Onward and upward was the course she set. Small progress was no excuse for feeling satisfied with yourself. People who stopped to pat themselves on the back didn't last long. Even if you got to the top, you'd better not take it easy. "The bigger they come, the harder they fall" was one of her favorite maxims.
During my early years in the newspaper business, I began to entertain childish fantasies of revenge against Edwin. Wouldn't it be delightful if I became such an outstanding reporter that the New York Times hired me without knowing I was related to the Great Edwin? Wouldn't it be delicious if Edwin himself invited me into his huge office and said, "Tell me something about yourself, young man"? What exquisite vengeance to reply, "I am the only son of your poor cousin Lucy Elizabeth Robinson."
What would one day happen was right out of my wildest childhood fantasy. The New York Times did come knocking at my door, though Cousin Edwin had departed by the time I arrived. Eventually I would be offered one of the gaudiest prizes in American journalism: a column in the New York Times.
不断前进、不断向上，这就是她确定的道路。小小的进展不应成为沾沾自喜的理由，停步不前、自我陶醉的人好景不长；即使攀上高峰，你也最好不要松劲。“爬得越高，跌得越重”是她最喜欢的格言。
进入报界的头几年，我怀有一个充满孩子气的怪念头：对表叔埃德温“回敬”一下。如果我作为记者的声誉如此之高，以至《纽约时报》也来聘请，却不知我和大人物埃德温是亲戚，难道不是一件乐事吗？如果埃德温本人把我请进他的大办公室说，“谈谈你个人的情况，年轻人”，岂不是格外有趣？当我回答，“我就是你的穷表妹露西·伊丽莎白·罗宾逊唯一的儿子”，那又是多么美妙的一种“回敬”？
一天，事情的发展竟然完全超出我那孩子气的最荒唐的幻想。《纽约时报》真的来叩门了，不过当我应聘而至时，表叔埃德温已经离开报社。最后，他们还请我在《纽约时报》上开辟一个专栏，这在美国新闻界是最引人注目的竞争目标之一。
It was not a column meant to convey news, but a writer's column commenting on the news by using different literary forms: essay devices, satire, burlesque, sometimes even fiction. It was proof that my mother had been absolutely right when she sized me up early in life and steered me toward literature.
The column won its share of medals, including a Pulitzer Prize in 1979. My mother never knew about that. The circuitry of her brain had collapsed the year before, and she was in a nursing home, out of touch with life forevermore.
I can only guess how she'd have responded to news of the Pulitzer. I'm pretty sure she would have said, "That's nice, Buddy. It shows if you buckle down and work hard, you'll be able to make something of yourself one of these days."
它不是一个传播新闻的专栏，而是作家使用各种文学形式——随笔、讽刺、打油诗，有时甚至是小说——评论时事的专栏。它证明母亲早年对我做出的估价，以及后来引导我从事文学，是十分正确的。
这个专栏赢得了各种能获得的奖励，包括1979年的普利策奖。但母亲永远不会知道了，此前一年，她的脑循环系统失常，住进了疗养院，从此和社会生活断了联系。
我只能猜测母亲得知我获普利策奖时的反应，我相当肯定她会说：“不错呀，孩子。这说明，只要你认真干起来，努力不懈，总有一天能干出些成就来。”
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