Friend, Enemy and Family

By Roger Dean Kiser, Sr.

Harold, know as " The Jumper" by his old paratrooper buddies（同伴） from WWII（二战）, and his wife June had left their home in Louisiana and were traveling to Germany to look up some long lost relatives（散失的亲戚）, which June had discovered after joining a genealogy chat-room（宗谱聊天室） on the Internet.

"The air feels good this time around,” said Harold as he and his wife disembarked（离开） from the airplane, which had just landed in Berlin. That same air had been somewhat bitter the last time he and his army buddies had driven down these same streets,（因为上次到柏林时的任务是战争） in an old army jeep, weapons in hand which now seemed, to Harold to be many, many life-times ago.

After checking into（登记入住） the hotel Harold and June got a bite to eat and then returned to their hotel where they laid out all their files and genealogy papers on the bed and were deciding where to start their search the next morning.

"Schultz" would be the most common name to start with said Harold. "I think Clause R. Shultz is from my mothers side of the family, somewhere." said June as she placed the paper at the top of the bed.

The next morning Harold got up early and decided to walk down several of the streets that he, as a twenty-two year old soldier had driven down with his young friends more than fifty years ago. All of a sudden Harold stopped dead（目瞪口呆） in his tracks. "My God! That's the house," said Harold to himself as he stared in amazement. "I cannot believe that it is still there," he thought to himself.

In the heat of battle（在大战期间） Harold and his buddies had captured a wounded German soldier and were taking him back to the headquarters building in the jeep when the soldier asked them if they might consider stopping for just a moment when they passed his mother's house just up ahead. The same house that Harold now stood before. The jeep stopped in front of the small white house and Harold walked up and knocked on the front door. An old frail looking white haired woman peeked out （探头出来）through the small crack（小缝隙） as she slightly opened the door.

"American" shouted Harold to the old woman. "No American here. No American" said the woman shaking her head back and forth. "Momma" yelled the young German soldier. The woman opened the door and ran toward the jeep. The Americans raised their weapons and stood silently. The old woman ran over and hugged the wounded soldier and started to cry. "Please don't kill my boy. He is a good boy,” she cried out. Harold walked over and pushes several of the weapons to the side that was still being pointed at the old woman. "Your boy will be OK,” said Harold as he placed his arm on her shoulders, pulling her away from her son. "We have to go now,” he told her. Several hours later the prisoner had been delivered to（送达） headquarters and Harold and his squad（分队） were headed back into battle.

Harold slowly walked up to the front door of the house and knocked. The door opened and a young girl stood before him. "Excuse me. Is you mother or father home?” he asked. "My Grandma is here,” said the young girl. Just at that moment an older woman appeared at the door and smiled. "Excuse me ma'am. I'm looking for a gentleman that lived here many years ago. He was a soldier in the German army and he was wounded in the shoulder and neck. Would you have any idea who he might be?" asked Harold. "Yes" said the woman. "That is my husband. He is the minister(牧师) of the church just down the street," she told him. He thanks her and headed off (直接走开) down the street to find the church. "Sure glad we didn't have to shoot this guy. Him turning out to be a preacher and all." thought Harold.

As he reached the church he opened the large door and entered the darkened room. He saw no one except the cleaning lady who was wiping down the pulpit.(讲道坛) "Excuse me. Is the minister or pastor here?" he said to her. She looked up. Said nothing at all, pointing toward a side door, located at the front of the church. Harold walked over to the door and reached out to knock. As his closed fist hit the hard oak door he looked up and saw a small hand-made wooden plaque(门牌), which read "Clause R. Shultz, Minister."

本文的结尾十分具有戏剧性，他们要找的亲戚竟是多年前的敌人，也是他们的朋友。所以，亲戚、敌人和朋友集于一身，体现了普天之下人与人的关系，经常既是朋友，又是敌人。