Gump & Company

East Germany, which has been captured by the Russians who have built a big ole wall to keep the people from leavin. But Gretchen somehow managed to escape an has been workin as a waitress for about five years, hopin that one day she can get her family out of East Germany an over here, where they do not put you inside a wall. I tried to tell Gretchen some of my story, but I am not sure it is gettin across. That don’t matter, though, account of we seems to be gettin to be friends anyhow. At one point, she took hold of my hand again an give it a squeeze, an before it was over with, she done put her head on my shoulder while we just set there, watchin the end of the day.

Over the next few months we played a lot of football. We played some fellers from the navy an some from the air force an a lot more from the army. I used to get Gretchen to come to some of the games when we was playin close to home. She didn’t seem to understand much about it, an mostly what she said was “ach!” but it didn’t matter. It was just sort of nice to have her around. In a way, I guess it was a good thing we didn’t speak the same language, account of she would of probly found out what a stupo I am, an gone her own way.

One day I gone into the village, an me an Gretchen is walkin down the street an I tole her I wanted to buy some kind of present for little Forrest. She is delighted an says she would like to help. We gone into a bunch of shops, an Gretchen is showin me a bunch of stuff like little tin soldiers an wooden toy tractors, but I had to tell her little Forrest was actually not all that little anymore. Finally, I seen what I thought he’d like.

It was a great big ole German ooompa horn, all shiny brass an everthin, just like the kind they played down to the beer hall on Saturday nights.

“But, Forrest,” she says, “that’s too expensive. You don’t have that kind of money on a private’s salary in your army. I know this.”

“Well,” I says, “I guess it don’t matter. See, I don’t get to spend much time with little Forrest, an the way I got it figgered, if I can give him some nice presents, he won’t forget me.”

“Ach, Forrest,” Gretchen says, “this is not the way. I’ll bet if you just wrote him nice long letters two or three times a week, he’d appreciate it more—more than a big old ooompapa horn, anyway.”

“Maybe so,” I answered. “But, see, letter writin ain’t my specialty. I mean, I kinda know what I want to say, but I just can’t seem to get it out on paper. I guess you could say I’m better ‘in person,’ you know what I mean?”

“Ja, Forrest, I think so, but ach this ooompapa horn is eight hundred of your dollars.”

“It don’t matter,” I says. “I been savin up.”

So I gone an bought the ooompa horn. In a way, I got a bargin with it, account of the shopkeeper din’t charge me for the note I sent with it. Wadn’t much of a note anyhow. Just about the same thing as before, cept I tole little Forrest I kinda missed him, an would be home soon. Turned out, that last was just more bullshit from me.

Anyhow, by the end of the season the Sour Krauts is 10 an 3, an we is up for the All Army Championships, down in Berlin. Sergeant Kranz is beside hissef, sayin that we is finally gonna get off the tank-cleanin detail if we can just win this one more game. Me, I am not too sure.

Finally, the big day come. Night before, I have got off for a while to go into the village an see Gretchen. She is waitin tables at the beer hall when I arrive, an after servin a big tray of beer, she takes a break an holds my hand.

“I am so glad you came tonight,” she says. “I have been missing you, Forrest.”

“Yeah, me, too,” I says.

“I am thinking,” she says, “that we might go on a picnic tomorrow. I have got the day off.”

“Well, I’d like to, but I gotta play football.”

“Ach!”

“But I was wonderin, could you come to the game? It is in Berlin.”

“Berlin? But it is a long way.”

“I know,” I says, “but they got a bus, you know, to carry down some of the wives an stuff. I think I can get you on it.”

“Ach!” Gretchen says. “This American football, I do not understand. But if you want me to go, Forrest, then I will go.”

An so that’s what we did.

It was in a big ole field next to the Berlin Wall where we played the All Army Championship game. Our opponents was the Wiesbaden Wizards from the intelligence section of the Third Armored Division, an let me tell you, they was smart.

We was bigger an faster, but them intelligence fellers was craftier. First, they unloaded a Statue of Liberty play on us. Ain’t nobody on our side ever seen a Statue of Liberty play, an they scored a touchdown.

Next, they roll out a Tackle Eligible play, an pretty soon the score is fourteen to zip, their way. Everbody, includin Sergeant Kranz, is lookin glum.

In the second half, the Wiesbaden Wizards done thowed a combination stunt-blitz on defense an get us backed up to our own two yard line on fourth down. What is worse, our punter got his knee wrenched, an so is out of the game. In the huddle, somebody say, “Who is gonna kick the ball?”

“Don’t look at me,” I says, but everbody be lookin at me anyway.

“But I ain’t never kicked the ball before,” I says.

“Don’t matter, Gump,” somebody say. “We is gettin the hell beat out of us, an if they is gonna be a scapegoat, it might as well be you. You is on everbody’s shit list already, anyhow.”

An so that’s what happened. I done backed up into our end zone, an all of a sudden the center, he centers me the ball. But somehow, the Wiesbaden Wizards done submarined under all our whole defensive line an appear in my backfield, almost like ghosts. I was fixin to kick, but I decided it was better to try to get some more room, so I begun to run around. I run back an forth in the end zone I don’t know how many times an probably gained a hundrit yards cept, of course, it was goin the wrong way. Finally, I found a little spare room before the Wiesbaden Wizards caught up with me, an gave the ball the biggest kick I could. I stood there an watched the ball sail into the air. So did everbody else. It sailed so high, it went right out of sight. They said later they had never seen a kick like that.

Unfortunately, though, it sailed off the playin field right over the Berlin Wall an disappeared to the other side. Now we got a problem. Everbody be lookin at me in disgust an pointin they fingers an hollerin an cussin at me.

“All right, Gump,” somebody say, “now you gotta go get our ball back.”

“What? You mean climb over the wall?” I ast.

“How else you gonna get it back, you dummy?”

So that’s what I did.

Couple of fellers give me a boost, an over the wall I went. I landed on the other side an looked up where they was a bunch of East German soldiers up in towers, all mannin machine guns. I runned right past them, an ain’t none of them done a thing, I guess account of they ain’t never seen nobody tryin to get in to they country—they was there to shoot the people tryin to get out.

Suddenly, I become aware of a huge ruckus, sound like from about a hundrit thousan people, which was comin from where I figgered the ball had landed. Turns out, I had caused some serious trouble.

What was goin on on this side of the Berlin Wall from where our football game was, was the World Cup Finals of the game of soccer. In fact, it was the last two minutes of the game between East Germany an Russia, an they was people from all over the world done come to see it.

These people, the Europeans especially, take their soccer very seriously.

When I got into the soccer stadium, I could not immediately figger out what was goin on, but it did not look good. What had happened, though, was this: East Germany was about to score a goal an take the lead from the Russians, when I kicked my football. The German player had dribbled his soccer ball downfield an was right at