The Ice Cream Truck

Who doesn't remember the ice cream truck!!!????  I bet any kid and/or adult anywhere in the USA at any moment could hear the "tinkle, tinkle" music coming from an ice cream truck and not only know exactly what that sound is.... but will start to drool and want an ice cream too!

I was driving through the neighborhood the other day and heard that distinct tinkle, tinkle music and instantly starting craning my neck to see where the ice cream truck was!  Then.... on another day I was sitting poolside reading when I heard the ice cream truck music and seriously thought about running into the house, grabbing some change and waiting curbside for a malted milkshake cup!  I'm sure before summer is over I will have added... waited curbside for the ice cream truck...  to my list of 'things I did this summer'!

When I was growing up, nothing made you smile quicker or set your heart racing faster than hearing that special ice cream truck music!  Me, my brother, and my cousins would instantly dash off to find the nearest and closest adult to beg quarters or dollars from so we could all get an ice cream.  We would sometimes even separate from the pack trying to find more than one adult to contribute to our quest.... and sometimes we would just bombard a single adult and not give in until they had to relent a dollar or two.  We were fortunate to get these special treats often enough to feel like any typical neighborhood child, yet infrequent enough to appreciate what a special treat it was.  And the funny thing is.... we could have had the exact same popsicles in our freezer... but they just taste different coming from the ice cream truck!

When my girls were growing up, I remembered my childhood days of treats from the ice cream truck and tried to always have some spare change on hand during the summer so that they too could experience the pure joy of the ice cream truck.  I couldn't always say yes.... and often I KNEW I was going to say yes, but wanted to let them also enjoy the ritual of having to beg please, please, PAH-LEASE!!!! before digging up the change they needed.  And.... can a child grab ice cream truck change quick enough before they literally go "poof" in front of your eyes as they dash out to the curbside and all is left is a cloud of smoke because they ran so fast out the door like in cartoons!?!?

And of course I always had to give them extra change so they could 'get one for Momma too'!  Me, the girls, and the neighborhood kids would all sit around the 10 minutes it took us to devour our treats.... slurping, licking, yumming.... until the last bits were gobbled up and gone.  Then.... like a tornado that hits and then is gone, off run the younguns back to whatever they were previously playing before they heard that tinkle tinkle ice cream truck music.

I hope I never stop hearing that special tinkle tinkle music of the ice cream truck... and I hope I ALWAYS buy an ice cream from the truck at least once each summer.... if for no other reason than to remember it only comes in the summertime and everything in the summertime is special!