KLIENE FRITZ
By Earnest Willis
The life of Kleine Fritz crossed mine during the Christmas season of 1954 in Regensburg, Germany. He as standing among about a hundred orphans waiting for his name to be called with the name of some G.I. who would be his Kris Kringle for a day. He wore a heavy black coat that hung to his ankles and hid all but the tips of his fingers. A large name tag was pinned to his coat. He stood very still and looked at the floor. As our names were called together I walked to where he stood and reached down and found his hand inside the sleeve of his coat. As I lifted his hand, he raised his eyes to meet mine and I looked into the saddest face I'd ever seen. At that moment I knew we were two of a kind, that we would get along fine, because I thought that I could feel his pain and understand. Kleine didn't enjoy the G.I. turkey dinner that much and the toy I brought him was the last thing in the world he needed. But the Army cap I gave him brought a wide smile, a beaming smile that spread throughout his being. He was more erect, his head held higher and his shoulders were not slumped as much. Though we couldn't understand a word we said to each other, we chatted incessantly the rest of our time together that day. I visited Kleine many other times at the orphanage and took him out to eat and to playgrounds and parks and came to love him as if he were my own child. Then came the time I was to return to the United States and I had to leave him there. I never saw Kleine Fritz again, although I wrote many letters to him. I never recieved a reply. I believe he became a good man and is making his mark somewhere at this very moment. I know that he left a softened place in my heart that will remain forever. Every time I see a lonely child, I think of him and search for a way to brighten that childs path, I see Kleine Fritz the way he was that first day when his clothes and his disposition matched and the way I saw him last all spiffied up with a huge smile, shoulders back, head held high, with an air of confidence that I believe he must carry to this day.. |
