Familiar tune means ice cream man cometh

The ice cream truck cruised through our subdivision Sunday afternoon about the usual time.

I couldn't tell whether any of our neighborhood kids were responding to its presence, but it always gets my attention.

Scott Joplin's wonderful piano rag, "The Entertainer," the catchy theme to "The Sting" is the ice cream truck's melody.

It reminds me of the ice cream guy we call "the Cappuccino Man" at Surf City, N.J.

There are a few other vendors who come to the beach near our rental on 25th Street, ring some sort of bells and draw a couple of customers.

Not the Cappuccino Man.

A burly 60ish guy who's a roofer the rest of the year, when he walks onto the beach he rings a big ol' firetruck's bell:

BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG!!!

It sets off a cavalry charge of people running up the hot sand.

Adults included.

Like me.

It's a funny scene that plays out every day, a slice of summer vacation yearly.

A pleasant memory, for sure, once that returns every Sunday afternoon when I hear "The Sting" playing over and over in our subdivision.

I may have to check it out next time.

Get my wife some ice cream, too.