My family has a tradition, on the evening after the first day of school we go out for ice cream. Quite honestly, in my family, anything is an excuse for ice cream, but this was the first day of school.
We went to Loard's, it was a quiet Tuesday night, there were two other tables occupied besides our own. There was a woman sitting alone at one of the tables, just her and her cup of ice cream ensconced in the pink and white booth. I noticed her because she was taking pictures.
Now usually taking pictures is my thing, I try to take them serreptiously for CVLegends, but this woman was like a food stylist, arranging her cup just so, standing up in the middle of the parlor to get the perfect shot, she definitely didn't have my desire to be incognito. The more pictures she took, the more interested I became, what was this crazy woman doing taking pictures in public? She even had a group of teenagers from the next table take a photo of her sitting alone in the booth.
I enjoyed my junior size peanut crunch sundae and when the woman was packing her things to leave I sprung into action. (Note: springing into action involves picking up the bill and ambling to the counter.) I crossed her path near the register and I had to ask her, so I said, "You must really love this place."
She said she did, she was from Napa and whenever she and her mother would come to Castro valley to visit friends they would stop at Loard's. All of the pictures were because her mom had recently passed away and it was a way to relive and recapture some of her treasured childhood memories.
I was deeply touched, I would have paid for her ice cream, but she was already gone by the time I thought of it, so all I'm left to do is share this tiny Castro Valley nugget with you. Good day.
