in 2001,

在 2001 年出版時，

I returned to my old elementary school

我回到我的小學

to talk to the students about being an author

和學生交流，

and an illustrator,

談論了身為作家和插畫家的經歷。

and when I was setting up my slide projector

當我正在準備我的投影機時，

in the cafetorium,

就在學校餐廳大禮堂，

I looked across the room,

我望了一下禮堂內，

and there she was:

我看到了她，

my old lunch lady.

我小時候的午餐阿姨。

She was still there at the school

那時候，她仍然在學校服務。

and she was busily preparing lunches for the day.

她當時正忙著準備著當天的午餐。

So I approached her to say hello,

我走向她，並向她打聲招呼。

and I said, "Hi, Jeannie! How are you?"

我對她說：「嗨，金妮！你好嗎？」

And she looked at me, and I could tell

然後她望著我，

that she recognized me,

我知道她大概認出我來，

but she couldn't quite place me, and she looked at me and she said,

但她好像不太確定。

"Stephen Krosoczka?"

然後，她看著我說：

And I was amazed that she knew I was a Krosoczka,

「史蒂芬・古莎斯卡？」

but Stephen is my uncle who is 20 years older than I am,

然後，我很驚訝

and she had been his lunch lady when he was a kid.

她還記得我姓古莎斯卡。

And she started telling me about her grandkids,

但是，史蒂芬是我叔叔，

and that blew my mind.

他比我整整大了 20歲。

My lunch lady had grandkids,

他還小的時候，她也是他的午餐阿姨。

and therefore kids,

她開始告訴我她孫子們的事，

and therefore left school at the end of the day?

這一切實在太震撼了！

I thought she lived in the cafeteria

我的午餐阿姨竟然有孫子，

with the serving spoons.

這表示她有兒女，也表示

I had never thought about any of that before.

她每晚都會下班離開學校？

Well, that chance encounter inspired my imagination,

我一直以為她住在學校餐廳和湯匙當室友，

and I created the Lunch Lady graphic novel series,

我以前從來沒想過有這些事情。

a series of comics about a lunch lady

所以，那一次的機緣

who uses her fish stick nunchucks

激發了我的想像力，

to fight off evil cyborg substitutes,

我創作了一系列漫畫小說：午餐俠女。

a school bus monster, and mutant mathletes,

這一系列的漫畫

and the end of every book,

是關於一位午餐阿姨，

they get the bad guy with their hairnet,

她會用她的麥香魚雙截棍

and they proclaim, "Justice is served!"

打擊邪惡的機器人、

(Laughter) (Applause)

一個校車怪獸以及變種數學家。

And it's been amazing, because the series

每本書的結局都是，

was so welcomed into the reading lives of children,

她們會用廚娘網帽，逮捕犯人。

and they sent me the most amazing letters

然後，她們會大聲高呼： 「正義上菜！」

and cards and artwork.

（ 笑聲和掌聲 ）

And I would notice as I would visit schools,

這一切實在太酷了！

the lunch staff would be involved in the programming

因為一直以來這一系列，

in a very meaningful way.

在孩子的閱讀世界裡很受歡迎。

And coast to coast,

孩子們寄給我看過最棒的信件、

all of the lunch ladies told me the same thing:

卡片以及畫作。

"Thank you for making a superhero in our likeness."

然後，當我參訪學校時我會注意到

Because the lunch lady has not been treated

餐廳員工會一同參與活動，

very kindly in popular culture over time.

以一種很有意義的方式參與。

But it meant the most to Jeannie.

從東岸到西岸，

When the books were first published,

所有的午餐阿姨

I invited her to the book launch party,

都告訴我一樣的事情。

and in front of everyone there,

感謝你以我們的形象

everyone she had fed over the years,

打造一個超級英雄。

I gave her a piece of artwork and some books.

因為，午餐阿姨們在過去都沒有

And two years after this photo was taken,

被主流社會好好對待過。

she passed away,

但對於金妮最為特別，

and I attended her wake,

當漫畫第一次出版時，

and nothing could have prepared me for what I saw there,

我邀請她參加新書出版派對。

because next to her casket was this painting,

當時在眾人的面前，

and her husband told me it meant so much to her

所有她所服務過的人們，

that I had acknowledged her hard work,

我送給她一幅畫作和一些書籍。

I had validated what she did.

拍完這張照片的兩年後，

And that inspired me to create a day

她過世了。

where we could recreate that feeling

我參加了她的告別式。

in cafeterias across the country:

我完全沒想到 會在告別式看到一樣東西，

School Lunch Hero Day, a day where kids

因為，在她的棺木旁邊

can make creative projects for their lunch staff.

放的就是這幅畫。

And I partnered with the School Nutrition Association,

她先生告訴我，

and did you know that a little over 30 million kids

這幅畫對她意義非凡。

participate in school lunch programs every day.

因為我看到她的工作表現。

That equals up to a little over five billion lunches

我肯定她所付出的一切。

made every school year.

這件事啟發我打造一個紀念日，

And the stories of heroism go well beyond

讓我們大家可以重溫那份感覺，

just a kid getting a few extra chicken nuggets

就在全國各地的學校餐廳裡：

on their lunch tray.

「校園午餐英雄日」。

There is Ms. Brenda in California,

這一天，小朋友們會做一些創意作品

who keeps a close eye on every student that comes through her line

送給他們的餐廳員工。

and then reports back to the guidance counselor

我也與「校園營養協會」合作。

if anything is amiss.

你們是否知道有超過 30 萬個兒童，

There are the lunch ladies in Kentucky

每天參加學校的營養午餐。

who realized that 67 percent of their students

每一年大約超過 50 億份午餐，

relied on those meals every day,

來自全美各校。

and they were going without food over the summer,

這些英雄故事不僅僅只是

so they retrofitted a school bus

小朋友在午餐盤上多拿到一些雞塊。

to create a mobile feeding unit,

有一位在加州的布蘭達女士，

and they traveled around the neighborhoods

她會注意每一個她所服務的學生，

feedings 500 kids a day during the summer.

然後回報給輔導員

And kids made the most amazing projects.

學生有任何不對勁的地方。

I knew they would.

有一群位於肯塔基州的午餐阿姨們，

Kids made hamburger cards

她們發現 67％ 的學生

that were made out of construction paper.

每天必須依靠這一頓午餐。

They took photos of their lunch lady's head

而這些學生在暑假時，沒東西吃。

and plastered it onto my cartoon lunch lady

所以，她們改裝了一台校車，

and fixed that to a milk carton

打造了一個移動供應站

and presented them with flowers.

在周圍社區穿行，

And they made their own comics,

在暑假時，她們一天餵養 500 個小朋友。

starring the cartoon lunch lady

小朋友做了全世界最棒的勞作，

alongside their actual lunch ladies.

我早就知道，他們很棒的。

And they made thank you pizzas,

小朋友製作了漢堡卡片，

where every kid signed a different topping

用勞作紙製作而成。

of a construction paper pizza.

他們拍了一張張午餐阿姨的大頭照，

For me, I was so moved by the response

接上我漫畫「午餐俠女」的身體，

that came from the lunch ladies,

然後貼在牛奶盒上

because one woman said to me, she said,

和花朵一起展示。

"Before this day, I felt like I was

他們自創自己的漫畫，

at the end of the planet at this school.

主要演員為「午餐俠女」，

I didn't think that anyone noticed us down here."

以及他們現實生活中的午餐阿姨。

Another woman said to me,

他們製作了「感恩比薩」，

"You know, what I got out of this

小朋友為每一個不同的配料上簽名，

is that what I do is important."

在一個個勞作紙做成的比薩上面。

And of course what she does is important.

對我而言，我好感動地

What they all do is important.

看到午餐阿姨們的反應。

They're feeding our children every single day,

因為，有一位女士跟我說，

and before a child can learn,

在今天以前，我總覺得

their belly needs to be full,

自己置身於學校的邊緣角落。

and these women and men

我不覺得會有人注意到我們。

are working on the front lines to create

另一位女士則告訴我，

an educated society.

你知道嗎，我透過這個活動，

So I hope that

了解到我的工作如此重要。

you don't wait for School Lunch Hero Day

她的工作當然很重要，

to say thank you to your lunch staff,

她們所從事的一切如此有意義。

and I hope that you remember

每一天，她們為我們的孩子提供食物。

how powerful a thank you can be.

在孩子開始學習之前，

A thank you can change a life.

他們的肚子需要填飽。

It changes the life of the person who receives it,

而這些工作人員，

and it changes the life of the person

就在最前線工作，

who expresses it.

並打造一個深具教育意義的社會。

Thank you.

因此，我希望

(Applause)

大家不必等到校園午餐英雄日，