Neville Frankel

My Ice Cream Journey

Gratitude and ice cream have much in common. They both come in different flavors. And the way we experience them depends on which container they come in.

There is the plain vanilla variety—rich and simple—the quiet everyday gratitude we feel upon waking, the Glad-to-be-alive and Isn’t-the-sky-gorgeous flavor. It comes in a kid-sized cup, for the abstemious among us, those who don’t want to show too much gratitude for fear of attracting the evil eye. It comes in sugar cones, for the no frills eat-it-while-you’ve-got-it consumer. Or the quart container, for those who believe dessert should be eaten first and sometimes only. Then of course, for the Rings-on-your-finger and Rings-on-your-toes type of gratitude, there is the chocolate dipped waffle cone. This kind of gratitude comes in short, fast waves and needs to be appreciated in the moment, and not a moment too soon.

Those are the easy ones. The more difficult flavors involve complex feelings of gratitude, the ones that come as a surprise. A cancer diagnosis, for example, evokes a surprising sense of gratitude for a long life filled with love and joy, a new appreciation of each day and each night, and each moment that might contain music, delicious food, laughter, and starlight. I think that’s a Rocky Road kind of gratitude, and it should, in my opinion, be eaten slowly, with a teaspoon, direct from a simple and unadorned sugar cone, appreciating every nugget of sweetness and crunch.

Then there’s the newest addition to my compendium, the gratitude that comes with the news that the clinical trial I’m has been successful, and that I am, for the moment, cancer free. This one doesn’t have a particular flavor—it is whatever flavor might be a favorite. Mine is Ben and Jerry’s Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz. It should be eaten out of crystal goblets with sterling silver teaspoons. It should be eaten with people you love, or alone in a quiet garden, or anywhere that makes you smile. I haven’t eaten mine yet. I’m going to hold off until the smile on my face lets go and I can actually open my mouth to taste the caramel sweetness of blackstrap molasses, the strong kick of a double espresso, and the sweetness of life itself.

To all those who have accompanied me on this journey with good wishes and texts and calls and cards and flowers, my gratitude overflows. Chocolate, of course.

Making the final tweaks to the galley of The Moon Knows Their Names. Look out for it in early 2027!!!