Intimations Of Childhood

 So I'm bach-ing it for awhile, as Wifey got a temporary position as D1 and Joey's nanny. The regular nanny took a few days off, and Wifey was pressed into service. I drove her up yesterday and spent a lovely day with the grandson. Wifey will be there until next week, until the regular nanny returns and gets Covid cleared to re-enter the house.

Today I walked 7.5 miles in the am, cooled in the pool, and took a short nap before being awakened by Wifey's call. She misses me already.

Later in the afternoon, I heard music -- like a calliope, or maybe some other type of contraption. I checked the TV, and Sonos, and my phone, but nothing was playing. OK, I thought -- this is it -- auditory hallucinations that precede a fatal stroke.  The tunes were all classic kiddie tunes -- Do Re Me, and the politically incorrect "10 Little Indians" which was even shut down when the Ds were little, in the early 90s.

I went outside, and was relieved to realize the music was coming from next door -- out in the street. The neighbors have a bunch of kids, and I figured hired something for a party. I left for the afternoon walk, and the sound was still in the air, though distant.

As I walked up a street, I saw the source. An Ice cream truck! Wow -- it was a van driving slowly, with the music coming from a speaker on the roof. I hadn't seen one in so many years.  It drove past, with a nice young Latin woman driving. I told her I had no money, or I would have bought. She said it was ok -- and to enjoy my walk.

What an essential part of LI summers were defined by ice cream trucks. I was allowed to buy it once a day -- and the trucks came by our house twice a day. My favorite was Mr. Softee, followed by Good Humor. There was also a local brand called Bungalow Bar, which the kids decided "tasted like tar." Not really, but it rhymed.

I realized I hadn't seen an ice cream truck in years, at least in our present 'hood. In another throwback, a young boy on 131 Street had set up a lemonade stand this week. I guess he wasn't worried that the virus would keep people distant from him -- he was probably so bored with quarantine, as were his parents, they said what the hell.

Meanwhile, the news has been cautiously positive -- infection rates in Miami are declining. An article today in the Herald said we might have "partial herd immunity."  I just grab at any positive news I can get -- much of it is awful lately.

Tonight I have Eric and Dana's shabbat, and then a 7 pm Zoom happy hour. Tomorrow I'm headed to D1's again -- to spend the afternoon and evening with the babe and his people.

It's indeed the dog days of Summer. I look forward to cooler temps in Miami, hopefully in a few months. But on LI, Summer was everything.

And the ice cream man was always such a part of the joy.