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ice cream man

Day TwentyThree: Hail the Ice Cream Man

MTM and I used to joke about the ice cream man. He bicycled our old neighborhood blowing a whistle. Messejana has its own version of the ice cream man.

Daily Word Count: 0
Cumulative Words Written: 49,619
Total Words Discarded: 6,100
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MTM and I used to joke about the ice cream man. He bicycled around our old neighborhood, usually at dusk, lazily looping the streets while blowing a whistle.

The ice cream man summoned college students. They stumbled forth from single houses and staggered off piazzas, eager to examine his wares.

I don’t want to think about what he was selling. (HINT: It was probably drugs.)

Messejana has its unique version of the ice cream man. Most days, vans drive through town, horns blaring. One driver squawks through a loudspeaker. They park on various corners, open their rear doors, and sell their wares to anyone with cash.

In our house, we LOVE the bread van. It stops at the top of the street and sells warm pastries and fresh loaves. Jen bought a massive bag of head-on shrimp from the fish van. Everyone buys vegetables from the vegetable van. The loudspeaker belongs to the clothes van, where everything inside is 5 euro.

On our way to the pool today, Sarah, Victoria, and I encountered the fruit van and stopped for strawberries. (See photo of Sarah at the top.)

I don’t *think* Messejana has a drug van. But if it does, I know who knows. Ha.

ice cream man
Europe has so many interesting juxtapositions. Like this ruined church in a field next to the Messejana swimming pool. Also imagine the music of sheep bells beyond the fence.

This afternoon, I drove to Lisbon. Victoria, a Brazilian resident who lives near Bilbao, Spain, rode with me. I was glad to have company. While it may look like I’m fearless, I always get butterflies when doing things I’ve never done. Navigating from Messejana to Lisbon Airport to drop Victoria and finding my hotel qualifies. I wound up in the bus lane to drop Victoria and almost got a ticket.

Lucky for me, I’m a fast girl.

Tomorrow, I fly to Madrid for a weekend with MTM. And I’m impressed that hotels in Portugal give mini-bottles of PORT as a welcome gift. Hiccup!

ice cream man
WELCOME TO LISBON!

I didn’t write today, but I’m in a better place. I’m ready to hold my husband. And I’m going to finish this residency.

Here’s to being in a better place!

To follow my residency at Buinho Creative Hub from the beginning, CLICK HERE and read forward.

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4 Comments

  1. Crisis managed. Attitude changes everything. I’m proud of you.

  2. I am so glad to read today’s update. You and MTM will have a wonderful weekend, and if you’re still “managing,” that’s all we can do sometimes! It’s a powerful step. ox

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