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The ice cream man.
Just a disclaimer. I am not much of a creative writer nor am i looking for any criticism. My sister and I were chatting about gowing up and looking back etc. So I started writing and this is kinda what came out. It felt good to write something semi creative especially when you don't have much time to be in your day to day life. Again i'm posting it b/c its a topic that interests me not b/c im trying to showcase my writing talents so discuss if you feel like it.
I think its funny how I vividly remember the ice cream man from my childhood but I guess msot would say its normal. Its one of those stereotypical childhood images you look back on. Just like running through the sprinkler on a summer's day, or making snow angels after a snowfall. The ice cream man is a little different to me though. When I was a child I can remember the nano second I heard that ice cream man song. I would be at my mom's side just as fast begging for a couple bucks. I remember the ice cream man: smiling, happy to assist me in choosing which entree to devour. I'd buy something simple like a fudgesicle. That’s if he turned down my street of course. Sometimes the ice cream man would be heard, but it was only that faint sound that a soon to be angry mob of 8 year olds were left with. I remember years later being in high school on a blistering summer's day listening to Mr. Kayzun lecture me about the 8 beatitudes and what’s moral and immoral (Religion 11). As I would dose off the ice cream man would show up in the parking lot blaring that familiar tune. It would take me away from the bullshit Mr. dodo head was stuffing down my throat and bring me back to Chimney hills, GI Joes, Super Nintendo, and my older sisters way-cool boyfriends. When the bell rang for lunch I’d go get some ice cream, and I noticed that the ice cream man wouldn’t be the same one from my childhood. He made the transformation from the "provider of all things good" to "that bum that found the ice cream job in the classifieds"(the local classifieds to make it worse). He was always in a rush now, often trying to hit up every high school he could during the lunch hour. That’s if he wasn’t banned from their parking lots already. I remember during this phase in my life I looked at the ice cream man with such repulsion. He was the kind of guy you see on the movies working in a run down restaurant as a dishwasher. Wearing nothing but an undershirt with gravy stains and ripped jeans. Eating McDonalds fries out of the bag. You get the idea. Anyways those days are over, and now as an adult, the ice cream man to me is seen as something much more. No longer am I that giddy little kid idolizing the ice cream man nor am I the skeptical angst driven young adult who thinks he’s the scum of the earth. I don't see the ice cream man as someone who is above the rest nor do I look at him as an inferior to everyone else. All I see is a memory that has lasted through many years and has taken many transformations. Something that not only reminds me of ice cream, but of all things childlike. Everything from toys, to green grass, to super Mario, and lunchtime. It’s the ice cream man I have to thank for letting me access so many memories that would’ve been wasted if it weren’t for his greasy shirts and excellent Popsicle selection.
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Jun 21, 06
