SAT精选文章.docx

SAT 精选文章 SAT 精选文章 June 18, 2010 What Broke MyFather ’sHeart ByKATY BUTLER One October afternoon three years ago while Iwas visiting myparents, mymother made arequest Idreaded and longed tofulfill. She had just poured meacup ofEarl Grey from her Japanese iron teapot, shaped like alittle pumpkin; outside, two cardinals splashed inthe birdbath inthe weak Connecticut sunlight. Her white hair was gathered atthe nape ofher neck, and her voice was low. “Please help meget Jeff ’spacemaker turned off, ”she said, using myfather ’sfirst name. Inodded, and myheart knocked. Upstairs, my85-year-old father, Jeffrey, aretired Wesleyan University professor who suffered from dementia, lay napping inwhat was once their shared bedroom. Sewn into ahump ofskin and muscle below his right clavicle was the pacemaker that helped his heart outlive his brain. The size ofapocket watch, ithad kept his heart beating rhythmically for nearly five years. Its battery was expected tolast five more. After tea, Iknew, mymother would help him from his narrow bed with its mattress encased inwaterproof plastic. She would take him tothe toilet, change his diaper and lead him tottering tothe couch, where he would sit mutely for hours, pretending toread Joyce Carol Oates, the book falling inhis lap ashestared out the window. Idon ’tlike describing what dementia did tomyfather —and indirectly tomymother —without telling you first that myparents loved each other, and Iloved them. That mymother, Valerie, could stain adeck and sew anevening dress from aphoto inVogue and thought ofmyfather asher best friend. That myfather had never given upeasily onanything. Born inSouth Africa, helost his left arm inWorld War II, but built floor-to-ceiling bookcases for our living room; earned . from Oxford; coached rugby; and with mytwo brothers ascrew, sailed his beloved Rhodes 19onLong Island Sound. When Iwas achild, hewoke me, chortling, with his gloss onaverse from “The Rubaiyat ofOmar Khayyam ”:“Awake, my little one! B