Almost 22 years ago I was at a conference in Halifax, Novia Scotia.

大約二十二年前，我到加拿大新斯科舍省的哈利法克斯參加一場會議

One of the contributors to this was a high school classmate of Fidel Castro

其中一位講者剛好是卡斯楚的高中同學

who told the following story to me:

這位講者向我娓娓道來以下的故事：

Fidel Castro invented a game

卡斯楚曾經發明一個遊戲

at the Catholic all boy’s high school where he went in Eastern Cuba.

當時就讀位在古巴東部一所天主教男子高中

So he invented a game which had the following characteristics:

卡斯楚發明的遊戲有以下幾個特點：

find a bicycle, establish some distance

找一台腳踏車、選好一段距離

a quarter mile maybe

大概四分之一英里(譯註：常為賽跑的標準距離)

between where the bicycle begins with a rider

四分之一英里的一端，是腳踏車騎士

and a brick wall... Can’t be covered, no padding, it’s just brick.

另一端，則是一面磚瓦牆，沒有任何粉刷，也沒有軟墊覆蓋，就是只有磚塊而已

The goal is to be the last person standing-bloodied,

贏得比賽的關鍵是，成為最後一位鮮血直流卻還站得挺直的人

you have to be bloodied or you can’t win this game.

你必須要流血，不然不算贏得比賽

But, if you crash into the wall going full speed,

但是，假如你全速前進，撞上那面牆

are thrown over the handle bars of the bike into the brick wall,

並在撞上磚瓦牆時，仍緊握腳踏車把手

and you get up,

還爬得起來

you go to the next round.

你就可以晉級下一輪比賽

A lot of people will stop.

許多人會停下來

A lot of people will kind of sort of ease their way and slide into it.

許多人會減慢速度，在撞上牆前，向旁滑行

The person who is willing to sacrifice the most,

願意接受最多犧牲的參賽者

who is willing to take it to the limit,

願意用盡全力的參賽者

maybe to die-- I mean in principle,

或許還有可能死掉，我是指原則上有可能

smash his skull against the brick wall

敢粉身碎骨撞上磚瓦牆的人

that guy wins the game.

就是比賽最終贏家

This guy said Fidel Castro never lost this game.

會議中的講者告訴我，卡斯楚從未輸過比賽

He refused to lose this game.

他不接受成為比賽的輸家

If it was a tie they had to go into overtime.

如果比賽情況剛好拉成平手，參賽者就進入延長賽

They had to do it again, over and over again.

參賽者必須一而再、再而三地競爭

Fidel: undefeated world champion suicide bike driver…

卡斯楚：戰無不勝的世界第一「自殺型腳踏車選手」

That personality then became the leader of revolutionary Cuba on Jan 1, 1959.

這樣的人格特質造就出一九五九年「古巴革命武裝力量」的領導人

In the Cuban Missile Crisis,

在古巴飛彈危機時

on what became the last weekend of the crisis,

也是危機的最後一週

Castro felt that Khrushchev did not have the courage to take it to the limit…

卡斯楚覺得赫魯雪夫並沒有勇氣奮力一搏

to take it all the way to nuclear war

在核武戰爭時全速前進

and to destroy the United States.

並摧毀美利堅共和國

He just felt this.

卡斯楚就是有這種預感

He had seen it happen just a couple days before

在幾天前，他驗證了自己的預測

when Khrushchev had ordered his ships to turn around

當時赫魯雪夫命令他掌管的船轉向

when they got to the blockade line, the quarantine line,

這些船隻當時剛好迫近封鎖線，也就是隔離線

and he wondered:

他心想：

Does that man have the kind of courage to deal with the Americans?

赫魯雪夫這男人有足夠的勇氣和美國人打交道嗎？

Khrushchev sort of lacks that certain something

赫魯雪夫似乎缺乏某些必要特質

that were Khrushchev a Cuban in the old days

就像是過往歲月，赫魯雪夫面對的就像卡斯楚在古巴童年時期的那道牆

would have also led him to want to smack his face into a brick wall

卡斯楚希望赫魯雪夫能撞上那面磚瓦牆

to see if he could be the last bloodied person standing in this game.

並測試看看他是否能在比賽結束後，帶著血跡仍挺直腰桿

He writes a letter to Khrushchev thinking that he needs to encourage him

卡斯楚寫了一封鼓勵赫魯雪夫的信

not to worry about Fidel, not to worry about the Cubans.

叫赫魯雪夫不用擔心他，也不需要擔心古巴人民

That they are willing to go all the way.

古巴人願意勇敢向前進

They are willing to martyr themselves for world socialism;

古巴人願意為全球社會主義壯烈犧牲

they are willing to hit that wall, to bleed on that wall,

古巴人願意撞上那面牆，留下血跡

and to go down and to die at the foot of that wall if necessary.

必要的話，摔落並死在牆角下也在所不惜

If Khrushchev will pledge that in the event of an invasion,

假如赫魯雪夫能在美國的侵略行動中保證

in the event of a Cuban essentially suicidal attempt

古巴人民願意從中自殺成仁

to defend their island from American nuclear weapons,

去保衛自己的家園，受美國核子武器的襲擊

If Khrushchev will say to him, “That’s fine. Thank you for that kind of pledge”

假如赫魯雪夫會告訴卡斯楚：「沒問題，謝謝你的承諾，

that “We really appreciate that.

我們真的由衷感謝像你這樣的決心。」

Yes, we will attack the US in the event of an invasion of Cuba.

是的，我們會在美國侵略古巴時，出兵攻擊美國

We will try to destroy it once and forever

我們會努力摧毀美國，之後再也高枕無憂

if that’s what’s required, Comrade Fidel,

如果這些都是必要的，親愛的卡斯楚同志

then, Yes, we’ll do it.

沒錯，我們會付諸行動

Well he never got that response.

然而，卡斯楚從未收到赫魯雪夫諸如此類的回覆

Instead he got a response from Khrushchev that went something like this:

卡斯楚反而收到赫魯雪夫如此回覆：

“Oh my God! Have you lost your mind?”

「天啊，你現在是喪心病狂嗎？

Well, that was deeply disappointing...

嗯，這還真叫人失望…」

that Khrushchev if he would’ve gone to Fidel’s high school

假如赫魯雪夫在卡斯楚的高中就讀

he would have been one of the first chickens to drop out of the bicycle game…

赫魯雪夫大概是第一個腳踏車賽慘遭淘汰的弱者

and then Fidel had to admit that he was left basically with nothing.

此時卡斯楚必須承認，赫魯雪夫什麼都沒留給他

He knew the Americans were coming,

他知道美國人已不斷逼近

and now he knew that the Soviets were going to back off-

而如今他也明白蘇維埃早就一去不回

that it was all kind of a game and they were going to take their weapons and go home.

就像一切都只是場遊戲，蘇維埃就這樣帶著武器打道回府了