For about the five years after graduating from an upstanding liberal arts university, this was my day job. 自从我五年前从一所正派的文理学院毕业起，这是我白天的工作。

　　I was a self-employed living statue called the Eight-Foot Bride, and I love telling people I did this for a job,  我是一座个体经营的、名为“8英尺新娘”的活雕像，我喜欢告诉别人这是我的工作，

　　because everybody always wants to know, who are these freaks in real life. 因为大家都想知道，这些怪人在真实生活中到底是什么样的。

　　Hello. 大家好。

　　I painted myself white one day, stood on a box, put a hat or a can at my feet,  我每天把自己涂白，站在一个盒子上，在脚边放一顶帽子或者一个罐子，

　　and when someone came by and dropped in money, I handed them a flower -- and some intense eye contact.  如果有路过的人向里面投钱，我递给他们一朵花，并且和他们进行强烈的眼神交流。

　　And if they didn't take the flower, I threw in a gesture of sadness and longing -- as they walked away. 如果他们没有收下花，我就表现出悲伤和充满渴望的样子看着他们慢慢走远。

　　So I had the most profound encounters with people, especially lonely people who looked like they hadn't talked to anyone in weeks,  我与人有着最深层次的接触，尤其是那些看起来好几个星期都没有与人交流的孤独者，

　　and we would get this beautiful moment of prolonged eye contact being allowed in a city street,  我们共享一个美好的时刻，城市街道上可以发生的一次漫长眼神交流，

　　and we would sort of fall in love a little bit.  我们都感觉好像有点爱上对方。

　　And my eyes would say -- "Thank you. I see you." And their eyes would say -- "Nobody ever sees me. Thank you." 我的眼睛会说，“谢谢。我看到你了。”他们的眼睛则会说，“从来没有人在意我的存在。谢谢你。”