Plain Cone

Original Author
PNNscholar1
Original Body

 

 Plain Cone

By Tony Robles

 

Grandpa had this way

Of whistling and when I heard

It I thought of caramel corn

And ice cream

 

Grandpa was black, from

New Orleans and his wife

Was San Francisco Irish

But to me they were Grandpa

And Grandma

 

To landlords they were

Not the kind of people

You rented to

 

They had a child, my mother,

And they would get into their

Big post-war American made

Car and travel the landscape

 

And grandpa would drive

To the amusement park or

Some fun place and grandma

And my mom would get out

Of the car

 

Grandpa would stay inside

The car looking at the panoramic

View from the car window with

A hint of blue when the sun was

At a certain angle

 

And he’d whistle inside

His car while the birds

Outside whistled back

 

And he stayed inside the car

When his wife and daughter

Went to the ice cream parlor

 

“Get me a scoop

Of burgundy cherry”

He’d say

 

And inside the parlor there’d

Be a man who’d sample all

The flavors with a little plastic

Spoon

 

Grandma and mom would wait

10 minutes while the man pondered

His options, dropping stained plastic

Spoons in the trash

 

Then he’d casually

Proclaim to the

Man behind the counter

 

I think I’ll have a scoop of vanilla

 

Vanilla, my grandmother would

Snicker, rolling her

Eyes

 

And the birds outside would

Whistle at my grandfather

Sitting behind the wheel

 

And he’d whistle

back

 

 

 

 

 

© 2011 Tony Robles

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