Rocky Road
Page 22
“Hands down, the finest sundae ever created, according to Tess Dobson.”
1 whopping scoop each of luscious chocolate and vanilla ice creama
½ cup chopped walnuts
½ cup mini marshmallows
whipped cream
fudge sauce
Find your favorite bowl and pile in all these tasty ingredients. Then swirl, swirl, swirl with a gentle hand and a hopeful spirit. You can’t go wrong when you whip up this classic. Eating Rocky Road always puts you on the right road.
Ice Cream Flavors and the Inner You
The Inside Scoop isn’t the only source that claims there’s a link between personality and ice cream flavor preferences. A study in ice cream “flavorology” was actually conducted by a neurologist named Dr. Alan R. Hirsch, director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago. The results suggest that distinct personalities do gravitate toward certain flavors when we step up to the ice cream counter. So skip the horoscopes and the fortune-tellers. Allow ice cream to be your guiding light on the path to self-awareness!
So what does your favorite ice cream flavor reveal about you?
Chocolate: You are creative, lively, and flirtatious. You also like being the center of attention and become bored with the same old routine.
Vanilla: Don’t believe the myth. The vanilla lover’s choice is never boring—you’re colorful, impulsive, expressive, and a risk taker.
Mint chocolate chip: You have strong morals and you always fight for what you believe in. You are ambitious and confident too—and, truth be told, a little stubborn.
Butter pecan: You are devoted, orderly, respectful, and fiscally conservative. Odds are high that you make your bed every day and never have a messy desk.
Chocolate chip: You’ve got a competitive streak and you work very hard. You’re also generous with time and money.
Coffee: You thrive on the passion of the moment and you throw yourself into all that you do. Friends know you as adventuresome and dramatic, but you tend to overcommit yourself.
Strawberry: Thoughtful and logical, that’s you. You deliberate long and hard before making decisions. You can also be introverted and shy, but always a loyal friend.
Banana: You are easygoing, well adjusted, honest, and empathetic.
Rocky Road: You present a balanced mixture of charm and practicality. You are outgoing and goal-oriented, and you appreciate the finer things in life.
Tasty Afterthoughts
Writing a story set in an ice cream shop brings out the sweet in people. Many generous individuals have added flavor to Rocky Road. I am grateful to you all. Any errors, of course, I have served up by myself.
An extra scoop of thanks, with all the toppings, to:
Michele Burke, an editor who is as talented as she is fun and supportive. I knew we were simpatico when I discovered she loves coffee ice cream too. And a tip of the soda jerk’s paper hat to all at Knopf who helped transform this story from manuscript to book.
Emily Sylvan Kim, superagent, who always believes in me and tells it like it is. Lucky me to have her on my team.
Kim Dergosits and Susan Rothchild, for guidance with American Sign Language and insight into the world of the deaf.
Camille Freedner and the peer mediators at Chatham Middle School in Chatham, New York, for explaining and enacting peer mediation. I intentionally choose an I-statement in declaring, “I feel that you are all terrific.”
My local writer friends Nancy Castaldo, Liza Frenette, Lois Miner Huey, Eric Luper, Helen Mesick, Coleen Paratore, and Kyra Téis, who always give helpful feedback and keep good writer company. A special shout-out to Girl Scout leader Nancy for her crafty insight into T-shirt design.
Pat Reilly Giff, inspiring mentor, across the years and miles. And Ann Haywood Leal, talented author-buddy, who goes back with me to those SCBWI conferences where we scribbled notes to each other and wondered when we would get to check “author” on registration forms.
Sue Bucher, a San Antonio gal born and bred, for offering straight-shooting advice on all things Texas.
Al Roland, for the author photo, and Annie Roland, for fielding random research questions.
Michelle Camuglia, always my first reader and always a good friend.
Abby Curro, for her thorough explanation on installing curtains. (And for installing curtains at my house over the years!)
In tribute to Mr. Ed Berko and Dave Berko. I will always cherish the memory of our visit to an ice cream shop in Annapolis during my first trip to the Naval Academy. Go, Navy!
All the kids in our blended brood—Tae, Rhiannon, Kellyrose, Liam, Connor, and Theresa—for cheering on Rocky Road and putting up with my distracted self when Tess’s troubles were on my mind. An extra heap of sprinkles goes to Kelly for reading the story early on and offering many valuable suggestions.
Frank Capra, posthumously, for creating a movie that always reminds me that we make the world a better place simply by the way we treat each other.
Janet Hutchison, smart and spirited owner of the Open Door Bookstore, and the epitome of what brings out the best in Schenectady. And the sisters at Civitello’s Italian Pastries. I put your shop in Rocky Road, changing the location, however, because your story inspired me—and I love your lemon ice. And to all in the Schenectady community who have worked so hard to bring this fine city back.
All the readers who have written and e-mailed and encouraged another book after reading Kimchi & Calamari, and all the teachers and librarians who have put my book in the hands of students and onto state lists.
My parents and extended family and friends, who cheered me on. And special kudos to my niece, Regina Kent, and my nephew, Matthew Beckwith, who often turned to me at family gatherings and asked, “So, whatcha writing now, Aunt Rose?”
To Tom, skilled mapmaker, patient partner, and Spanish translator. Tú eres mi héroe. Siempre con cariño.
Finally, to every person who has ever scooped a cone, whipped up a shake, or dressed up an ice cream sundae, and served it with a smile. You never know what that customer on the other side of the counter really needs. This story is for you.
About the Author
Rose Kent, a former naval officer, lives in Niskayuna, New York, just east of Schenectady, with her husband and children in a house with a dozen ice cream scoops. She is an ardent believer in the redemptive power of a sundae.
Her first book, Kimchi & Calamari, was nominated for several state library awards. Visit her at www.rosekent.com.
THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A. KNOPF
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2010 by Rose Kent
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
Knopf, Borzoi Books, and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Grateful acknowledgment is made to Alfred Publishing Co., Inc., for permission to use the theme from New York, New York, music by John Kander and words by Fred Ebb, copyright © 1977 (Renewed) United Artists Corporation. All Rights Controlled and Administered by EMI Unart Catalog Inc. (Publishing) and Alfred Publishing Co., Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kent, Rose.
Rocky road / Rose Kent — 1st ed.
p. cm.
Summary: Fashion-loving twelve-year-old Tess moves with her deaf younger brother and impulsive single mother to Schenectady, New York, where they open an ice cream shop and lead a campaign for urban renewal.
; eISBN: 978-0-375-89528-9
[1. Ice cream parlors—Fiction. 2. Moving, Household—Fiction. 3. Single-parent families—Fiction. 4. Manic-depressive illness—Fiction. 5. Brothers and sisters—Fiction. 6. Deaf—Fiction. 7. People with disabilities—Fiction. 8. Schenectady (N.Y.)—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.K4197Roc 2010
[Fic]—dc22
2009022093
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