So, it was about 80 degrees in our neighborhood today, and that means the ice cream man is back.
What I don't understand is why can't we have a cool ice cream man/truck? I remember being in the northend in Boise and hearing the Jamaican ice cream truck coming down the street blaring his reggae. While it didn't make a lot of sense, it was better than what the ice cream man in my neighborhood plays: Christmas music.
Today I heard Deck the Halls as the ice cream man came down the street, and on his return trip, I heard Silent Night. I don't know if he is trying to evoke the feeling in people of what it feels like to be cool on a hot summer day, what with the images of winter and Christmas and JESUS and all, but what part of the song Silent Night says ice cream? Is it the tune? No. The lyrics? "Silent night, holy night. All is calm, all is bright. Round yon Virgin Mother and Child, Holy Infant so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace." Um, no.
I guess it could be worse. I could live in this guy's neighborhood:
Or, Capt. Scrummy (Michael Stipe) could be the ice cream man in my neighborhood after the regular ice cream man disappears:
i've got it, i've got it: you'll be a round (yon) virgin if you eat too much ice cream!
ReplyDeletei wish that guy came to my neighborhood. our guy just has "happy birthday" playing over and over again. if i ever had an ice cream truck, i would play black sabbath and elvis all day.
(This is Sara, your favorite Writing Center buddy, btw)
I loved Pete and Pete! I didn't realize it until many years later, but they had the best guest stars. Gordon Gano as the substitute math teacher? Classic!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid, my sister and I used to play head games with the ice cream man that came through our neighborhood. We had a storm door on our house that only had a screen on the upper half and was solid on the lower half, so we'd duck down below the screen, wait until we could tell that the ice cream man was in front of our house, and then yell "Stop!" at the top of our lungs. The ice cream truck would stop, of course, and the ice cream man would look around expecting to see youthful customers running up with change and dollar-bills in their grubby paws, but there'd be no kids in sight. The minute he'd turn the music back on and start to drive off, my sister and I would yell "Stop!" again, this time with even more desperation in our voices. The truck would stop, the music would stop... And a few moments later we'd start the cycle all over again. We'd usually be able to get him to stop four or five times before he'd realize he was being toyed with. Ah, the good old days...
ReplyDeleteAnd speaking of the good old days, I loved The Adventures of Pete and Pete. My son and I watched it together back when he was in grade school. Perhaps that's why my son and I both have skeptical, twisted views of the world. Anyway, I have the soundtrack CD by Polaris, and I have the theme song on my MP3 player. "Hey, smilin' strange!"
Scariest ice cream man ever is Buster in John Farris' short story "I Scream. You Scream. We All Scream for Ice Cream." The story appears in his collection Elvisland.
ReplyDeletepete and pete.
ReplyDeleteIf anything, thank you for reminding me of Pete and Pete.
ReplyDelete