by Jesse Hunter

Whether youre returning home after a hard days work at the office or flying halfway across the world on an intercontinental journey to visit estranged loved ones， the feeling you get when coming home is one that cannot be duplicated by any other experience. The love that is felt when in the arms of those closest to your heart is special and unique to each and every family， no matter where in the world you happen to hail from.

In the featured article Coming Home， we witness a daughters anxious anticipation as her father returns home from being a prisoner of war， only to find that her fathers return was far from a return to normalcy. In The Home-Coming we see the immense power of a mothers love by how painful， and perhaps fatal， the absence of said love can be. And in Buckhannon， West Virginia： The Perfect Birthplace， the town of Buckhannon plays the leading role， as an age old friend with its own distinct habits and traditions， having etched memories in the hearts of all its past inhabitants.

The number one song in America a few years ago was Home by American Idol winner Phillip Phillips， and both my wife and I use it as our cell phone ring tones （which has created quite a few funny and confusing moments between us）. She and I will soon travel to the Untied States， where she will meet my family for the first time as we all spend Thanksgiving/ Chanukah together. We both cried when her visitor visa was approved， and it wasnt just because of all the delicious pies my mom is gonna make for us. Its because it finally feels like our two homes are coming together to form one loving family.

無論你是經(jīng)歷了一天辛苦的辦公室工作回到家中，還是飛越半個地球，跨州越嶺地回到久別的至親至愛身旁，那種歸家的感覺是其他任何經(jīng)歷都無法比擬的。與至親相擁時所感受到的愛，對于每個人和每個家庭來說都是獨特的，無論你從這世界的哪個角落風(fēng)塵仆仆地歸來。

在主題文章《返鄉(xiāng)》一文中，我們目睹了一個女兒的焦心期待，當(dāng)時，她淪為戰(zhàn)俘的父親就要歸家了，然而，結(jié)果卻發(fā)現(xiàn)她父親的回歸遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)未能使一切恢復(fù)常態(tài)。在《回家》一文中，缺乏言表的愛是那么的痛苦，甚至致命，由此我們能夠看到母愛的偉大力量。在《完美故鄉(xiāng)巴克漢諾》一文中，巴克漢諾鎮(zhèn)扮演著重要角色，就像是一位有著自己獨特習(xí)慣及傳統(tǒng)的老朋友一樣，在其所有過往的居民心中銘刻下了回憶。

幾年前，美國最火的歌曲就是《美國偶像》冠軍菲利普·菲利普斯的那首《家》，我和妻子都將其設(shè)為手機鈴聲了（這令我們不時混淆也逗趣非常）。她和我將很快前往美國，在那里她將會第一次見到我的家人，因為我們會一起共度感恩節(jié)和光明節(jié)。當(dāng)她的旅行簽證獲批時，我倆雙雙落淚，這并不僅僅是因為我母親將會為我們做上所有可口美味的餡餅。而是因為我們兩個家庭終于要聚在一起，組成一個有愛的大家庭了。

by Carolyn Kleiner Butler

不久前我聽到一首歌——《A House Is Not A Home》，當(dāng)Brook Benton清晰地唱到“A chair is not a house， a house is not a home…”時，我不禁感嘆起這個不起眼的字眼所飽含的深義，它不起眼到我們從未意識到它的存在，且時常被我們拋到九霄云外，而它卻又一直深深地住在我們心底。這字眼終究是一個人一生無法消除的烙印，它是一場記憶、一種氣味，更是當(dāng)你身處異鄉(xiāng)時，不時便會蒙上雙眼的一層薄霧……

我家里有那個容易融入電視劇劇情并把我喻作各種白眼狼的母親，有那個喜歡垂釣時把魚鉤故意甩到我帽子上的父親，還有那個問完我何時歸家卻又轉(zhuǎn)眼問我是誰的外婆，碼字碼到這里，才發(fā)現(xiàn)我不能想起家，因為我已經(jīng)恨不得自己變成一束光，哪怕千里之遙都要轉(zhuǎn)瞬即至。其實，那些逗鬧在我眼里，滿滿的，都洋溢著幸福。有句俗語說：“家家有本難念的經(jīng)?！彪m說家人的不盡完美會讓我們頭痛，雖說來到了所謂的外面的世界讓我們忘乎所以，但家里曾用過的舊號碼還是神不知鬼不覺地成為了我們的各種密碼，我們也還是住在那個心底的舊地址里，重復(fù)著相同的擺設(shè)、類似的風(fēng)格。

雨果曾在《家》中寫道：“發(fā)現(xiàn)所有地方都像自己的家鄉(xiāng)一樣好的人，已經(jīng)長大；只有當(dāng)認(rèn)識到整個世界都不屬于自己時，一個人才最終走向成熟?！辈还芪覀兒螘r才會結(jié)束漂泊，我們的心都可以飛回自己的家中小憩一下?，F(xiàn)在，先來體會一下主題中三段感人的故事吧！——MS