Bet ‘ya! It is summer, isn’t it?
While an overhead cloud or an occasional drizzle is cool, we still cherish the ideal bright sunny day that begins before the rooster crows and extends way past a health buff’s bedtime.
In between the alpha and the omega, how about setting aside – for a while – great memories of the NBA championship trophy the Toronto Raptors brought home?
Okay, go on basking in the Light of Greatness, but heed the words of the players of the world’s #1 basketball team: “Enjoy the Canadian summer!”
Let’s go GO! Let’s go Gardening! Let’s go Out!
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Go Gardening! This time of the year and in the next 60 days or so, the kaleidoscope of vivid colors that fresh blooms are set to gallantly display will, once more, adorn the natural greenery of Mother Nature.
Say, what? There are communal earthly spots where one can plant the edibles – fruits and vegetables. Dig the soil, for a change. Seriously, a green thumb – not that of Bruce Banner’s — is a big plus.
One more time: Find a moment to visit the Edwards Gardens in Leslie and Lawrence Ave. East. I assure you that beauty, inspiration and serenity will be with you all the way.
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Let’s go Out! Enjoy the outdoors with family and friends. Be one with Mother Nature.
Fly with the red-winged blackbird at Liberty Village. Race leisurely with the rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks; and run faster and quickly climb up high a tree when a fox or a bear races with you.
Have a hotdog and burger picnic with the seagulls and some “curious and interested” wildlife in a park.
Take a hike or jog in a trail where police are not searching for felons. Better yet, join a fun-run for charity.
Dip and rest your tired legs in a pool of refreshing water. Have a swim, but not in floodwaters.
Oh, geez! There are lots and lots and lots of ways to enjoy and have fun this summer.
Experience the camp, play outdoor sports in your favorite jersey, etc. Most of them come free or inexpensively. Take the opportunity.
Yes, go out! See the sights and sounds of Toronto. Feel its exuberant diversity. Be one with your city.
Piece of advice: Be quick and be wary, Fall is just around the corner. And .…. Winter again?
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Gazing lazily last week from the balcony of a seven-storey apartment building, I spotted it immediately.
The white van sporting a mural of colorful treats slowly and safely pulled over its usual spot, on a roadside between twin basketball courts and the neighborhood’s mini-park and playground.
Musical chimes of a famous nursery rhyme filled the air, inviting both young and old to come and to see what this vehicle, driven by a man with a friendly smile, has in store for them.
Yes, it is the Ice Cream Truck that has become a regular fixture in our community for years and years now.
Of course, it brought back happy memories of my grandchildren excitedly pulling their grandma’s pants – in which pocket the ice cream money was firmly tucked in – and the memorable times I’ve had during my childhood.
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Here is my narrative of Mamang Sorbetero:
It was several years ago when one late afternoon, my granddaughters Zoe and Zarah threw tantrums — as believable as their Oscar-nominated acting might presumably be — while Grandma Evelyn led them into our apartment suite.
The girls, coming home from school, had only three big words for all in ear range: “Ice cream truck!”
My slightly older grandsons Gabriel and Raphael joined their cousins in cheer-like unison. “Ice cream truck! Ice cream truck! Ice cream truck!”
Those three words brought me back in time … way way back to my first birth anniversary party when Grandpa Antonio and Grandma Angelita gifted me ice cream, thus becoming my first known Mamang Sorbetero.
Admittedly, I had no recollection of that first birthday fete. Nor could I recall having a lip gloss of the cold treat. But I knew. Mom Isabel wrote about the party in my 65-year old Baby Book, which I kept in my Mahiwagang Tampipi.
I could remember, though, that at a tender age about half a century ago, I took a long shot at enterprise. I roamed the streets during summer, peddling ice drop. Batang Ice Drop, I was dubbed in the hood.
After getting my day’s pay, so to speak, I splurged on Mamang Sorbetero’s pan de lemon (a.k.a. dinner roll) stuffed with ice cream. I was a ‘suki’ of the Mamang Sorbetero Challenge: ‘Sink the silver nickel into a small bottle in a water-filled transparent jar and win another scoop’.
Mamang Sorbetero’s promo was a huge hit. For every miss, he grinned, and muttered “Tsk, tsk, tsk”. Perhaps, it was meant to be that way. Seriously, I enjoyed staring at the nickel zigzag through liquid and rest at the jar’s bottom, as Mamang Sorbetero handed me my ‘apa’ topped with chocolate ‘sorbetes’.
While Mamang Sorbetero might have instilled into young minds an entertaining preview of the laws of physics, his simple yet daunting game made his fans also see the folly of wanting more than one could lick.
The summer deal lasted only a week. I quit because my original tan turned darker and the ice drop kept melting on me.
Visiting Manila in late 2007, I resolved to look for Mamang Sorbetero. He was nowhere in my childhood neighborhood in Barangay Balumpare. He was absent at the Quiapo and Sta. Cruz plazas. Nor was he in the Blumentritt market. I missed him.
Mobile ‘balut’, ‘kakanin’ and ‘taho’ vendors persisted. So did the ‘kik-mai-balls (kikiam-siomai-fishball)’ carts. Of course, the arroz caldo and kwek-kwek wheelers still ruled in Cubao. I’ll never forget to mention the resilient food carts infront of the walls of historic Intramuros.
Where then was Mamang Sorbetero with his handy brass bell and colorful ice cream carriage that hid three silver aluminum tubes sided with dry ice and each filled with a different ice cream flavor? Bah! And some high hats dare call it “dirty” ice cream?
Finally, I found a Barong Tagalog-clad Mamang Sorbetero gladly serving children and guests in a plush metropolitan hotel. Someone might have thought it was a good idea to elevate Mamang Sorbetero’s iconic trade and image to a higher plane several notches above those who vend commercial ice cream.
Whatever, I still liked the Mamang Sorbetero doing his sunny day rounds and sounding off the familiar ‘kling-kling-kling’ that beckoned children to seek the refreshing homemade churned ice cream. Mamang Sorbetero’s cool rapport with children of all ages was an experience that left only good memories.
Wait! Did I hear someone say that Mamang Sorbetero is still alive and kicking? And he can be found at the Luneta Park?
“Ice cream truck! Ice cream truck! Ice cream truck!” My grandchildren’s ruckus broke my time trek. I smiled. I might as well be cool on a hot humid day.
With the solstice, summer officially arrived in Canada on June 21.
So would Demetre, Mamang Sorbetero’s Canadian counterpart, and his ice cream truck. For many sunny spring and sweltering summer days, Demetre drove his ice cream truck to Trudelle Park in Scarborough, Ontario. His arrival was heralded by a loud popular folk tune coming out of the truck’s speaker.
“Okay. Let’s see if Demetre is outside,” I coaxed.
“I saw the ice cream truck. It’s outside,” Zoe said.
“Let’s go,” I replied, as I followed smaller feet hastily marching out the apartment door.
Once more, the festive mood prevailed. So did the joy and experience of being with Mamang Sorbetero. #####