除了我们的家人、亲戚朋友及同事外，我们身边的陌生人，也就是我们熟悉的，但叫不上名字的陌生人也是我们比较亲近的人了。原文作者为Alice Steinbach，本人进行了翻译。
We may look at the world around us, but somehow we manage not to see it until whatever it is we've become accustomed to suddenly disappears. Take, for example, the neatly attired（衣着整齐的） woman I used to see - or look at - on my way to work each morning.
我们可能会看看周围的世界，但不知何故，我们设法不去看它，直到我们已经习惯的东西突然消失，比如，我每天早上上班路上经常看到的那个衣着整洁的女人就是个例子。
For three years, no matter what the weather, she was always waiting at the bus stop around 8 a. m. Clearly a working woman, she exuded an air of competence, stability and dependability.
三年来，无论天气如何，她总是在早上8点左右在公交车站等着。显然，她是一名职业女性，身上流露着 一种精明强干散发出一种能干、稳重而可以信赖的气质。
Of course, I remembered this only after she vanished. It was then I realized how much I counted on seeing her each morning. You might say I missed her. Naturally, I had fantasies about her disappearance. Accident? Something worse? Now that she was gone, I felt I had known her.
当然，我是在她消失后才想起来的。那时我才意识到我是多么希望每天早上都能见到她。你可以说我想念她。自然，我对她的失踪抱有幻想。事故?还有更糟的？现在她消失了，我觉得我已经认识她了。
I began to realize that a significant part of our daily life consists of such encounters with familiar strangers: the power walker（精力充沛的男人） you see every afternoon at three o'clock. The woman who regularly walks her Yorkshire terrier at the crack of dawn. The dapper（衣冠楚楚的） twin brothers you see at the library.
我开始意识到，我们日常生活的一个重要部分就是与熟悉的陌生人相遇：你每天下午三点看到的那个精力充沛的男士。总是在破晓时遛约克郡犬的女人。在图书馆看到的那对衣冠楚楚的双胞胎兄弟。
Such people are important markers in the landscape of our lives. They add weight to our sense of place and belonging.
这样的人是我们生活中的重要标志。他们让我们更了解我们所生活的地方并加强了我们的归属感。
Think about it. If, while walking to work, we mark where we are by passing a certain building, why should we not mark where we are when we pass a familiar, though unnamed person?
想想看。如果在去上班的路上，我们会经过某座建筑物，以此来标记我们所在的位置，那么当我们经过一个熟悉的、但不知道名字的人时，我们为什么不能标记出我们所在的位置呢?
（待续）
