Cops and Robbers
警察和强盗
The great gift of family life is to be intimately acquaintedwith people you might never even introduce yourself to,had life not done it for you.
~Kendall Hailey
I was married at eighteen to my high schoolsweetheart. I came from a very traditional but somewhat colorful family. My father was a director for television and my mother had worked in pictures during my younger years.
The boy I married was from a somewhat different background. His mother was attractive and fun. She had also been married five times, twice to the same man. Three of my husband’s uncles were police officers and he had a cousin who was a firefighter.
My father-in-law’s family was quite different. His father had been a bootlegger as a young man and even did some time in prison. His uncle was a wellconnected fence for the mob. His uncle’s son was an enforcer for the head of the largest mob on the West Coast.
As a young sheltered bride I had no idea what any of this was about. I just knew that both sides of the family were kind and lots of fun.
We had a sudden death in the family. My husband’s sister died and the entire family was brought to their knees. I knew that I was the only one who could handle the details of a funeral and reception back at our home.
I made all the plans and telephoned every member of the family... every member.I let my husband know that there was nothing to worry about. I had handled everything.
The funeral was a beautiful tribute to my special sister-in-law. We received hugs and condolences from both sides of our families and returned to our home for the reception. My friends had helped set everything up, as I knew we would be the last to arrive.
We walked into the house to a visual I had never anticipated. A house divided! The “Cops” were in the living room and the “Robbers” were in the den. They had never been together before! When I realized what I had done all I could do was laugh!
I later heard a wonderful story from the wife of one of our police officer uncles. She told me that after the funeral, the two sides of my husband’s family became friendlier, and my bootlegger father-in-law would take his police officer brothers-in-law and their wives out to dinner and pick up the tab. My father-in-law was a very generous man, not only in his heyday, but in the lean years to come. As they all grew older and our uncle became more successful (he was a Captain with the Los Angeles Police department), he told his wife how wonderful his sister’s husband had always been to the family. He vowed that never again would my father-in-law be allowed to pay a bill in his presence. The “cops” and “robbers” may have all had very separate careers, but they all had a very strong respect for each other and they were indeed family.
家庭生活所赋予的重要礼物，就是让你和那些你可能永远都不需要自我介绍的人进行深入了解，而生活并没有事先作出这样的安排。
——肯德尔·黑利
十八岁那年，我嫁给了自己高中时的情人。我来自一个传统但又有点多姿多彩的家庭。我的父亲是一名电视导演，我的母亲在我童年时期就已经在演戏了。
我嫁的那个男孩来自于一个不同背景的家庭，他的母亲迷人又风趣，结过五次婚，其中两
次是嫁给同一个男人。我丈夫的三个舅舅是警官，他有一个表亲是消防员。
我公公那一家相当不同。我的公公年轻的时候是走私贩，还坐过牢。我丈夫的叔叔是犯罪集团的销赃犯，社会关系复杂。我丈夫的堂弟是西海岸最大的犯罪集团总部的一名杀手。
作为一名受到保护的年轻新娘，我对这些完全没有概念，只知道双方的家人都很亲切，家里总是乐趣不断。
后来，家中突然有人过世。我丈夫的妹妹去世了，一家人受到重创，我知道自己是家里唯一一个可以处理葬礼细节和接待事宜的人。
我作好所有安排，给家里的每个成员打电话。我让丈夫知道没什么好担心的，我已经安排好所有事宜。
葬礼是对我那特别的小姑的美丽哀悼。我们收到双方家人的拥抱和吊唁，然后回到家里登记。我的朋友已经帮忙安排好一切，因为我知道我们会是最后到家的。
走进屋子，眼前出现了我从未预料到的情形，屋子被完全隔开了！
“警察”在客厅，“强盗”在休息室，他们之前从没坐在一起过！当我意识到自己干的糗事时，只能大笑出声。
后来，我从其中一个警官舅舅的妻子那里听到一个很棒的故事。她告诉我葬礼之后公公的家人和婆婆的家人变得更友好了。我的走私贩公公要请他的警官小舅子和他们的妻子去吃晚饭。公公是个很慷慨的人，不仅仅是在自己风光的时候，在艰苦的岁月他也如此。他们都渐渐老去，我们的舅舅在事业上越来越成功，他是洛杉矶警察局的警长。他告诉妻子自己姐姐的老公一直对这个家都很好。他发誓只要他在场，绝不会让我公公埋单的。“警察”和“强盗”的职业大相径庭，但他们都非常尊重对方，是实实在在的一家人。
——克里斯汀·拜伦
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