We were playing on the street in Munich. A man that had passed us several times invited us to stay with him and his family. Why not? We had left the “Rainbow brother” who suffered ‘brainstorms” with nowhere to go. “Someone is out there waiting for us,” Donna had said. We accepted the man’s invitation.
The man explained that they had two sets of twins. One set of twins had typical German names that, quite honestly, we don’t remember. The other set was “Tom and Jerry.” Like the famous cartoon cat and mouse. The twins wore Tom & Jerry t-shirts, Tom & Jerry backpacks for school. They had Tom & Jerry socks and probably underwear! It must be a challenge raising two sets of twins. With this in mind, the bathroom had been equipped with two bathtubs, two sinks, two washing machines, two toilets, and, well, two everything!
Our host explained that they didn’t have refrigerators because the family lived basically on nuts. Nuts had all the protein they needed. I’m sure they also ate fresh vegetables, so refrigeration was not necessary. We talked for some time during the evening, telling our stories and listening to theirs. When it was bedtime, it was lights out for all. We slept very well in our assigned bunk beds.
Family Vacation
The following morning, the man announced the family was going to Austria and that we were welcome to stay as long as we liked. Just lock up and leave the key when we decide to leave. It took them about ten minutes to get everything together, and they were out the door. We took the opportunity to each take our own bath at the same time. It was a pleasure to bathe in the two enormous bathtubs as it had been a long time since a good soak!
Clank, Clang, BOOM!
Back on the street, we played a few places with our little sign about traveling to an “International Peace gathering in Slovenia.” The crowds were attentive, and the tips were good. We were starting to get the hang of entertaining on the street. A sudden burst of excitement began on one side of the Platz, and people rushed over to see the disturbance. We gathered our tips and guitar and followed the sound.
Clank, clang, BOOM! Clank, clang, BOOM! A strange vehicle entered the Platz led by about twelve people picking up oil drums, flipping them around, and banging them down onto the cobblestones as they paraded across the huge open area. Clank, clang, BOOM! Clank, clang, BOOM! It was a good rhythm.
The panelvan had giant gears on the side, slowly turning as the bizarre musical group on the top played unusual-sounding rock. They were blue. “This is a new band called “The Blue Man.” someone informed us. People began to join the parade as they made their way across and out of the Platz, which was suddenly nearly empty. We had never heard of them. Maybe we should have followed, but it had been a good day, and we were tired. We returned to the Tom & Jerry house, stopping along the way to pick up some food from a small neighborhood market.