But while performing and making music undoubtedlyremain as some of my greatest joys,when I was youngI wanted more than anything else to be a typical littleboy.I wanted to build tree houses, have water balloonfights, and play hide and seek with my friends. But fatehad it otherwise and all I could do was envy thelaughter and playtime that seemed to be going on allaround me.
毫无疑问，表演和音乐创作是我最大的乐趣，但年少时，我更想和其他的小男孩一样，和我的朋友搭树屋、打水仗、捉迷藏。但恰恰相反，命中注定我只能羡慕那些充斥在我周围的笑声和欢乐。
There was no respite from my professional life.But on Sundays I would go Pioneering, the termused for the missionary work that Jehovah's Witnesses do.And it was then that I was able to seethe magic of other people's childhood.
我的职业生活方式不允许我停下来。不过每逢星期天，我都会去“先锋会”，这是一个指代耶和华见证会传教工作的术语。那时，我就会设想别人充满魔力的童年。
Since I was already a celebrity, I would have to don a disguise of fat suit, wig, beard and glassesand we would spend the day in the suburbs of Southern California, going door-to-door or makingthe rounds of shopping malls, distributing our Watchtower magazine. I loved to set foot in all thoseregular suburban houses and catch sight of the shag rugs and La-Z-Boy armchairs with kids playingMonopoly and grandmas baby-sitting and all those wonderful, ordinary and starry scenes ofeveryday life.Many, I know, would argue that these things seem like no big deal. But to me theywere mesmerizing.
因为我已是名人，所以我不得不穿肥大的衣服、戴假发、留胡须、戴眼镜、把自己伪装起来。我们会在加州南部的郊区度过一整天，挨家挨户串门，或在各个购物中心闲逛，发放我们的《望塔》杂志。我也喜欢到普通的郊区居民家里去，看壁炉旁和拉兹男孩扶手椅上，小孩子们在玩大富翁的游戏、老奶奶在照看小孩，看所有那些普通却绚丽多彩的日常生活场景。我知道很多人会认为这些没什么大不了的，但它们对于我来说却充满了诱惑。
I used to think that I was unique in feeling that I was without a childhood. I believed that indeedthere were only a handful with whom I could share those feelings.
我过去常常认为唯独自己没有这种童年的感觉，我想能和我分享这种感觉的人更是少之又少。