The Bobble-Heads

A new family had just moved in across the street, and Jimmy was all excited that they might have a kid his age he could be friends with. Being nine years old is no fun without friends, and his best friend Larry (who had once fallen against Bobby's water meter and chipped a tooth) had just moved away. And sure enough, weaving in and out of the moving men and their boxes he spotted him. Seemed to be his age, all right, but something was a bit odd. Walking across the street, Jimmy realized that the new kid was a bobble-head. That is to say, his head was attached to a spring that went down into his spine.

He approached and introduced himself anyway. "Hi" he started, "My name is Jimmy."

"Oh, hello, my name is Bobby." This was too much for Jimmy. "Bobby Bobble-Head?" he asked incredulously. "I don't believe it!" and he fell to the ground laughing so hard he could not breathe.

Bobby looked downward and said," Go ahead and laugh, everyone else does. I was hoping this neighborhood would be different." A small tear formed in his eye as he sighed, and he tightened his eyebrow muscles as a nervous habit.

"I'm sorry" Jimmy replied, five minutes later. "My best friend just moved away. Want to come over and play?"

"You bet!" exclaimed Bobby. So they both crossed the street and went into Jimmy's yard to play. Neither realized that there was a secret bomb shelter under the yard which contained a mysterious skeleton, but that has nothing to do with this story.

Jimmy and Bobby had a great time together playing with his plastic soldiers in the dirt and then on the swing-set, getting to know each other. Bobby explained about the spring and Jimmy wondered if it gave him some kind of super powers. An hour later they heard police sirens. It seems no one had noticed them wander off and Mr. and Mrs. Bobble-Head (whose heads were also on springs) became extremely worried and called the cops. The boys went out front to see the commotion and Bobby's parents spotted him and ran to him, exasperated.

"Sweet Potato Pancakes!! Don't ever wander off again like that without telling us!" they scolded, taking him by the hand.