The Germans and the Tramp


The Germans were great neighbors to all of us, until they moved away less than two weeks ago. Wonderful neighbors, they were. All of the three what-seemed-to-be-naughty German boys were so terribly polite and well-mannered; as un-naughty as can be. Sadly, the Germans only stayed for a year and a half, and then returned to their homeland, Germany.
The German family was a very athletic family, especially the three sons. If they weren’t inside their big blue house, at school, or dribbling balls outside, then they were at soccer games, swim meets, cross country trainings, lacrosse lessons, or basketball tournaments. I bet that half of their wardrobe was composed of sports uniforms.
The Germans had a trampoline in their backyard. It was one of those big blue ones with netting around it so when two back handsprings in a row were performed, bones would be prevented from breaking. Everyday after school, except for Thursdays, the Sharon Court kids would pile up onto the tramp. Jumping their life away and performing tricks that when later were described at the dinner table, would drive parents crazy.

Jumping, turning, twisting, banging heads against other heads, the tramp was the thrill of a lifetime. The best part was when the five middle school aged kids all scrambled onto the tramp, just the five of us, talking about what little kids would usually not know. We would laugh and shriek until the adults told us to calm quiet down or to hurry up and finish our homework.

It was on the tramp, when the Sharon Court kids improved their bravery, and learned each other’s favorite cheese types. It was on the tramp when we decided to name the trampoline ‘Tramp’ and discussed how annoying and foolish our parents could be. It was on the tramp when Mer, Val, and I learned from Julius, the eldest German boy, how to catch a guy’s eye.

Everything just happened on the tramp. It was a place for the S.C. kids to feel free, to expand their boundaries, to dare their whereabouts. Life unfolded on the tramp.

When the Germans moved away with a few tears, they gave the tramp to another neighbor. We still go on the tramp and do handstands, but without the Germans there jumping along with us, it just isn't the tramp anymore. It’s just a trampoline.