i scream, you scream

One lazy weekday afternoon last summer as I was working in my office I heard the deeeeelightful and unmistakable sound of an ice cream truck on our street. I ran to the kitchen to grab my purse and ran out the front door with my shoes half on. Just like a little girl, I stopped at the street, looked both ways, and then waited on the other side for the ice cream truck to turn around at the cul de sac and return to me.



Do you know how wonderful all of those ice creams pictured on the side of his truck looked? I couldn't decide which I wanted so I just picked randomly. It was such a nice treat. I told myself that I would stop work and run out there in the same fashion everytime he came. Unfortunately (or rather fortunately for my waistline) he didn't come back all summer.



You can imagine my happy face when again this year I heard the sirensong of the ice cream truck. Same drill all over, exactly. Me, purse, look both ways, wait patiently. This time, though, it was a weekend and I had an audience, Rich. He couldn't believe how easily I reverted to something like the age of 7 at the sound of that high pitched music.

So this time, I said to Mr. Ice Cream Man "Please come back. Come back to this neighborhood as much as you can."



I think that was a mistake. He's come back. And often. When he comes, I'm not particularly interested in a Chipwich or a red white and blue rocket or a Strawberry Shortcake. For instance, today he came just before dinner. Now really, who can justify being 35 years old and running after an ice cream truck before dinner.



Even when I'm passing on the ice cream, I always run to the window to watch him go by. Today I was so happy to see my little neighbor across the street, Sidou, run to his front door when he heard the music, then run back into the house returning quickly with cash in hand. The ice cream truck almost missed him and I was ready to run out there to flag him down. He ran to the truck, money clutched in his fist, with the biggest "I'm getting Ice Cream before dinner" smile you've ever seen.

I can't tell you how happy it made me to see Sidou and his little sister getting ice cream from the ice cream truck. Happier, indeed, than it made me to have the ice cream myself. This, my friends, is reason number 1002 why I should have a houseful of children. We'd definitely keep that ice cream truck in business.