|
The ice cream man
Dikey, the neighborhood ice cream man, was my true childhood love. He had his
own truck, and though it wasn't Good Humor, it was still great ice cream.
During the summer, Dikey made four rounds a day to the different sections of
our project. If you were lucky, during his late afternoon run, he'd pick you
for the night-time secret number.
After supper, around 7:30 we'd hear his bell ringing from blocks away. We'd
all run over, one of us yelling, "Dikey you picked me this afternoon, you
picked me this afternoon." All the kids would line up, except for the chosen
one. Dikey would lean over and whisper the secret number into your ear, then
give you two ice creams, one for you and one for the kid who guessed it.
You'd go down the line while each of the kids would call out a number between
one and twenty-five hoping they'd win. You'd reward the lucky winner and then
you two would get to hang around the truck with Dikey, laughing and eating the
prize. How sweet it was.
|
