Ever since her middle school days, De’Nisha Beasley, who’s now 39 years old, has eagerly awaited the familiar jingle of her neighborhood ice cream truck. Specifically, she looks forward to having a sweet exchange with the driver, whom she affectionately calls “My ice cream man.” “He loves my daughter!” Beasley’s mother, Gail Beasley, explains in a video capturing their dynamic.
“Ever since she was a little girl, he’s been serving her ice cream.” The shows the moment her old pal eagerly climbs down from his truck as she runs to give him a hug. “The ice cream man showed up every day at the same time for over 25 years,” Beasley wrote in the caption of her post.
“For a child who experienced a lot of trauma, having that consistency was incredibly healing. He always greeted me with the same love and excitement every time he saw me. As a child without much money, getting a free ice cream every single day really meant a lot—and it still does.
” Beasley’s post prompted Instagram users to share thoughts about community support as well as their own memories of turning over couch cushions to purchase a treat from their local ice cream trucks. “This is what community was about back in the day you were raised by a village,” one user commented. “The fact he has been coming around for 25 yrs and remembered you is amazing.
” “I remember my ice cream man,” another user recalled. “He was an angel. I ran into him after about 18 years in a city 60 miles.