享譽國際的美國專欄作家包可華 (Arthur Buchwald 但多用Art Bichward) 1月17日深夜因腎臟衰竭死於華府家中，享壽81歲。一生都在寫幽默專欄的包可華，曾在1982年獲頒普立茲獎，而他死前仍不改幽默，多次拿自己的死亡開玩笑。
年幼時不懂事, 見到包可華的相片但有個中國人的名字﹐便問爸爸﹐爸爸只是說是翻譯的人譯得好﹐還拿出幾個好例子﹐陳納德 Chennault (Claire Lee Chennault)﹐白求恩 Bethune (Henry Norman Bethune)﹐ 朱可夫 Zhukov (Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov)等等。長大後自己讀書才知道﹐「包可華」之名譯自《聯合報》專欄作家何凡之手，1967年起，何凡翻譯美國家喻戶曉的「包可華專欄」，每週一篇，二十年如一日，曾陸續出版十四集《包可華專欄》，總共七百多篇。
包可華曾在美中 (即台灣) 斷交時，撰文挖苦基辛格博士假裝肚子痛，卻偷偷跑去北京跟周恩來吃排骨 (有說是吃填鴨) 。
從 http://www.brainyquote.com/ 找到了包可華的明句。
1) A bad liver is to a Frenchman what a nervous breakdown is to an American. Everyone has had one and everyone wants to talk about it.
2) Every time you think television has hit its lowest ebb, a new program comes along to make you wonder where you thought the ebb was.
3) Have you ever seen a candidate talking to a rich person on television?
4) I always wanted to get into politics, but I was never light enough to make the team.
5) I worship the quicksand he walks in.
6) Just when you think there's nothing to write about, Nixon says, "I am not a crook." Jimmy Carter says, "I have lusted after women in my heart." President Reagan says, "I have just taken a urinalysis test, and I am not on dope."
7) People are broad-minded. They'll accept the fact that a person can be an alcoholic, a dope fiend, a wife beater and even a newspaperman, but if a man doesn't drive, there's something wrong with him.
8) Tax reform is taking the taxes off things that have been taxed in the past and putting taxes on things that haven't been taxed before.
9) Television has a real problem. They have no page two.
10) The buffalo isn't as dangerous as everyone makes him out to be. Statistics prove that in the United States more Americans are killed in automobile accidents than are killed by buffalo.
11) The powder is mixed with water and tastes exactly like powder mixed with water.
12) Whether it's the best of times or the worst of times, it's the only time we've got.
13) You can't make up anything anymore. The world itself is a satire. All you're doing is recording it.
他在2000年曾經中風，之後又因血液循環不良而截肢，醫生去年初表示，包可華因腎衰竭只能再活3周，但他住進安寧病房後便安然度過這段觀察期。
He described a dream in which he was waiting to take his "final plane ride." But the flight was canceled and he was told he would have to fly on stand-by. He interpreted this as it wasn't his time to die just yet.
被譯成: 『他還為此表示: 「我坐在那等著進天堂，但在最後一分鐘，他們宣佈班機取消，要我等明天那班」』。
臨死不改幽默本色的包可華，1月17日在睡夢中過世。
Art Buchwald column on The Washington Post 432 total stories
pictures and information sourced from wikepedia and google search.
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