border authorities checked Marchessault’s paperwork and warned her to keep to the main roads and stop only when necessary for food or gas.
The family would have to order any food to-go[9], even at motels they stayed in along the way. She was allotted five days to drive through Canada and get to the US border in Alaska.

White-knuckling[10] it all the way[11]

The farther north they traveled, the worse the weather got. Marchessault, who was raised in the South, encountered her first winter white-out[12] conditions. Then she ran out of windshield wiping fluid[13]. Slush[14] covered her windows and she couldn’t see to drive. Even scarier — her tires seemed to be losing traction[15].
「So I pull up to the gas station,」 she said. 「My kids had to go to the restroom, they put their masks on, so I was out at the vehicle … I’m a complete wreck — I was crying at this point — and a woman came out of the gas station. She says 『Are you okay?』」
「At this point, I just needed to vent to somebody, and it all just started to come out. I explained how I was having trouble getting up the road, and I wasn’t getting any traction, and she said: 『Let’s check your tires.』 I was under the impression I had all-weather tires, that’s what the dealership told me, but she checked and she said: 『Honey, these are summer tires.』 「
Frozen windshields and a shredded tire
That good Samaritan[16] drove Marchessault to a tire store, where they were able to change them on the spot.
But Marchessault was done with driving.
「I’m not usually one to throw in the towel[17], but I threw in the towel,」 she said.
「I told my husband: Border patrol can just come and get us where we are. That’s the only way we’re leaving Canada at this point.」

Friendly Canadians make spirits bright

The Marchessaults found a motel and went to bed. That’s when the kind folks[18] in and around Wonowon, British Columbia, got to work, putting out a plea[19] on Facebook for someone to drive the Marchessaults, their truck and their U-Haul the last 1,056 miles to the border. The trip takes a good driver, familiar with the perilous Alaska Highway, about two days.
Marchessault’s husband wasn’t thrilled about the idea of a stranger driving his family that far, but he wasn’t legally able to enter Canada during the pandemic to go get them himself.
And if the Marchessault family didn’t get to the border soon, they would go past the five-day maximum they were given to get to Alaska.

What fun it is to meet a ranger (when things are most dire[20])

Gary Bath, a ranger whose job includes training members of the Canadian military to survive the Arctic, was at home when he saw his friend’s post about the stranded American family[21].
「After watching the post for a bit I saw no one was able (to help), so I talked to my wife and we made the decision that I would drive her the whole way to the border,」 Bath said.
Both families met over the internet, and when they decided they were all comfortable with the plan, Bath and his wife drove to meet the family at the motel.
While Marchessault admits making the trip so late in the year turned out to be an error in judgment, allowing Bath to drive them wasn’t.

注友新聞

注釋[1] ranger

注釋:別動隊員

備註:美 [ˈreɪndʒər]
英 [ˈreɪndʒər]
n. 突擊隊員；漫遊者；騎警；別動隊員

[2] Dashing

注釋:猛衝

備註:美 [ˈdæʃɪŋ]
英 [ˈdæʃɪŋ]
v. 猛衝（dash 的現在分詞）
adj. （尤指男子）風度翩翩的，浪漫迷人的；時髦的，流行的

[3] staff sergeant

注釋:陸軍上士

備註:（美）參謀軍士；（英）陸軍上士

[4] U-Haul

注釋:拖車

備註:n. 出租卡車公司名（等於You Haul）

[5] packed up all their belongings

注釋:收拾好他們所有的東西

[6] balmy

注釋:溫和的

備註:美 [ˈbɑːmi]
英 [ˈbɑːmi]
adj. 芳香的；溫和的；止痛的

[7] got things in order

注釋:把事情安排妥當

[8] glued to

注釋:盯住不放

備註:不願離開；盯住不放;粘在

[9] order any food to-go

注釋:點任何外帶食物

[10] White-knuckling

注釋:引起神經緊張的

[11] White-knuckling it all the way

注釋:一直緊張不安

[12] white-out

注釋:極地大暴風雪

備註:n. 極地大暴風雪；疏排；修正液

[13] windshield wiping fluid

注釋:擋風玻璃擦拭液

[14] Slush

注釋:爛泥

備註:美 [slʌʃ]
英 [slʌʃ]
n. 爛泥；汙水；水泥砂漿；胡說八道
vt. 濺溼；給…灌砂漿；給…上潤滑油
vi. 濺潑；在融雪中走

[15] losing traction

注釋:失去動力

[16] Samaritan

注釋:樂善好施者

備註:美 [səˈmærɪtən]
英 [səˈmærɪtən]
n. 撒馬利亞人；樂善好施者
adj. 撒馬利亞人的

[17] throw in the towel

注釋:認輸

備註:認輸
throw in the towel
    扔毛巾
    拱手認負
    放棄

[18] kind folks

注釋:善良的人

[19] putting out a plea

注釋:提出請求

[20] dire

注釋:極差的

備註:美 [daɪr]
英 [daɪə(r)]
adj.極其嚴重的；危急的；極糟的；極差的

[21] the stranded American family

注釋:被困的美國家庭

A Canadian man drives a stranded American family 1,000 miles to Alaska(2)

「I’m a very good judge of character[1], I knew that I made the right choice, and these were good people,」 Marchessault said.
With Bath behind the wheel, Marchessault was able to relax and reflect on what she』d been through[2] when she』d try to drive under the same conditions.
「I’m sure my son was happy he didn’t have to comfort me anymore as I cried … it was more of a 『dry heave[3]』 cry,[4]」 she explained, while laughing.
「You can’t cry with actual tears because then you can’t see the road — and I was just gripping the steering wheel with white knuckles[5].」

And home to Alaska tonight!

Bath found the long drive uneventful[6] (except for a blown tire[7] that was fixed quickly) and the company enjoyable.
「We both have military experience so we talked about military life, told stories of family, the kids played games, and Lynn and I found out we are both weird[8] and like the MRE’s — the military food,」 Bath said.
He drove them to a Canadian border checkpoint where the Marchessaults handed in their paperwork and the new friends parted ways.
「We just clicked[9] from the get-go[10],」 Marchessaults said said of Bath. 「Just like old friends. it was a really nice drive. He deserves all the credit[11]. He’s a good guy.」

注友新聞

注釋[1] I’m a very good judge of character

注釋:我很會判斷人的性格

[2] reflect on what she』d been through

注釋:回想她所經歷的一切

[3] heave

注釋:嘔吐

備註:美 [hiːv]
英 [hiːv]
vt. 舉起；使起伏；投擲；噁心；發出（嘆息等）
vi. 起伏；舉起；喘息；嘔吐
n. 舉起；起伏；投擲；一陣嘔吐

[4] it was more of a 『dry heave』 cry,

注釋:那更像是一種「乾嘔」的叫聲，

[5] knuckles

注釋:指節

備註:n. 壓關節，指關節（knuckle複數形式）
v. 以指節打；以手指射（knuckle的第三人稱單數形式）

[6] uneventful

注釋:平淡無奇

備註:美 [ˌʌnɪˈventfl]
英 [ˌʌnɪˈventfl]
adj. 平凡的；平靜無事的

[7] a blown tire

注釋:爆胎

[8] weird

注釋:奇怪的

備註:美 [wɪəd]
英 [wɪəd]
adj. 怪異的；不可思議的；超自然的

[9] clicked

注釋:相處愉快

備註:美 [klɪk]
英 [klɪk]
v.情投意合；達到目的；(演技)博得喝彩；賭贏
n.【計】(滑鼠的)點擊；門閂；【機】棘爪；的答聲

[10] from the get-go

注釋:從一開始

[11] deserves all the credit

注釋:值得所有的讚揚