Summer Sounds: Ice In A Glass Of Tea
Writer Yolanda Young recalls the sound of ice cubes in tall glasses of tea on the hot summer days of her youth in Louisiana. It's her story for our series, Summer Sounds.
ROBERT SIEGEL, Host:
And speaking of cold drinks, it's time now for another sound of summer.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
YOLANDA YOUNG: My name is Yolanda Young, and I'm a writer.
(SOUNDBITE OF ICE RATTLING)
YOUNG: My summer sound is ice rattling in a tall glass of iced tea.
(SOUNDBITE OF ICE RATTLING)
YOUNG: Big Momma had no air conditioning, and my bedroom was off the kitchen, where Big Momma spent most of her time cooking. Can you say hot? We had no icemaker, so we spent the days emptying the contents of metal ice trays into giant bowls.
(SOUNDBITE OF ICE RATTLING)
YOUNG: We never wanted to run out of those cubes. In the mornings I'd plop them into my milk.
(SOUNDBITE OF ICE RATTLING)
YOUNG: All afternoon, I'd crunch on flavored cubes made from frozen Kool-Aid. In the evenings, Big Momma and I would sit on her front porch sipping sweet tea as the ice in our glasses crackled and popped.
(SOUNDBITE OF ICE RATTLING)
YOUNG: A precocious child, I was known to mimic things I'd seen on TV. So I'd gotten in the habit of toasting the end of the day. Cheers, I'd say to Big Momma. She'd look at me with a bemused smile, and say, cheers, baby. We'd tap our glasses in honor of another great summer day.
(SOUNDBITE OF ICE RATTLING)
SIEGEL: The latest in our series Summer Sounds, that one from writer Yolanda Young.
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