Saturday, July 30, 2016

Nathanael O'Reilly #30 Ice Cream Connection

Ice Cream Connection

At Ken’s Ice Cream on Route 66
in Tucumcari, New Mexico,
we meet a retired couple
from Birmingham traversing
the mother road, unperturbed
by the decay, the boarded-up
abandoned motels, gas stations
diners, restaurants and bars,
possessing the ability to see
past the present into the past,
to ignore depressing reality
and envision the glory days.
We sit in adjoining booths,
talk about shared experiences,
quickly learn that we were all
in the same English town last
New Year’s Eve and agree
that the bloody rain ruined
the evening. We share travel
recommendations, compare
notes regarding theme parks,
hotels, cities and towns
from Los Angeles to Chicago
as we eat our ice creams
and enjoy a brief reprieve
from driving. After the last
drops of ice cream are licked
from fingers we shake hands,
part without even exchanging
names, resume our journeys
into the past and the future.


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