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It was early Spring, in 1960, I had not been 5 but a few months. It was a very warm Spring afternoon in Alabama, and the kids in our neighborhood were all out playing. My Grandmother came to our home while my Mother worked and kept me. She was a fine Southern lady by all standards for sure. My Grandfather was a Baptist Preacher who passed away at 40 from TB and left my Grandmother with 7 children and one on the way. She raised all 8 children and never remarried. She was very kind but strong. There was no backtalk and you did just as you were told, period.

This particular afternoon she had laid my dinner on the kitchen counter as she did every after in the Spring through early Fall, for the Ice cream man. She said, do not get your dine and take it outside Debbie until you see the Ice Cream man, do you understand me? You will take it out there and lose it and then you will not have your dime to buy your popsicle I said yes, mam, I know or something to that effect I remember it all so well. I was a bit of a rebel all my life, and for some reason that day I wanted to go ahead get my dinner like the big kids and have it before the Ice Cream Man came. So, I took it and ran out. Now, at 5 years of age, I thought she will never notice, boy, was I wrong.

Well, I got out there flipping around in a pile of new pea gravel my Daddy was going to put down by our sidewalk. I thought those pea gravel were gold I tell you. I had my own little pile of about 50 that I had washed and they were slick and shiny. As I began to play in the I forgot about that dime and laid it down well, all of a sudden I heard the Ice Cream Trucks bell, and I could not find my dime, I thought oh no, Grandmother was right and if I tell her I am in trouble for sure, she told me Do not get the dime from the counter until you hear the Ice Cream man or you will lose it. She was right, I had done just that and here he was in front of my home, and the kids were lined up. I thought what will I do? I grabbed a small handful of my pretty gravel that I had cleaned and shined and went to the truck.

I got my usual Banana popsicle, yum. Then I handed him several of my prized rocks and took off. That day my Grandmother decided to come out to buy her a cool treat too, she and the Ice Cream Man would chat for a few minutes. She got up there to him and I watched thinking oh no I might not have given him my rocks and I lost my dime and didn’t mind her. Now, at 5 I knew better but, I still thought the rocks were worth it, they were valuable in my eyes. She headed back to the front porch and said do not open that, come in the house.

I dropped my head and followed her. She said put your popsicle in the freezer. She said you know that what you did was wrong? You took your popsicle and gave him your rocks. How do your Mother and Daddy pay bills? With money or rocks. I didn’t say anything, she said, that is his job, and how he takes care of his bills, he can not live on rocks.

I started to cry and said, I lost my dime, she said that is not his fault, but, yours. I told you not to take it until you saw him but you did it anyway and as I said you lost it. We were as poor as the rest of the neighbors I guess and just didn’t know it back then and a dime every day from her might have been a lot added up 5 to 6 days a week, I don’t know. I think for her it was more of the lesson she was trying to teach me. One, that was wrong, two I didn’t mind her and three you have to have money to live on rocks that don’t work

I know, I was just 5 but, back then kids were taught to mind and taught the value of things or I was. She gave me another dime and said now go pay him he is waiting, tell him you’re sorry. So, I did as she told me. I came back and was about to get my popsicle when she stopped me, she said no, you can have it tomorrow, today I am sorry you can not have it because you didn’t listen to Grandmother, and you did something I think you knew was wrong. She was right, deep down I knew he didn’t want or need those rocks I just wanted my popsicle. Lesson learned and so many more from such a strong Southern lady. I was blessed to have her in my life.

You may think she was too tough on a 5-year-old but me, I think she taught me some of the most precious lessons of life. To pay for what you get, listen to your elders because they had our best interest at heart, and when we didn’t do as we were told the punishment hurt at times. No popsicle for me I had to wait for it and eat it the next day when the Ice Cream man came around. Thank you, Grandmother, you were awesome.