Slice of Life's Sweet Delights

"Life is like an ice cream cone, you have to lick it one day at a time."  -Charles Schulz

Isn't summer a wonderful time of the year? I remember those summer nights when dinner was over and children yearned for ice cream. What are your memories of ice cream treats when you were a child? See if they are similar to mine.

Remember those

humid summer nights

with mosquitoes biting,

no air conditioning,

and moonlight sightings?

Remember the

ice cream man

rolling through our neighborhoods

ringing a bell and stopping?

We kids swarmed around for cool bitings.

Remember our family

jumping in their car?

Roadside stands weren't far?

Oh, I remember how we smiled

when given a treat

after we ate our dinner meat.

Sweet summertime delight,

I remember it well.

This summer we repeat the scene

as grandkids indulge in ice cream.

©CVarsalona, 2023

Digitized photo of my 3-year-old granddaughter holding her blue ice cream.

This weekend, the family tried a new dining place with absolutely delicious seafood. Under the pavilion across the street, delightful music played. The weather was warm, not scorching, but we all longed for cooling ice cream treats. What did we do after dinner? Of course, we drove to an ice cream stand. There was a cow with a hollowed area for children to snuggle in as they waited for their treats. The line was long so they played by the cow until the newest flavor of ice cream, Cookie Monster, was scooped into kiddie cones. We watched the girls enjoy their delicious treats as we did ours. Photos were shot since the little girls' faces looked like they were face painted. Blue Cookie Monster ice cream was all over their lips and chin. What a delightful sight for a summer night!

Good-To-Know Fact: "As the summer heats up, snacking options cool down. Americans report ice cream as their favorite summer treat." Do you know that July is National Ice Cream Month and July 16, 2023 is National Ice Cream Day? Enjoy celebrating with America's favorite summer treat throughout July and into August. 

🍦

This is my Slice of Life Small Moment,

delicious enough to be repeated many times this summer.

Don't forget, "Life is like an ice cream cone, you have to lick it one day at a time." During this sunkissed summer season enjoy the luscious taste of ice cream and be grateful for family time and nature's bounty. 

Another ice cream poem is here.

Thanks to Two Writing Teachers for the space to write with a community of reflective writers.

Recalling Spring

My wonder pal, Christie Wyman, is hosting Poetry Friday at Wondering and Wondering this week. She invited members of the community to write a poem with a tree-related theme. Studying her photo below, I recall a long-ago spring afternoon filled with wistful wondering.

Photo of Fairyland Pond by Christie Wyman

Tucked away in the corners of my mind,

a long-forgotten memory surfaces.

Glints 

of sunshine

shine through trees

inviting me to breathe in

the freshness of springtime air.

I wander through lush countryside

wistfully wondering, finding the right angle

behind a camera lens. I seek nature's beauty

and notice majestic trees solemnly standing guard.

Their limbs lightly lift in the gentle breeze, gathering
my thoughts that race before me, in contrast to a slow pace.

Farmlands laden with red barns stretch out for miles. Wildflowers
growing abundantly wait for picking.  A solitary bench becomes an
ageless photo.

Time does pass.

Memories fade

like ink on
parchment

but nature
remains as
a constant.

©CVarsalona, 2019

In searching for poetry on trees, I found Joyce Kilmer, Trees, an all-time favorite, and a video of Nelson Eddy putting the poem to song. You can access that here.

Digitized photo of upstate New York in springtime

Christie's photo and mine will brighten the walls of the Splendid Spring Gallery collection that waits to be unveiled.

Celebrate Old-Time Summer Fun

Remember when summer months were filled with concerts, picnics, and lazy days? Time was spent outside enjoying life's moments. Growing up, I remember one event, the Fireman Field Days, that was the highlight of the summer in my neighborhood. Parents who belonged to the volunteer fire department prepared for the event months in advance. Anticipation came in bundles as the event neared. Children watched adults erect tents and prepare food. Everyone always expected good weather. As the years moved on so did the fashion of the times and the way that we as children participated. Older children were allowed to help prepare for the annual event.

During the hot, summer nights when the field days were held, children lined up in the streets waiting to feel the spritz of the fire hoses as water poured out during the competition. The food tents were crowded, especially the salt potato booth. Gobs of butter were placed all over the delicious small red potatoes that were created in honor of Syracuse's early salt mines. Cotton candy in a bubblegum pink color was piled high in paper cones and often spotted on the ferris wheel ride. Everyone played penny toss and other games as we moved from tent to tent. Shrieks and laughter were heard, evidence that everyone was relaxing and enjoying the nighttime event. Each night when we walked the few blocks home, conversation would center on coming back for one more night of fun. 

Photo from Hannibal, NY Fireman Field Days

When the field days were over, summer returned to a routine: playing in each other's yards, waiting to whiff the delicious smells of the next pies my friend's mom would bake, reading in the sun, and listening to the transistor radio. In contrast to growing up in Central New York, today's children on Long Island are often seen playing with their electronics, discussing video games, and going to beaches. The ever-popular tan is still being sported by many children. 

Today, I try to savor my summer days but I need to be intentional about them. Household tasks always seem to take away from leisure time, if I allow them to do so. On Wednesday night, my friends and I decided to attend the Picnic Pops at Old Westbury Gardens. This time there was a clear weather report and I did not have to worry about being caught in summer rains like the last time (you can read about that here). The weather was warm, the music soothing, and the picnic food delicious but it was the walk in the gardens that brought me to a place of peace. As I walked with my friend she recounted stories about Old Westbury Gardens the way it was at the turn of the 20th Century and thirty years ago when she came to Long Island. The grandeur of the land was evident on this night. I snapped some photos and found a couple that I decided to digitalize with the Mobile Monet to give them an impressionist-look. I think they capture the majesty of the gardens that last still today. 

It is time to Celebrate This Week with Ruth Ayres. I look forward to hearing the positives of my colleagues' week. 

1960's Nostalgia

When I read that the Heidi Mordhorst's Forward...March CH Poetry Challenge word of the day was lurch, I immediately thought of the Addams Family's butler, Lurch. He was such an odd fellow, majestic in height with Frankensteinish looks. Besides being a strange and rigid type of character, he was a devoted guardian of the Addams' children with sudden breaks of spontaneity, albeit few and far between.

I thought I would take a step back into time and bring back the 1960s to life for a bit of humor as winter is making its departure. You Rang?  Yes, Lurch, I'm calling you forward.

As a devotee of school, college, and social event popular dancing, I never remember seeing or dancing the lurch. The movements in this 1960s dance popularized by the Addams Family's butler look as though they could be modern day dancing steps at weddings. Check it out! Lurch is flanked by young dancers in white sneakers, straight legs pants,  and sleeveless tops.

Are you ready to lurch forward into my inventive integration of the word lurch into a poetic form?

Lurch around the floor tonight.

Line dance moves holding tight.

Teenyboppers dip and sway

doing the lurch, the 1960s way.

Wondering about the monster groove.

It's boss, groovy, and on the move.

Don't stumble, stagger, reel, or roll.

Follow the pattern-make it your goal.

No wobbling, weaving, or tottering.

The lurch is a professional posturing.

For those still young at heart, a bit of 1960's nostalgia:

TV Highlights:

Book Lover Choices:

Valley of the Dolls, Silent Spring, In Cold Blood, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Dr. Seuss, Where the Wild Things Are, Little Golden Books

Fashion:

A-line dresses, mini-skirts, shifts, jumpers, bell-bottoms, turtlenecks, sleeveless tops, palazzo pants, pant suits, hiphuggers

Inspiration often comes from a curiosity about a subject - a desire to learn more. Today's inspiring quote on Two Writing Teachers allowed me to reflect on the process I used to find out more about the word lurch and the character called Lurch who played a role on television in the 1960s.

The essence of writing is to know your subject.    - David McCullough

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To read other slices written for the March Slice of Life Story Challenge, move over to Two Writing Teachers for Day 17's offerings.