Christmas dreams on a hot summer day (05/31/06)

At first, I thought I was hearing things.

It was Sunday afternoon, and I was sweeping grass off the patio, having mowed about an hour earlier.

It was hot— the hottest day yet of 2006 — and I thought maybe the heat was going to my head.

In the distance, the sound of an ice cream truck was tinkling on the breeze and the tune worked its way into my brain.

“I’m dreaming of a white Christmas...”

Moving into the shade, I listened more closely.

“With every Christmas card I write...”

The words were in my head, but the tinkling tune was definitely “White Christmas.”

I called inside through an open window to my wife and daughter, who were watching the Indy 500 on TV.

“The ice cream truck is playing ‘White Christmas,’” I yelled.

As I did, I pictured the looks on their faces.

They must have thought I’d lost my mind.

But they listened, and they heard it too.

A few minutes later, “White Christmas” ended and yet another out-of-season tune tinkled in the distance. “Now it’s playing ‘Jingle Bells,’” I shouted.

As it drew closer, the truck took a religious turn.

“I hear ‘Silent Night,’” said my wife. Moments later, it was “Joy to the World.”

So, I wondered, is this some sinister part of Bill O’Reilly’s goofy “war on Christmas” that Fox News managed to overlook?

Or is it the ice cream man’s way of telling us to chill out on a hot day?

And what, after all, are the religious implications of using Christmas carols to sell ice cream bars?

If the truck drove past, I missed it.

That’s probably a good thing, too.

I have a very clear vision of the driver in my imagination already.

He’s this big guy with a snowy white beard, and when he laughs his belly shakes like a bowl full of jelly.[[In-content Ad]]