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Her grandkids could play ball in the street now. Sometimes the young men played with them. And if one of the kids were talking back, someone would say, "Don't you talk like that. That's your grandma!"
她的外孙、外孙女们现在可以在街上打球了。有时候，那些年轻人也和他们一起玩。如果哪个孩子跟外婆顶嘴，某个年轻人就会说：“你不可以这样讲话。她是你外婆!”
Armstead kept "fussin'," warning of the dangers of fast money. "You're gonna get yourselves killed!" She told them. "Do something positive!"
阿姆斯特德不停地“嘀咕”，警告他们轻易得来的钱有危险。“你们会被杀头的!”她对他们说。“还是干点正经事吧!”
People told her she was crazy to talk to those thugs that way. Especially after another mom who had taken a stand was killed just five blocks away. Angela Dawson had waged her own battle against a different set of drug pushers — and lost. In a tragedy that made the national news, the Dawson house was set on fire and Angela, her husband, Carnell, and five of their children died. A neighborhood man was charged. Armstead didn't know Angela Dawson, but she knew her children. After the deadly fire, she was more cautious — but she didn't stop.
人们对她说，她跟那帮恶棍这样讲话真是太蠢了。尤其是在仅仅五个街区外另一个表明自己立场的大妈被杀之后。这个大妈叫安吉拉·道森。她只身与另一伙毒品贩子进行了一场战斗——结果失败了。道森家的房子被人放火烧了，安吉拉、她的丈夫卡内尔和他们的五个孩子都死了，这一悲剧成了震惊全国的新闻。邻近地区内的一名男子受到指控。阿姆斯特德不认识安吉拉·道森，但她认识她的孩子。在这场致死的大火后，她更加当心了——但她并没有停止。
And she didn't just talk. She has been a driving force in the community organization BUILD （Baltimore United in Leadership Development）. Together they drove drug dealers off a vacant lot and built a playground. They established an extended-day program at school to keep kids off the streets. They prompted the city and local churches to step up efforts to redevelop abandoned houses.
而且她不仅仅限于谈话。她一直是社区组织巴尔的摩发展领导才能联合会(BUILD)的推动力。他们一起把毒品贩子从一块空地上赶走，在那里建了一个儿童游乐场。他们在学校里开办了一项放学后的校内活动，让孩子们不要到街上去。他们促使市里和当地的教堂加快了重建弃房的步伐。
Not long ago, Armstead ran into one of the men who used to hang out on her steps. "Hey, Mom!" he exploded, giving her a hug. He got a job, he told her, adding, "I want to thank you for all your fussin'."
不久前，阿姆斯特德偶然碰见了过去常在她门前台阶上荡来荡去的那伙人中的一个。“嗨，大妈!”那人大喊了一声，一边紧紧地拥抱着她。他告诉她，他已经找到一份工作，接着又说：“我真要谢谢你当年给我们嘀咕的那些话。”
Armstead is modest about the impact she's had. She says simply, "It makes me fed good to know my message got through to at least one young man."
阿姆斯特德对她产生的影响很是谦虚。她只是说：“知道自己那番话至少说服了一个年轻人，这就让我很开心了。”
