ICE CREAM

TONIGHT WHILE AT WALMART, I REALIZED THAT I HAD NO POPSCICLES FOR MY LITTLE ONES. EACH SUMMER I MAKE SURE TO KEEP PLENTY IN THE FREEZER FOR MY GRANDCHILDREN, MY MANY OTHER LITTLE ONES, MY BIG ONE, (MARTIN) AND MY CHILDREN. SOMETIMES EVEN THE CHILDREN AT THE PARK NEXT DOOR COME AND KNOCK ON THE DOOR FOR A POPSCICLE. I GET THOSE INEXPENSIVE PUSH-UP FREEZER POPS THAT COME IN A LARGE PACKAGE FOR VERY LITTLE MONEY. THE COLORS ARE SO LOVELY, RED, GREEN, YELLOW, BLUE, ORANGE AND PURPLE. I AVOID READING THE INGREDIENTS LIST, I KNOW THAT THEY COULD NOT BE CONSIDERED "HEALTH FOOD"! BUT THAT IS ONLY IN A BIOLOGICAL SENSE. THEY CAN BE CONSIDERED "FUN FOOD" OR "FEEL BETTER FOOD" OR EVEN, "DRY YOUR TEARS" FOOD. THEY ARE GOOD FOR SO MANY THINGS. A SCRAPED KNEE NO LONGER MATTERS WHEN YOU ARE BASKING IN THE GLOW OF AN ORANGE POPSCICLE. HOMEWORK GOES SO MUCH FASTER WITH THE PROMISE OF A POPSCICLE WHEN YOU ARE DONE. EVEN BROCCOLLI TASTES BETTER IF YOUR REALIZE THAT THERE IS A POPSCICLE WAITING FOR YOU WHEN YOU HAVE EATEN IT ALL. SO, I BOUGHT TWO LARGE PACKAGES AND PUT THEM IN THE FREEZER IN THE GARAGE. DO YOU KNOW, THAT YOU CAN BUY A WHOLE PACKAGE OF 50 POPSCICLES FOR THE SAME PRICE AS ONE FROZEN TREAT FROM THE ICE CREAM TRUCK? PROBABLY NOT AS SPECIAL, BUT CERTAINLY AVAILABLE. I HAVE MANY HAPPY ICE CREAM MEMORIES, AND ONE THAT IS SO SPECIAL THAT IT SORT OF HURTS TO SHARE IT. BUT I WILL. WHEN WE LIVED IN OUR LITTLE FARM HOUSE, THERE WAS A TRAILER PARK AT THE END OF THE STREET. THE TRAILERS WERE RENTED BY HISPANIC FAMILIES THAT HAD PROBABLY JUST COME OVER FROM MEXICO, AND THEY WERE VERY POOR. DURING THE SUMMER, THE ICE CREAM TRUCK WOULD COME EVERY DAY, AND I ALWAYS MADE SURE THAT MY CHILDREN COULD GET SOMETHING NOT TOO EXPENSIVE. I SHOULD HAVE REALIZED THAT THEY WOULD HAVE ENJOYED SOMETHING FROM THE FREEZER, BUT I THOUGHT I WOULD BE DEPRIVING THEM IF I DENIED THEM THE "ICE CREAM TRUCK EXPERIENCE". ONE DAY, LITTLE OTTO, (ABOUT 11 AT THE TIME) MADE THE OBSERVATION THAT THE LITTLE HISPANIC CHILDREN NEVER CAME TO THE ICE CREAM TRUCK. I EXPLAINED THAT THEIR MAMAS PROBABLY DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH MONEY FOR THEM TO BUY ICE CREAM LIKE THAT. HE SAID OKAY AND JUST WENT ON. NOW I HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT WHEN I WENT GROCERY SHOPPING, I TOOK THE CHILDREN AND TOLD THEM THAT IF THEY WERE GOOD IN THE STORE THEY COULD EACH HAVE ONE ITEM OF THEIR CHOICE. USUALLY IT WAS A BOX OF SPECIAL CERIAL, SOME CANDY OR IN JESSICA'S CASE A CAN OF SPAGHETTIOS. SOON AFTER OTTO AND I HAD OUR TALK ABOUT THE HISPANIC CHILDREN, IT WAS GROCERY DAY, AND AS USUAL, EVERYONE GOT TO CHOOSE SOMETHING. OTTO CHOSE A PACKAGE OF THOSE CHEAP POPSCICLES. I THOUGHT THAT WAS SWEET OF HIM TO THINK ABOUT MY SAVING MONEY BY NOT BUYING HIM ICE CREAM OFF THE TRUCK. A FEW DAYS LATER, HE CAME TO ME AND ASKED IF I WOULD TAKE HIM TO THE STORE. I DID, AND HE HAD ENOUGH CHANGE TO BUY ANOTHER PACKAGE OF POPSCICLES. I ASKED HIM HOW HE HAD EATEN ALL OF THE OTHER ONES ALREADY AND HE TOLD ME THAT HE HAD TAKEN THEM DOWN TO THE HISPANIC TRAILER PARK AND SOLD THEM TO THE CHILDREN FOR A NICKLE EACH. I JUST STARED AT HIM AS HE TOLD ME THAT HE HAD ENOUGH MONEY TO BUY SOME MORE, AND THE CHILDREN LOVED THEM SO MUCH. HE WOULD KEEP BUYING THEM AS LONG AS HE HAD THE MONEY TO DO SO. AS I WRITE THIS, I AM CRYING. IT IS SUCH A PRECIOUS MEMORY OF HIM, HE WAS SO GIVING. HE SOLD HIS POPSCICLES EACH DAY, BUT FROM THEN ON, I LET HIM KEEP THE MONEY TO SAVE. LATER, HE BOUGHT PICKLES TOO, THOSE LARGE ONES LIKE YOU GET AT THE MOVIE. SAM'S WAREHOUSE SOLD A GALLON JAR BACK THEN FOR 1.88, AND HE WOULD BUY THEM AND SELL THEM TO THOSE CHILDREN FOR JUST ENOUGH TO BUY ANOTHER JAR. HE ADMITTED THAT SOME OF THE CHILDREN HAD NO MONEY AT ALL, AND HE JUST GAVE THEM ONE. THE WEEK AFTER OTTO HAD BEEN KILLED, I HEARD A KNOCK AT THE FRONT DOOR. I OPENED THE DOOR TO FIND A LITTLE MEXICAN GIRL STANDING THERE. SHE SAID IN BROKEN ENGLISH, "WHERE IS PICKLE BOY?" SADLY, I SHUT THE DOOR AND BROKE DOWN SOBBING. MY PICKLE BOY WAS GONE. I HAVE TO STOP THIS, I CAN'T SEE TO WRITE FOR ALL THE TEARS. LET ME GO ON TO A MORE CHEERFUL MEMORY. LATER, THE NEXT SUMMER, A WONDERFUL THING HAPPENED. WE HAD A NEW ICE CREAM TRUCK COMING AROUND, DRIVEN BY A SWEET LADY. SHE KNEW THAT THERE WERE CHILDREN THAT COULD NOT AFFORD ICE CREAM, SO SHE KEPT THOSE CHEAP POPSCICLES FOR THEM AND GAVE THEM AWAY. COINCIDENTALLY, SHE TOOK UP WHERE OTTO LEFT OFF. THEN, ONE DAY, THE TEXAS LOTTERY ANNOUNCED THAT 11 PEOPLE HAD WON A JACKPOT OF 56 MILLION DOLLARS. THAT DIDN'T MEAN MUCH TO ME, BUT THEN I LEARNED THAT THAT WONDERFUL ICE CREAM LADY WAS ONE OF THE WINNERS. I CAN'T THINK OF A BETTER WINNER, SOMEONE WHO WAS ALREADY GIVING FROM HER HEART. SHE WENT ON TO BUY MORE ICE CREAM TRUCKS, AND I AM SURE THAT THERE ARE MANY WHO BENEFITTED FROM HER GOOD FORTUNE. POPCICLES AND SNOWCONES, ICE CREAM AND POPCORN. WONDERFUL MEMORY FOOD. I JUST RECALLED ONE MORE BEFORE I GO. WE HAD A GERMAN SHEPHERD NAMED RANGER FOR MANY YEARS. HE WAS HUGE AND THE SWEETEST THING. MARTIN LOVED HIM AND DID EVERYTHING WITH HIM. THAT DOG COULD DO NO WRONG IN MARTIN'S EYES. ONE DAY, WHEN HE WAS ABOUT 8 MONTHS OLD, I CAME HOME FROM WORK TO START DINNER. I HAD PUT OUT THE USUAL 5 LB PACKAGE OF MEAT TO THAW, THAT TIME PORK CHOPS. I WENT INTO THE KITCHEN AND SAW THE EMPTY PACKAGE AND PORK CHOP BONES ALL OVER THE KITCHEN AND LIVING ROOM. RANGER WAS LAYING ON THE COUCH, AND GAVE ME A "DADDY WON'T LET YOU FUSS AT ME" LOOK. WHAT THE HECK, I JUST STARTED PICKING UP BONES AND TOOK THE KIDS TO MCDONALDS. THAT NIGHT WHEN MARTIN GOT HOME, I TOLD HIM WHAT RANGER HAD DONE. "OH, HE IS JUST A PUPPY" SAID MARTIN. "DON'T BE MAD AT HIM". WE THEN WENT TO GET INTO BED, AND MARTIN LAY DOWN ON HIS PILLOW. "WHAT THE ---"HE SAID. THERE, UNDER HIS PILLOW, WERE TWO PORKCHOPS THAT RANGER HAD HIDDEN TO SHARE WITH DADDY! I THINK HE HID THEM FOR MARTIN, BUT WHO KNOWS? WELL, ONE DAY, I CAME IN EARLY AND WENT IN THE BACK DOOR. I HEARD SOMEONE IN THE KITCHEN, AND PEEKED AROUND THE DOOR TO FIND----MARTIN AND RANGER HAVING ICE CREAM AT THE KITCHEN TABLE! THEY EACH SAT IN A CHAIR, AND HAD A HUGE BOWL OF ICE CREAM WITH WHIPPED CREAM AND CHOCOLATE SAUCE IN FRONT OF THEM. RANGER WAS JUST LICKING AWAY, AND MARTIN WAS SAYING, "THAT'S DADDY'S BOY! YOU JUST ENJOY YOURSELF!" I JUST GAVE UP AND WALKED TO MY ROOM. AFTER ALL, WHAT'S A BOWL OF ICE CREAM WHEN YOU COULD SEE SUCH JOY ON BOTH OF THEIR FACES! SO, I JUST WANTED TO WRITE SOME ICE CREAM MEMORIES, AND TO LET ALL OF MY LITTLE ONES KNOW THAT NANA HAS POPSCICLES IN THE FREEZER FOR YOU! (OH, AND YOU BIG ONES TOO!) LOVE, NANASEE