儿子的钢琴老师

    暑假过后从中国回来，没有马上让儿子曰曰去上钢琴课，假期近三个月没摸过钢琴，估计他手生的只有让老师——Mr.Masluk难过的份儿。

Mr.Masluk是一个满头银发、和蔼可亲的老人，一生从事钢琴演奏、教学和创作，他的学生中都已有小有成就的钢琴家。他是一个浸染在艺术世界的人，已过不惑、知天命之年，却不谙熟“处事为人”与人沟通交流之道，只凭自己的率真、善良和对音乐的酷爱倾心于他的教学和授业。孩子的进步与好学他形于一个温和的微笑，表达在琴键上他灵巧如燕的指端流出的赋予了生命的音乐示范；孩子调皮、不认真则是他轻声的一声叹息，和眉间的一丝无奈，但从未听他高声训斥过一个孩子。

一次带曰曰去上Group lessons，见他神色低沉，从他与另一个家长的谈话中知道，有个孩子回家不肯练琴，来上课时，他说“你拒绝练琴，我也只好拒绝教琴，请你回去练过后，再来上课”他说，“你看，我多坏......”,那天下午他对自己进行了禁食的惩罚。就是这样一个善良的老人，因为语言的关系，我们没有太多的交流，但我们全家都喜欢他。

他鼓励孩子们利用每一个可能的机会去听音乐会，如果音乐会上你有心巡视一番观众席，就一定会发现在一个稍稍远离人群、偏远一些的角落沉醉在音乐中的白发老人。

曰曰刚转到他那儿学琴时，他刚刚第一次癌症手术痊愈，看上去精神很好。一年多以后，Mr. Masluk 说自己的时间可能不多了，需要花多一些精力来整理他创作的音乐作品，是该退出教学生涯的时候了。那个孩子们告别演出结束时，家长孩子们神色凝重地和先生依依惜别，在握住老人手的那一刻，我的眼泪涌出来，道一声珍重，再说不出更多的话来。事实上那次曰曰并没有真的离开他们老师，因为Mr.Masluk还是留了几个心爱的学生，希望在他有生之年多培养几个孩子……

我敦促着曰曰用心练琴，希望回去上课时不会让他太失望。可有一天，从choir class回来的曰曰却带来了“Mr.Masluk病了......”的消息。“我们去看他......”，“妈妈，还是不要去了，那只会让他更伤心，我们也更伤心......”曰曰的理由确实但不充分，我一直惦念着“也不知道Mr.Masluk好了没有......”却也对曰曰的倔强无可奈何。

前天给曰曰choir的bee老师打电话，bee提到Mr.Masluk去年9月份就已经走了，而且她告诉过曰曰，那一刻我都明白了，曰曰为了不让我难过，隐瞒了实情。“这孩子......” 儿子性格倔强，说话又冲又硬，像极了他的dad。可我倔强的宝贝儿子，又有多么细腻柔软的心怀，只有11岁的他已经懂得心疼、呵护妈妈了。

下午接曰曰放学回家的路上，我说，“上午我跟bee老师通过电话了，我都知道了，Mr.Masluk……，为什么不告诉妈妈？”

“我不想你难过……”儿子的眼睛望着窗外，车窗外细雨在玻璃上一道道一行行纷乱地流淌着，我和儿子都不再说话，湿湿的空气中只有轻柔的音乐和着窗外的雨丝在飘，儿子令人心暖的关怀让我强忍住了盈满眼眶的泪水。快到家的时候，我说“写点什么吧，纪念你们的老师……”，“嗯”曰曰点点头。

钢琴的旁边我摆了鲜花，卡片上写下了“安息吧，尊敬的先生，我们永远怀念你！”曰曰在他的文中写道，“I was sorry that I had been such a lazy student. I guess it is too late now because he has vanished from the Earth，but I will always remember him. Remember Eugene Masluk.”

我说，“There will be a lot of regrets in our lives since human beings are smug and stubborn. But also,regrets are our teachers if we are smart. I hope you have learnt something deep in your heart.”

 

附：

As I play piano, I remember my teacher. The famous Eugene Masluk. He was my teacher for over 2 years but he recently passed away. He died after getting cancer for the second time. He was in his mid 70’s and he was such a good man. He used to play piano concerts all over the world.

I miss going to his piano classes. We would always have a group class first. If we played a piece perfectly then we would earn money. I never got any money except once because I didn’t try my best to play flawless. There was one kid who always played and 9 out of 10 chances, he would go home with a dollar or 2 in his pocket. Now that my teacher is gone, I wish I had tried harder to play more efficiently. My teacher always remarked at my talent and said I could become a great piano player as long as I use my brain while playing piano and tried hard. I never did.

Then when the school year came to a close, my dad was working in China so we went back for the summer and that was the last I ever saw of him. 3 months passed and we came back.  One day when I was a choir practice, my teacher, Bee Chow told me sadly, Mr. Masluk had gone off to live the afterlife. It was sad to know that he was gone forever. I was sorry that I had been such a lazy student. I guess it is too late now because he has vanished from the Earth but I will always remember him. Remember Eugene Masluk.