Jolly Joe, The Ice Cream Man Drawing

Awhile back, I had posted a story about the ice cream man from my past.  I had written the story for a children’s writing class and when I did this, memories came flooding back to me.  It made me want to search Jolly Joe and see if I could find out who he was and his past or something.  I could find nothing on the man.

I wanted to be able to give this story to him or his family to let them know that he was indeed a special man and many people remembered him (just look at my post on him). I recently painted this picture of what I could remember how the truck looked with the bell and asked a local paper if they would put this in the paper with hope of finding someone that knew him, hopefully even a family member.  It should be in the Warwick Beacon soon.  Hopefully this brings me to someone…anyone that knew him.

But for now, here is the picture of Jolly Joe. Enjoy!

Jolly Joe The Ice Cream Man

 

I had put it in a format for submitting t children’s book publishers, but had no illustrations to go with it.

Same Old Lang Syne By Dan Fogelberg Video

Hello everyone!  Hope you had a great New Years!

Just wanted to share this video of a great song I remember from the 1980′s, but you can relate to it even today.  This must have really happened to him as it is just too perfect.  Just a nice New Years song for celebrating times past.  On with the new!

Enjoy!

The Beauty Of The Hours (Reblog)

This is a quote I illustrated awhile back which I really love.  It’s how I really feel about living and enjoying every minute of every day.  Time goes by so quickly.  My kids are now 17, 19 and 20 years of age.  I was a stay- at- home mom, and I loved it.  I wouldn’t  have changed any of it.

The Beauty Of The Hours

Today, as I was folding clothes on my bed, I put on an old CD I used to play for the kids when they were small and read their books.  It was music from the Beatrix Potter animated series that was on PBS (see below).  I love this CD as it helps me focus and think like a child when I have to be creative, drawing,etc.  When I started listening, I almost wanted to cry.  I could picture the three of them sitting on the couch, curled up reading their books.  Their stuffed animals cuddled under their arms while having a snack.  I remember this as clearly as it happened yesterday.  Times were so laid back then.  No homework, studying for SAT’s, driver’s ed and dating problems.  It was excitement, playfulness and innocence.  Hugs and kisses.  I’d take it all back in a second.

Anyway, before I get too emotional, this is what made me want to illustrate this quote.  This is what I picture when I read the words.  It makes me feel serene looking at the girl on the beach, just enjoying something as simple as listening to a seashell.  Can’t you hear it?  Enjoy!

Cheryl

Days Of Innocence (My Kids Patrick, Caitlin and Kelsey about 12 yrs. ago)

My kids reading their books before bedtime.

The Forgotten Ones (Another Reblog)

Here is another popular reblog.  I feel it is appropriate right now because of Halloween approaching and the whole cemetery thing.  I hope you enjoy this.  It really makes you think.

The Forgotten Ones In Autumn

The Forgotten Ones

The view from my second – story  bedroom window is a humbling one.  It reminds me how precious life is everyday.  The view is of a simple cemetery, not quite historical, but dated, none-the-less.

I don’t mind the cemetery at all.  Our house is separated from the cemetery by a stockade fence, a steep slope and railroad tracks that sit down below. These tracks are not for an Amtrak, but for an occasional slow-moving train transferring goods.  I  take comfort in the fact that know no one will ever build over there, and as neighbors to us,  they never make a fuss.  The geese fly low overhead and it is very peaceful.

The  view to me is comforting, almost like an old friend, now.  The same stones greet me every morning when I open up my blinds.  Sometimes the view can look rather eerie when there is a low fog rolling in, and then sometimes, it can look overwhelmingly beautiful, like just after a snowstorm.

There are times I have been depressed and sat on my bed feeling hopeless about a situation, and then through teary eyes, I’ll glance over at the solemn view,  and my mind starts reeling.  Someday that will be me, nothing more than a name on a stone.  Who will remember me?  The things I liked, the friends I knew. The things I’ve done?  Will it all have mattered?  Did I make a difference?  An impression?  Then suddenly,  my current problem doesn’t seem so important after all.  That could be me over there.

Those stones sit there everyday and I see no one.  Not one visitor.  Maybe on a very, rare occasion, I’ll see a lone person sitting on a stone having lunch like they are sitting with an old friend, or a car will sit there and someone may get out and wander.  I mostly see joggers and walkers, and the occasional person walking their dog, only to have it relieve itself on a stone.  Now. that’s a memory I wish not to have when I am gone.

The church in the distance rings out the time at 9:00, 12:00 and 6:00, and I think to myself,  how odd that is , especially for those in the cemetery who don’t care about the time anymore. And the stones sit there day after day, alone in the rain…in the snow…surrounded in leaves…and then sometimes, the miniature flags come out, like for Memorial Day. It looks slightly alive for awhile.

I wonder when the cemetery was first new, how many family members must have come to visit here.  Year after year, with flowers and small gifts.  I can picture groups of families, probably crying and hanging on to each other. Ill bet it was very busy for a long time… and then it just slowly got forgotten. People got older and passed on, moved away or something.  The visiting stops and the stones just sit there and look like they are waiting. Waiting for someone to  just remember them. The people there.  They were here once, talking and laughing.  They had families and memories and pasts.  How sad.  I don’t want this to be me someday, but I guess it will be inevitable.

So, one day, I’ve promised to buy a rose or two.  I’ll walk through the plots and read the names and imagine the lives of the ones that lie there. I’ll place  a rose on top of a stone, stand back and smile… and maybe, I will even say a prayer.

Then, I will say

to myself, “No, you are not forgotten…not today”.

The Forgotten Ones In Winter

Little Red Sneakers (A Poem and reblog)

I am posting this yet again, as I see people still look this one up now and again. Enjoy!!!

Here is a poem from my journal that was written 6/21/93.  It is about my children and wanting never to forget all the special memories of their childhood. The red sneakers were Patrick’s, and they were little  canvas high tops-so cute!  (He had several different pairs, and I even saved a pair of velcro cuties!)

This poem is titled:

LITTLE RED SNEAKERS

I want to remember,

Little red sneakers, sandboxes and swings,

and all the little childhood things.

Little Red Sneakers (Yes, I saved them)

Joyful laughter-wiping tears, I want to remember through the years.

Ice cream, lollipops and licorice,too,

Wagons and bicycles-a stroller for two.

Christmases and birthdays, when everyone’s over,

Ernie and Bert, Oscar and Grover.

Bathing suits and summer fun, a kiss and hug for everyone.

Carousels and pony rides, cookouts and climbing slides.

A wading pool, chock-full of toys,

Climbing trees is for little boys!

Scampering feet on wooden floors,

Singing kid songs behind closed doors.

Christopher Robin and Winnie The Pooh,

Owl, Eeyore, Kanga and Roo.

Reading books on Mommy’s lap,

Patrick

“Come on now kids, it’s time for your nap!”

Cookies and milk before going to bed.

Stroking blonde hair on a tired boys head.

The kiss and the hug,  the ” I  Love You!” before sleeping,

Lies deep within my heart, worth keeping.

These things I want to remember with pleasure.

Worth more than gold,

It’s a mother’s treasure!

The End

I Wish John-Boy Walton Was My Older Brother

I don’t know what it is about the Walton’s tv show, but to this day, when I watch the show, I am oblivious to anything going on around me.  The only thing that startles me to reality (unfortunately) is the commercials!  I loved the show in the 70′s when family shows were all the rage, and I wish they still were.  TV shows today are so outrageous that I can’t even compare them to the more meaningful ones from the 70′s.  I mean, I know they all weren’t the best, but at least we had something!

When I watch the Walton’s today, a  strange sense of calm comes over me.  A feeling of being less stressed in a simpler time.

Almost the way I felt growing up in the 60′s and 70′s, before technology went crazy. I liked coming home from school and relaxing before doing homework, leaving the stresses of the day behind me and not having to see my classmates until the next day.  Not with facebook!  It’s in front of you 24/7.  That would have driven me insane.  And the bullies that harassed me by day, I’m sure would have found me on facebook.  No thank you!  I  also loved my “one and only”  rotary phone, to “TALK” to someone…not text or e-mail and  somehow try to figure out if the words in the text were meant to be sarcastic or mean in any way.  We worked out many problems and disagreements over the phone! OOOps, I’m sorry, I’m getting off the subject…I wanted to talk about John-Boy Walton…my hero.

Like I said, I loved watching the Walton’s and how they solved their own family problems, ate together at mealtimes with Grandma and Grandpa, and even took in strangers with difficult hardships  and fixed their problems, too. They just took life as it came with all it’s different experiences and learned from them, together.  Always together. It sounds silly, but I always came away from  the show feeling satisfied, like I could survive the next day’s troubles  all because of how I felt inside after watching the show for an hour.

Now, I  do have an older sister and our relationship reminded me so much of the relationship between Mary-Ellen  and Erin. The little spats and also the sisterly love.  I  also have 3 younger brothers, but I had always wished for an older brother. An older brother who would protect me from the cold, harsh world and show me right from wrong, without getting mom or dad involved. Someone I could go to for all kinds of advice and know that he would always be there for me if things didn’t quite go my way.  I’m sure he would’ve somehow made me feel like the sun would surely shine again in the morning.  It would all be okay.  And yes, he would’ve been a writer and write poems and share them with me. Poems about love and romance and life in general.  Of course, I would appreciate that, because I am an artist and write poetry, too. Yes, that was John-Boy.

Ahhh…it is nice to dream…

But I have always loved John-Boy, or Richard Thomas, since he played the part, and I think he would think it was funny  that there is still women out there that have secretly admired him all these years.  He  just looks like he is a very nice person to get to know.  I never read anything bad about him.  He just looks like a pleasant, very nice person.

Flashback:   One day on our Honeymoon in Washington DC ( in 1985 ), my husband and I were at this very nice restaurant.  As we were eating, my husband told me that Richard Thomas had just walked in.  I did not believe him! But it was him!!! He and another actor were starring on a stage production nearby and they were eating out together.  He was only tables away from me!!!Oh my God!  I’m thinking….autograph..no… he will think I am stupid…no.  I really would have loved to go over to him and tell him how much I loved his work, but I probably would have drooled instead, so nevermind.  I still remember what he was wearing and how he just strolled in like he was my next door neighbor.  Unbelievable.

Anyway, that’s my story.  Now you know my secret crush, oh well.  I’ve held it in for so long, it just had to come out someday.

So if you ever happen to see Richard Thomas in your travels, let me know,and see if you can’t get that extra autograph for me, ok???  :)

Goodnight John-Boy!

John-Boy

Richard Thomas

Jolly Joe, The Ice Cream Man (via Cherylmcnulty’s Blog)

I am noticing that this post on this story (which I hope to get published soon) seems to be the most popular on my blog. I am bringing it back to the front page of my blog to see what kind of views this could generate again. This has proven to be very interesting and has given me a little more encouragement on my end to seeing it in book form someday. Thank you all.

I am writing this in my blog to see what people think.  This is a story I wrote from my childhood, which stands out in my memory as clear as it happened yesterday, but in fact it was 40 years ago.  I wanted to reflect the images and the way I remember the way the days felt back then.  I'm sure if you grew up in the 60's, you can relate to this story.  This is one is on it's way to a publisher as we speak. I can really picture this story as a chil … Read More

via Cherylmcnulty's Blog

Little Red Sneakers (via Cherylmcnulty’s Blog)

I know I’ve reblogged this before, but I think it is a great poem and many people enjoyed this last time. Here’s one for all the moms that “want to remember” and know that special times with little ones never really last for very long. Thank God for memories! Enjoy!

    Here is a poem from my journal that was written 6/21/93.  It is about my children and wanting never to forget all the special memories of their childhood. The … Read More

via Cherylmcnulty’s Blog

Penny Candy (A Trip Down Memory Lane)

Hi all!  I was just sitting here thinking, “What can I write about?”, when I thought of a conversation I had with my husband in the car the other day.  It was about going to the bakery as a kid (which would be 1950′s to 1960′s),  buying penny candy and filling up a small paper bag.  Then we both started naming all the candy we could remember.

Okay, here goes…the first that comes to mind is Squirrel Nuts, which were so chewy my teeth would stick together and  thought I would break my jaw as I tried to chew. They were too good, so I’d just keep placing them in my mouth.  Yes, yes…candy necklaces, which I wore (nerd) and candy dots on paper, which I think I ate my share of paper that stuck to the undersides.  Okay, Flying Saucers, you know, the candy that tastes like the church wafers, only slightly flavored with candy beads inside!  Still don’t know why they couldn’t give these out every Sunday at church instead.  Sorry .

Sky Bars were my favorite, 4 surprise creams in a bar. Yum!

Ok,  remember those wax bottles filled with sugary liquid???  I shudder now when I think of eating or swallowing that liquid and how sweet it was.  They were kind of like the energy shots of today!

There were Razzles, the candy that was also a gum…genius!  Pop rocks, rock candy, milk duds, caramel creams!  Oh yes, atomic fireballs!  They were so hot when you first put them in your mouth, it made your eyes water, until you got used to it.  Then they were just sweet and you had to bite them, take them out of your mouth and look at all the layers it had inside!!!  So cool!  When it was done, the experience was so cool, you had to do it all over again.

The coconut  3 striped candy, neopolitans.  Jelly Nougats, Chunkys, Ice Cubes,chuckles, necco wafers.  I could go on and on.

But the last is the absolute best…..W A X   L I P S!  Come on, there wasn’t a cooler candy around.  First you could wear them and make everyone laugh (just see photo below of my kids trying them out when they were younger).  Then after that you could place them in your mouth and chew it like a gum!  The flavor was irresistible!  Like a sweet vanilla or something.  Oh, take me back, I can’t stand it!  Why did everything seem more awesome when we were little!

Come to think of it, do you remember caps and cap guns.  You didn’t even need the gun really, just a big rock.  You slam the rock down on the cap and “Bang!”.  Then you pick up the red burnt paper and you did ,what????  Yes,  you’d smell it!  Oh, the sweet smell of sulfur!

And then the “Snakes”.  These were always available around the 4th of July. They were black tablets you lit a match to, and it grew an ash snake that looked like it was alive as it coiled around…Oh my God!  I guess this is going to have to be another post!!!  I keep remembering stuff, see what you made me do!

Oh well, I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane, or Candy Lane, I should say.  Hey wait, that sounds sort of like Candy Land.  Remember the game Candy Land???  I loved that game …with all those yummy pictures and neat candy names!  And then there’s the Mystery Date game???

Wait!!!  Stop!  Stop!

I gotta go….Bye!

My Mick Jagger look alike kids with their wax lips

Memories Of Manila (not Vanilla) Paper

I just set up my new website (cherylmcnulty.com) that will feature all of my artwork.  I just had to chuckle because the line I used to start off my introduction is:

As long as I can remember, I had wanted to be an artist.  In my younger days, I would bring home large sheets of manila (I always thought this was “vanilla”) paper from school and draw pictures in crayon for every holiday. Then, being so proud, I would tape these pictures up in my kitchen for all to see.

That just brought back so many memories for me.  I distinctly remember when it was time for art class when I was in 4th and 5th grade.  They would pass out this large sheet of paper and put it in front of you and you had your own (hopefully sharpened) Crayola Crayons.  Like I said, I always thought it was “vanilla” because of the color, not manila.  Anyway, the teacher would say something like, “Okay, I want you to draw something with snowmen”,or “Draw something that represents Springtime to you”.

This was like heaven to me. I couldn’t wait.  I would stare at this large piece of paper and think, this could be anything.  It all begins with that first stroke. I would be so excited and had so many ideas in my head, I didn’t know where to begin!!  We had just one hour to complete it.  Of course the boys and jocks all moaned like they were in a living hell, which I could never  understand. Although, I was always the one that hated Gym class!  Go figure.

Do you know I would be so immersed in my drawing, that the hour went by like it was ten minutes for me.  I enjoyed it that much.  This could also explain why gym class felt like half a day for me, when it was only an hour. Yuck!

Anyway, I would always get alot of compliments on my drawings.  I would do the fancy shading thing with my crayons, not just plain orange, but shade it in a darker orange or red to give it that “oompf” factor.  My mother taught me that trick when she would color in my coloring books when I was small.  She would color in my Snow White coloring book and make Snow White look like she would jump off the page.  She had blushing, pink cheeks and shine in her hair.She looked beautiful!  And this was just crayon!

Well, now I’m really going to make myself blush by sharing with you some saved old crayon drawings from long ago.  Yes, I saved some.  What can I say…I was proud!  Now don’t laugh!  Here goes:

By The Sea (colored pencil,1979)

Spring (crayon, 1978)

Bedtime (crayon, about 1975)

Joy To The World (crayon, 1976)

My House At Christmas (crayon, about 1975)

A real photo of my house (I think I did pretty good)