Craig Brown编的《失去的日记》（The Lost Diaries, Fourth Estate, 2010），就像是一群古今名人聚在一起来写一年的日记，不同的人写不同日子（也有几人同写一天的）。

头一天是Barack Obama写的（不知是哪年，大概是进白宫前吧），很有意思，有点儿“假”，是对着早餐向Michelle发感想——其实是发誓（I promise you, Michelle……）——M问他要不要牛奶，他说

Our milk will come. Our milk will flow, and it will flow true. Our milk will flow smooth, and it will flow well-chilled.

But our milk will not flow if it is not poured.

So let me promise you this, Michelle. That milk will not itself over your flakes or my flakes. That milk will not pour itself over the flakes of the poor or the flakes of the rich, the flakes of the needy or the flakes of those folks who spend their lives in comfort…

Michelle对他说，那你就倒牛奶吧，随便怎么倒。But I beg you, Barack, please get a move on.小奥同学回答，I will indeed get a move on with pouring that milk. On the move to pour that milk, I shall ponder day and night. And I shall not rest until the day comes when that milk has, in truth, finally been poured.

原来是多么励志的一杯牛奶——比传说的什么被动过的奶酪，似乎更有味道。