Today is a rather beautiful morning. The sun is shining, spring is in the air, and some people have already ditched their coats. Not me though.

So as my day begins I wonder how my beautiful son is doing, I keep seeing his little smile in my mind as he does his little mischief and jokes. I miss my boy.

I consider that just yesterday my fiancee’s sister gave birth to a beautiful little boy who will call me uncle, and I consider yet another boy still developing within my sister’s womb. My family is blessed.

As I ride in my subterranean limousine within stops, out of nowhere I remember the elementary school icy lady. Yummy icy’s too. She is the standard to which I hold any icy I will ever have. Just like mom is the standard for “arroz con pollo”!

I was my son’s age, and just like today, during the nicer weather months there was a lady who live across the street from my school. I believed she lived on a first floor, but a little higher than the ground level.

Basically everyday after school all the children would say “ma, can I have a quarter?” If our moms would entertain us and give us a quarter, we’d then climb on this little gate and ledge and offer it up to the older lady.

We’d put it in her little basket of sorts, she had it tied to a little string or shoe lace or something, she’d lower it for us to put the funds in, then she’d raise it up, ask us what flavor we wanted and deposit our “coquito”, (cup icy) into the little basket and lower it down to us.

I always opted for the coconut flavor, that was my favorite. Occasionally I’d get creative and get cherry or tamarindo, also quite yummy.

Loudspeaker recording says:

“In order to maintain even spacing spacing between the trains, we are being held at the station momentarily. Please be patient, and thank you for riding with the mta.”

Don’t you find it funny little random things like this pop into our minds? I wonder how the old lady is doing? Its been over 22 years, is she still with us? I wonder.

Regardless of where she is, today I have brought her to life in my mind, and I send a thank you my old icy lady. God bless.

And to my wonderful mom, I thank you for all those quarters back then.