August 8, 2024 I'M YOUR ICE CREAM MAN

 

Back in the day, the dreaded ice cream man patroled the neighborhoods better than the cops. Remember? An hour wouldn't go by without that DAMN BELL or SONG ringing in my ear. I SWEAR it's the ONLY time my kids could hear. They could be crabbing 10 miles away, swimming underwater or jumping off the raft AND THEY'D HEAR IT. They were conditioned much like Pavlov's Dogs. They'd come running like they were in an Olympic marathon--begging for money for ice cream FROM the ice cream man. It didn't matter that we had a freezer FULL of the same thing---THEY WEREN'T BUYING IT.   We spent so much money on--CRY BABYS--CHIPS GALORE--CHOCO TACOS--TWO-BALL SCREWBALLS--SHOTS--BOMB POPS--STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKES--it was ridiculous. AH---but those were the days.........missing them and wondering--Ice cream man--WHERE ART THOU? While I ponder the disappearance of the ice cream man, I might as well review a lovely novel that I recently finished by Valerie Perrin called Fresh Water For Flowers. As this story unfolds, Violette Toussaint is an older woman who lives alone and runs a small cemetery in Bourgone, France. She spends her days arranging funerals, tending her gardens, taking care of her pets and watching over the cemetery. Although her life is quiet, she has developed many friendships over the years ---with the grave diggers, priests, mourners and regular visitors. One day she meets Julien Seul, who comes to the cemetery to discuss having his mother's ashes scattered over a grave. The two develop a friendship that makes Violette question her life as she then looks back to the past--where the reader discovers what happened in Violette's life that she ended up as a caretaker of a cemetery. This beautifully written novel was translated from French to English--the characters are richly drawn and the story is unforgettable. The author also does an impressive job  of weaving the past with the present in this love story, that's filled with sorrow, betrayal and mystery. Give it a try and let me know what you think. Enjoy.