The Ice Cream Float
Summer is upon us and lazy days at the lake are the best! When I was growing up, the ice cream truck drove by every afternoon, its catchy jingle wafting over the neighborhood. We weren’t allowed to get ice cream every day, or even every week, but when we had been really good or it was a special occasion or my mother was gone and the babysitter put a few coins in our grubby little paws, by brother and sister and I felt like we’d won the lottery! We stood on the corner practically pinching ourselves as the familiar peppy tune got closer and closer to our street. We would cock our ears in the air to help determine what street the ice cream truck was on and how much longer it would be before it arrived at our corner. Even now, I can’t hear that little tune without reverting back to my childhood.
When my boys were young, an ice cream truck cruised the area where we vacationed at the beach, and I was glad to see they were just as excited. All the cousins all did the exact same thing as we did decades before, tracking the sound of the music and waiting patiently in the heat, determined to score a frozen concoction before it got too close to dinner. They stood barefooted counted the minutes until 2 p.m. when the truck rolled by. What a highpoint to vacation!
Last summer, while my nephew and his family were relaxing on Lake Chickamauga, they heard the familiar tune of the ice cream man, but were stumped. They were at the end of a one-lane road in a remote area of town; there was no way an ice cream truck would come this far!
Sound carries over water, and they shaded their eyes and squinted toward the music before rushing down to the dock. There it was on the horizon, a pontoon boat bedecked with banners and flying enormous brightly colored flags and playing the song everyone always loves to hear! I scream, you scream! We all scream for ice cream!
The boat pulled up right to the dock where barefoot kids emptied their pockets and were treated to all manner of chilly delights. Captain Bobby Mills mans the Ice Cream Float Soddy Daisy, and you can reach him at Bmills2101@gmail.com or follow the Ice Cream Float on social media.
What an unexpected summer delight!
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Ferris Robinson is the author of three children’s books, “The Queen Who Banished Bugs,” “The Queen Who Accidentally Banished Birds,” and “Call Me Arthropod” in her pollinator series. “Making Arrangements” is her first novel. “Dogs and Love - Stories of Fidelity” is a collection of true tales about man’s best friend. Her website is ferrisrobinson.com and you can download a FREE pollinator poster there. She is the editor of The Lookout Mountain Mirror and The Signal Mountain Mirror.
Ferris Robinson