by Lisa Michele Smith
When my boys were in their
"tweens," they went crazy when the ice cream truck hit the block.
Having moved from a private apartment complex in suburbia in which such trucks
did not exist, hearing that Mr. Softee song was a treat.
One day I flagged down the driver to ask how much for the ice cream, and when he told me, I yelled to Son #2, "Gabriel! Get me my purse!"
The driver, who was Middle Eastern and Muslim, repeated in a thick accent, "Gabriel ... Jibra'il ... the messenger, God's messenger."
I smiled and said, "Yes, the archangel," and he nodded.
Funny how this memory just popped into my head. We are all connected.
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Lisa Michele Smith is the author of the short story collection, The Things Your Eyes Have Seen. She has taught at several colleges in Connecticut, and holds an MFA degree in professional writing from Western Connecticut State University.
