A tiny story:
As always, when we pulled up in front of the shop and climbed down from the carriage, I stopped first to read the sign while everyone else climbed down and got themselves sorted, and mother lifted baby Carey a toddler really by now, stood her wobbly self on the sidewalk then straightened her tiny red hat.
The sign, as ever, read:
The Corner Store
Books & Ice Cream
Remember The Rule!
Always
Books First,
Ice Cream Second
Because Nobody Wants
Sticky Books
Or
Words Mixed In The Ice Cream
I loved this sign every single time I read it. It’s the first time I remember words painting a picture in my head, a story illustration of puzzled people— some opening sticky books to blanks pages, others startled to find words instead of jimmies sprinkled over ice cream. It made an odd kind of flutter in the stomach–a magic trick that turned out to be real magic, conjured from letters painted on wood.
Now I’ll always think of (and see) words as jimmies on ice cream. Thank you!