The Husband Who Vanished
Joseph P. Blank
1 The McDonnells lived in Larchmont, a suburb of New York City. Jim was foreman of mail carriers at the post office where he had worked for 25 years. Married in 1960, he and Anne were childless.
2 During February and March 1971, Jim McDonnell suffered a curious series of accidents. None was critical in itself, but the combination appeared to trigger a strange result.
3 Carrying out the garbage one evening, he slipped on ice-coated steps, bruised his back and struck his head. A few days later, driving to work, he lost control of the car, hit a telephone pole and banged his forehead against the windshield. Ten days later he again lost control of his car and hit a pole. Found unconscious, he was hospitalized for three days with a cerebral concussion.
4 On March 29, 1971, Jim borrowed a friend’s station wagon and drove to Kennedy Airport to pick up Anne’s brother. When he returned the borrowed car at 10 p.m., Jim declined the offer of a ride home. Ordinarily the walk would have taken about 15 minutes.
5 At 11:15 p.m. Anne called the owner of the station wagon; he had no idea why Jim had not yet reached home. At 2 a.m., Anne called the police and reported her husband missing.
6 Investigation confirmed that McDonnell’s personal and professional records were impeccable, and turned up no evidence that he had been a victim of an accident or attack. The only explanation was amnesia.
7 The phenomenon of amnesia is clouded in mystery. What is known is that loss of memory can be caused by stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, alcoholism — or by blows to the head. Any individual whose brain has suffered such injuries can simply wander aimlessly away from the place where he lives, with all knowledge of his past blacked out.
8 For weeks, Anne walked the house wringing her hands and praying. At night, watching television, she would stare at the overstuffed armchair where Jim had dozed off evenings. She often dreamed he had come home, only to wake up and find he wasn’t there.
9 Soon after Jim’s disappearance, to earn a living, she tried various kinds of jobs; in 1977 she took her current job as a nursing attendant.
10 Anne fell into the habit of working at the hospital on holidays because it was easier if she kept busy. Through it all, she had faith that Jim would return. She kept his clothes in the closet covered to protect them from dust. His razor and can of shaving cream remained in the bathroom cabinet.
11 During his walk home, Jim had indeed blacked out, losing all ability to remember who he was and where he lived. What happened then is unclear. He may have taken the train to Grand Central Terminal, then another train or a bus south. The next thing he knew, he was in downtown Philadelphia, a city he had never visited before.
12 Seeing signs advertising the services of a James Peters, a real estate broker, Jim adopted James Peters as his own name. He had no past; his only reality was the present.
13 James Peters took a job in the P&P luncheonette. Jim made new friends. He never talked about his past, and his friends didn’t pry.
14 Bernadine Golashovsky, a waitress at P&P, recalls: “My father had died and Jim apparently had no family, so after he started at P&P we adopted each other. He became my father figure, and we – my husband, Pete, our four children and I — were his family. The children loved him.”
15 On Thanksgiving Day 1985, Jim visited the family and sat watching television with Pete. A scene appeared in which a mail carrier was making deliveries on a rainy day. Deep in thought, Jim said, “I think I used to be a postman.”
16 “Really? Where?”
17 “I don’t know.”
18 “New York?”
19 “I’m not sure. But I think I remember my parents a little.”
20 Jim spent every Christmas Eve with Bernadine and Pete. On this Christmas Eve he never arrived. Bernadine and Pete stayed up all night waiting for him.
21 On December 22, Jim had fallen and banged his head. The next day he had fallen again, striking his head. On December 24, he awoke feeling confused, yet elated. After almost 15 years, he knew who he was! He was James A. McDonnell, Jr., of Larchmont, New York. His wife’s name was Anne. Then, suddenly, he was scared: Is Anne alive? Has she remarried? If not, how will she greet me?
22 Anne had just returned home from Christmas Mass, and she was about to leave for Christmas dinner at her sister’s when the doorbell rang. Anne opened the door — and peered at a man. Immediately she recognized Jim. She couldn’t speak.
23 “Hello, Anne,” he said.
24 “Jim,” she gasped. “Is it true?” Her breathing came in bursts, as if she had been running. They were too stunned to fall into each other’s arms. The embraces and the tears would come later.
25 After 15 years, Jim McDonnell was home at last.
失踪的丈夫
约瑟夫·P·布兰克
1麦克唐奈夫妇住在纽约郊区拉奇蒙特。吉姆是邮递领班，在邮局工作了25年。他和安妮1960年结婚，没有子女。
21971年2-3月间，吉姆·麦克唐奈一连出了几起蹊跷事故。每个事故本身都不怎么严重，但叠加起来似乎就触发了一个奇怪的结果。
3一天晚上他出去倒垃圾，在结了冰的台阶上滑倒，擦伤了脊背，脑袋也撞了一下。几天后他开车上班，车子失控撞上电线杆，人也一头撞在挡风玻璃上。十天后他再度车子失控撞上电线杆。他失去意识，被人发现，因脑震荡住了三天医院。
41971年3月29日，吉姆借了朋友的旅行轿车去肯尼迪机场接小舅子。晚上10点他还了车，没让朋友开车送他回家。通常那段路步行差不多15分钟。
5安妮当晚11点15分给车主打电话，车主也不明白吉姆怎么还没到家。次日凌晨2点，安妮电话报警丈夫失踪。
6调查证实，麦克唐奈私生活、工作上都清清白白，也没有任何证据显示他遭遇事故或受到袭击。唯一的解释只有失忆。
7失忆现象一直是个谜。人们知道的是，导致记忆丧失的可以是中风、老年痴呆症、酗酒，或脑部受到重击。大脑遭受过这种损伤的人会漫无目的地从他们住的地方走失，完全不记得从前的事。
8一连几个星期，安妮在家里踱来踱去，一筹莫展，只能祈祷。晚上看电视时，她会盯着那张加厚软垫扶手椅，吉姆晚上常坐在那打瞌睡。她常梦见他回家了，醒来却不见人影。
9吉姆失踪后不久，为了生计，她干过各种活；1977年她当上了护理员，一直干到现在。
10安妮养成了节假日在医院值班的习惯，因为要是一直忙着，日子就容易打发一些。这些年来，她始终相信吉姆会回到家里。她把他的衣服仍都放在衣橱里，罩好防尘罩。他的剃须刀和剃须霜仍放在卫生间橱柜里。
11那天吉姆在回家的路上确实失去了记忆，怎么也记不起自己是谁，住哪儿。接下来发生了什么没人说得清楚。他可能是坐上了去纽约中央车站的火车，接着又上了往南开的火车或长途汽车。接下去他知道的是，自己到了以前从没去过的费城市中心。
12看到詹姆士·彼得斯房产中介的广告招牌，吉姆就给自己取名詹姆士·彼得斯。他没有过去，他唯一的现实就是当下。
13詹姆士·彼得斯在P&P便餐店找到了一份工作。吉姆交上了新朋友。他只字不提过去的事，他的朋友也不打听。
14P&P便餐店女招待伯纳迪恩·格拉什维斯基回忆到：“我父亲去世了，吉姆孤身一人，所以，自从他在店里干活后，我们差不多就成了一家人。他多多少少替代了我父亲，我们全家——我丈夫皮特，四个孩子，还有我，就是他的家人。孩子们都喜欢他。”
151985年感恩节那天，吉姆来到他们家，坐着和皮特一起看电视。屏幕上出现了邮递员雨天投送邮件的镜头。吉姆深深思索着，说道，“我觉得我从前是邮递员。”
16“真的？在哪儿？”
17“我不知道。”
18“在纽约？”
19“说不准。不过好像我有点儿记得我父母的事。”
20吉姆每个圣诞夜都和伯纳迪恩、皮特他们一起度过。这年的圣诞夜他却没来。伯纳迪恩和皮特等了他一夜。
2112月22日，吉姆摔了一跤，撞着了头。第二天又摔倒，又撞了头。12月24日，他醒来时感觉既迷茫又高兴。将近15年过后，他终于知道自己是谁了！他是小詹姆士·A·麦克唐奈，纽约拉奇蒙特人，老婆叫安妮。接着，他一下子紧张起来：安妮还活着吗？有没有再跟别人结婚？没有的话，她看到我会怎么反应？
22安妮做完平安夜弥撒刚回到家，正准备出门去姐姐家圣诞聚餐时，门铃响了。安妮打开门，盯着一个男人看。她一下子认出了吉姆，愣得说不出话来。
23“嗨，安妮，”他开口道。
24“吉姆，”她倒抽了一口气。“这是真的吗？”她气都喘不过来，就好像刚刚奔跑过似的。两个人惊呆了，甚至忘记了拥抱。过了半天，他们才泪流满面地拥抱在一起。
2515年后，吉姆·麦克唐奈终于回到了家。
