by

Keith Planit

There she was again, laying in the summer sun, taking in the world created by the words in her book. Honey was dripping with sweat as she read. It was a hot day, but Jimmy hadn't really noticed until that very moment since his town was virtually covered with freezing cold ice cream.

"Hi, Honey!" Said Jimmy enthusiastically.

"Um, hi, Jimmy," Honey said, not quite so enthusiastic, because of the heat.

Jimmy walked over to where she was, stepping over a number of toys strewn about the yard. As he stopped next to her, he picked up a toy car.

"What's going on, Jimmy?" Honey, Jimmy noticed, seemed more interested in him this time.

"Oh, well, I uh," Jimmy stammered for a moment as he pressed the button which started up the car's toy motor. "I wanted to tell you. . .how I'm learning to be a race car driver! 'Cause, you see, that's what my dad wants me to be. . .since that what he used to do!" Jimmy smiled, hoping Honey would believe this lie.

"Really, Jimmy? That's so neat! I had no idea your dad raced!"

Honey and Jimmy spent the rest of the afternoon talking and laughing , but, all through the day, Jimmy couldn't stop thinking about two things: Mint Cream Cookie Fudge Cherry Twist, a flavor he had been waiting for most of the summer, and how he lied to Honey .

Day after day, Ralph's truck would wheel into town, playing music while delighting the kids with the ice cream majesty of edible rides and tasty games. And day after day, no matter if the flavors were Vanilla Patty Wafer Chewy Cherry Chunk or Pistachio Pumpkin Pineapple Sherbet, Jimmy didn't want any, and the disappointed kids of the town ended-up standing in piles of mushy flavors.

Why, there was a day when Ralph, beneath a fountain of blueberry, boysenberry, and tangerine soft-serve swirl shooting from the roof of his truck, yelled out the names of the new ice cream pop inventory: "Double-Decker Bacon Bit Banana Sticks! Garlic & Cheese Lemon Meringue Mix Pops! All-Natural Haircicles! Peanut Butter Belly-Lint Push-Up Bar! The Guess What's Inside Surprise Super Size Frozen Mud Bar!" But, as delightful, delicious and d'yummy as those sounded, Jimmy did not care even one lick!

The streets were so heavy and hearty with discarded frosty ice cream, Jimmy, sometimes with Malty, had to drag his bicycle out of town before climbing on and riding to Honey's home. And after trudging through the fudging and licking past the sticking, why Jimmy was willing to say whatever he needed to say to get that Honey to like him. Jimmy really poured it on thick! Lies were piling up almost as fast as the ice cream in his town (And truth be told, there was so much ice cream in Jimmy's town now, the summer temperature had dropped fifty whole degrees!. . .and it was getting worse!).

Jimmy told Honey he built a computer from discarded gum wrappers! He told her he had a pet Zebra in his garage! He said his family vacationed on top of Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world! Why, one fine day, when Ralph was offering the Prickly Purple Penguin Foot Bar at half-price, Jimmy got the idea to tell Honey about a flock of penguins he taught to fly!!

Yep, Jimmy wasn't lightly sprinkling these tales about. And don't you for one minute think that Honey wasn't impressed, she most certainly was. Gee, I, too, would be, indeedy-do impressed with such duper stories of derring-do, wouldn't you?

One day, when Jimmy arrived at the house of the girl who even melted the ice cream in Jimmy's dreams, she was waiting for him on her bicycle. Honey smiled as he rode down the blistering hot street towards her.

"Hiya, Jimmy!" She gleefully waved.

"Hey, Honey!" Jimmy grinned.

"Ready to go?" She said with a little snicker.

"Sure! Where to?"

"Well," Honey said riding her bicycle in a circle around him, "I thought it was time I see your house!" With that, she rode off down the street and yelled back to him, "Come on, Jimmy, I don't know the way."

Hesitantly, Jimmy rode off after her. He began to lead their way back to his town. He was very quiet, trying to think what to tell her when she saw no zebra or when his mother laughs at the idea of pet penguins and Mount Everest vacations. . .Geez-darn, Jimmy didn't even have a computer even!

But if the truth was going to come out, they might as well be warm when it did. A few blocks before Jimmy's street, Jimmy pulled to the sidewalk. Out of some bushes he grabbed a heavy jacket, a sweater, a pair of pants and boots. "You better put these on," Jimmy said, handing Honey the jacket and snow pants.

"Are you crazy, Jimmy! It's summer! We'll melt in these things!"

Jimmy held out the jacket and pants again. Honey, confused, took the clothing and put it on while Jimmy put on the sweater and the boots.

Together, they walked their bicycles around the corner and over the hill into his freezing little freezer of a town.

Honey was astounded. Ice cream piled higher than houses! A mushy rainbow of colors toppling on cars and trees! Coconut shavings, chocolate slivers, sprinkles, fudge, cherries, fruits, flakes and popsicle sticks littered the streets!!

Why, Honey was just flabbergasted, completely dumbfounded! She didn't know what to say, but as she began putting some words together, a pair of twins, a blonde boy and girl, skied by and shouted at Jimmy, "I scream, you scream, Jimmy won't eat ice cream!!"

The little blonde twins repeated it over and over. . . "I scream, you scream, Jimmy won't eat ice cream! I scream, you scream, Jimmy won't eat ice cream! I scream, you scream, Jimmy won't eat ice

cream!. . ."

It was irritating as much to Honey as it was to Jimmy.

And once they were past, Honey asked Jimmy, "What was that about?"

But all Jimmy did was shrug.

Then a little girl and her big sister, pulling their kitty cat on a sled, passed by and screamed, "Ice cream-Jimmy, buy ice cream, Jimmy!"

Jimmy, rubbing his cold nose, bit his lower lip and looked down at the frosty street.

"What did that mean?"

Jimmy looked at Honey, ready to tell another lie. But, to his own surprise, what came out of his mouth was something he did not expect: "Honey, I. . .I love ice cream! All ice cream! Any ice cream! Green, Blue, Purple, Yellow! Mint Mango! Very Vanilla Blast! Chocolate Jelly Bean! All of it! And all the other kids like me to pick the best flavor of the day-- 'cause I always know what it is."

He looked around at the ice cream-covered town. . . "And all of this is what happened when everyone tried to choose a flavor on their own. . .when I stopped eating ice cream."

Honey took all this in for a second. She bent down, swiped her finger through the cream-covered ground and tasted what must have been Peanut, Plumb & Pear Blend. And it was utterly delicious don't you doubt, but that did not matter. "You don't play football do you?" Jimmy shook his head. "You don't race cars, climb mountains, teach little penguins to fly or keep a zebra in your garage?"

Again, Jimmy shook his head "no," adding, "And I don't even have a computer."

And, as Malty came running out and began jumping around Jimmy, Honey crossed her arms and tucked her chin into her chest. "Well, at least the dog's really yours!"

"But, Honey, I," the ice cream lover paused there, took a deep breath and looked Honey right in her hazel-nut eyes, and said, "I was just trying to impress you, Honey. That's all."

"But all you did was lie to me. And it looks like you let a lot of people down at the same time." She looked away from Jimmy and began walking her bicycle out of town. "Maybe I don't love ice cream like you, Jimmy, but I could've learned to like you. . .if I had ever gotten to know you." And Honey rode off.

Now some people would have run after her. And some would have tried to woo her. Why, some would have just learned from this and moved on. But Jimmy's not some people! Jimmy quit loving ice cream and Honey. Over the next few days, he busied himself with the only things he could: he shoveled driveways clear. To relax, Jimmy created ice cream-men and sculptures of birds out of the ices and popsicle sticks. Oh-ho, there was a particularly cold summer day, thanks to the new Sub-Zero Sour-Grape Kelvincicle (detested by all and thrown upon the icy ground), when he set-up his sculptures in a special pattern for Ralph to drive through as he shot ice cream and sprinkles all around town. When finished, they'd created a spectacularly colored ice tent over the town!

But Jimmy was double-depressed now, it had been days since he had seen Honey and weeks of ice cream-fasting were turning to months. So Ralph, the curious sort of kind ice cream man he was, scooped Jimmy up as he sped by one crisp day. Jimmy, moments earlier, had been shaping frozen sherbets around the trees on his block, turning those trees into brightly-colored works of art which defy any dandy description.

And in the truck, Jimmy was astounded by what he heard: "Jimmy," Ralph announced, "I think you're ready for something very special. Today, a wonder of wonders to behold and wonder as you wander through life. For today, Jimmy, you get to work the controls for a day!" Ralph pressed a small, glowing button on his dashboard. In the back of the truck appeared a magic mantel with buttons and knobs and switches and buttons and lights and knobs and bulbs and buttons and levers and switches and clicky-things and springy-things and pully-things and buttony-things. All kinds of, um, well, things! This is what helped Ralph the ice cream man construct all his wondrous creations (Never mind what powers from above the rainbow and behind the stars powered this tricked-out truck and its mantel of magic.). Jimmy instinctively knew what it was, there was no need for Ralph to explain buttons and knobs and switches and buttons and lights and knobs and bulbs and buttons and levers and switches and, er, well, and so forth and on.

Leaning into the board, seeing all the odd-shaped dohickies and what-hoos and thingamabobs, gently gliding his finger along the fandagly flumadiddles and gimmicky dojigger-whatsits, Jimmy began commanding the board with peculiar hand-motions. Commanding indeed.

The truck picked up speed and swirled around and around, sculptures were caught in the blizzard and ice, they slid and shook, making it seem as if these many creations of Jimmy's were dancing with one another! The kids on the block ran around enjoying the spectacle.

Giant ice cream scoops had cleared the road of excess piles of sherbet. Roofs of houses were brimming with sprinkly shapes and fudgeicles hung from the gutters. Chocolate chips and licorice whips, jelly beans and crunchy things shot about, lodging themselves into doorways, spelling-out the names of the families which lived there. And, as the truck seemed to be spinning and turning hurly-burly back and forth, up and down through the town in this hodge podge of ice and cream, the kids began to notice something.

The blurriness from the flurriness had created a haze over the town, crystal clear ice sculptures were being awashed in color from the whizzard of a blizzard, and the children hung tightly onto each other as the wonderland grew and glowed and froze and flowed. . .

The truck momentarily stopped, and the children thought it was done, but Jimmy was merely scratching an itch, or itching a scratch, which, of that, I'm not sure.

Spouting ice cream, away the truck went again. Turning up and down the street, the tires digging into the layers of frozen milk, sugar, cream and other natural ingredients that cheerily covered the roadway, Jimmy continued. Chocolate covered Booglies and Crunchy Banana Ooglies streamed from the truck. Bubble Gum Pops and Juicy Fireworks Drops spewed around and down up and down this town!

The stars above stood out as the setting sun tried to make its last hour of rays of sunshine for the day noticed, but Jimmy wasn't yet done. Why, to Jimmy, there was still much to do.

But Jimmy, understand, did not know the story had reached its apex, and the end was near!

"In the street!" Yelled Jimmy's neighbor Del.

"Look at what he's done!" Shouted cute little Nel.

The blonde twins looked at each other in awe. "We better go get you-know-who!"

Asked a boy making his way to the street-side, "I don't know who! Who?" His eyes then widened. "Oh. Wow!"

The big sister looked at her little sister, "I know what to do, we'll use the sled!"

The little one nodded, several local dogs joined in, and away they fled!

I know, dear reader, that you must be wondering upon what their eyes did gaze, but, please-oh-please, be a piddly-bit more patient, for you shall see. . .yet not until you-know-who gets to take a

peek. . .

In the truck, where that soft ice cream music played loudly, the sorcery around him had lit-up Jimmy's face. But then the fershlugginer truck wouldn't go again, even as Jimmy pressed the button and switched the switches. Jimmy was puzzled. Ralph shrugged sheepishly. . .

Outside, pulled by many local canine friends (Malty leading the pack), the twins had returned, with a hesitant Honey seated upon the sled. They wanted to show her what all there had noticed.

On the opposite side of the street, Jimmy climbed out of the truck to find a back wheel caught in a pile of Cherry-Orange-Lemon-Lime-Berry-Grape Slusher Pop. Jimmy looked it over and quickly realized that after all the driveways he'd shoveled, freeing the tire would be a piece of ice cream cake!

The blizzard had withered, and the sky was nearly clear. . .the setting sun was beginning to edge its way in as Honey made her way through the nooks and crannies of the crowd, so that she could see what all the hub-bub was.

And Honey's eyes beheld a beautiful site! Why, Jimmy, without even realizing, had driven the ice cream van around and around, grinding the frozen dessert down beneath the tire treads, and what he had done --and oh, isn't this the cherry on top-- was write "Honey" across the roadway! And write "Honey" atop every roof! Jimmy even wrote Honey's name on every side of most every tree! And, why, he wrote "Honey" in the sky, but how? Well, that for sure is still a mystery to this ice cream guy!

And as she stared at it, colors flew out from behind the stopped truck filling her name in with a display of ice and color that shimmered and glistened under the summer sun.

Jimmy climbed atop the truck to see his handy-work and it was just then he noticed what he had made. "Did I do that?" Jimmy wondered.

Honey yelled to him from across the street, "Now, I'm impressed!!"

Ralph, suddenly standing next to Jimmy, explained it all, "A fine howdy-marshmallow-chew this is, hm, Jimmy? For, you see, it was the magic of you that created such a extraordinarily dazzling ice cream wonderland!"

"But, Ralph," exclaimed Jimmy, "You're the one with the magic!"

And Ralph laughed a loud, bursting laugh. "Jimmy, we all have a little magic inside of us! And your magic is but two ingredients, my ice cream-covered companion: one part being yourself, one part the love you have for Honey."

A small slide frostily appeared by the ice cream wagon and Jimmy, smiling, smiling, smiling, slid his way down to Honey.

The neighborhood kids, tasting the trees, licking the sidewalk, and sharing pops from the bushes, were all happy, and not just for Jimmy and Honey, but for themselves as, after all, their town was undeniably delicious!

Ralph, knowing that summer was drawing to a close, was back in the driver's seat of his truck. He rang the ice cream bell twice and gazed quietly at Malty for a silent moment before saying, "Well cover me with fudge and nuts, my frosty four-legged friend, it seems we've forgotten something!"

Ralph snapped open a spiral-shaped flap on the dashboard. Out burst the largest, and the only, lever ever to pop out from beneath that flap! The ice cream man checked his side-view mirror, yanked on that lever and smiled contentedly when he heard the expected pop! Which, by the way, signaled the launch of a gigantic red sphere with a long stem!

Good ol' Ralphy leaned out the window to delight in the now-finished masterwork of ice cream: the town with a cherry on top! One twinkle of a wink at faithful sandy-furred Malty, and Ralph started-up the truck. And off I went, er, that is, off he went, following the rainbow-flavored path to whenever it next may lead. . .