I made time to wander around town on Sunday, and it was hot! Several images jumped out at me and provided fodder for this Ross’ Ramblings column.

A true ramble.

Please bear with me as I try to describe a variety of visuals I saw in Old Town, featuring some of the hard-working people who provide a favourite place to visit for so many thousands of tourists every year — and such a delightful place to live for lucky locals. NOTLers, give thanks.

The lucky horses who pull carriages around town had decided to take the steamy day off, perhaps because of the protesters holding their signs at the corner of King and Queen the day before. Being downtown virtually every day, I witness so many very happy horse and carriage riders, absolutely delighted to be touring our town with the clip-clopping cadence enhancing their experience.

And many local folks enjoy taking out-of-town visitors for a carriage ride around town on special occasions. Each year, it seems the carriage drivers look smarter. Dashing black top hats have added to the photogenic effect this year.

Let me proffer a quick tip of the hat to Beau Chapeau, which seemed to be doing a land-office business. Merchandised to perfection, their creatively presented shop was aggressively cooled, and as usual, their windows were shining. The hat shops in town have figured out the marketing concept of synergism, and there are few things more festive and elegant than gentlemen and ladies sporting broad-brimmed hats.

Talk about subtle peer pressure. Especially while walking on a really hot day, it’s easy to get swept away by the need to purchase a sharp hat to be worn jauntily on one’s head.

It was no surprise that our main street sidewalks were full of people of all ages doing their best to eat their gelato treats and ice cream cones ’n’ cups before the heat wave cheated them. It was a losing battle on Sunday, but several creatively presented shops were non-stop scooping.

My discerning pal Rick Leitch was at his favourite table at the recently expanded Il Gelato di Carlotta, and down a few doors the sharp young workers at Nina Gelateria were smiling their way through the busiest day of the year so far.

Permit me to mention the smash success being enjoyed by Cows, as their back door entrance continues to be busier than the front entrance on Queen Street. Somehow, the ice cream lovers police themselves in the two lineups, and I don’t even want to guess how thrilled the owners of this Canadian success story must be when they review their financial statements.

Watching Marek and his dozen or more cow workers is inspirational, as they efficiently process the many, many customers buying summer day treats.

Having said that, Cows’ ice cream and gelato are not my thing, so my medium-sized chocolate-dipped Dairy Queen cone gets to hit my spot. It defies the laws of physics we learned back in high school, but to date, no vanilla ice cream has ended up in the chocolate sauce.

On Monday, it was just as hot, and perhaps even more humid. After my free walking tour, I had a conversation with Fred the UPS driver in his big brown delivery truck. What an inspiration!

“We’re all working, and today I will drink about 10 bottles of water.” Enough said — and a reminder it’s all about attitude. Fred has been enjoying this job for 39 years.

For whatever reason, on this very toasty Sunday, there weren’t many walkers carrying bright and colourful shopping bags. Lots of Cool As A Moose and NEOB Lavender bags, but most tourists seemed to be content licking their way along the sidewalks.

I don’t purport to possess any expertise on retail marketing or human nature, but a few things should perhaps be mentioned. Firstly, Norris Brown at the Apothecary was happily welcoming dozens of guests into the normally closed historic store at the busiest corner in town.

He loves volunteering with the provincial body that operates this gem of a retail store, and told me (with a straight face) that over 1,000 people had been in the shop that day.

The public pool in Veterans Memorial Park was, as expected, busy with families seeking a reprieve from the oppressive heat. There must be a good reason, but why was the wading pool in Simcoe Park not open?

The nearby swings and slides were providing lots of smiles for lots of local and visiting youngsters.

Like I rambled about a few months ago after the awkward Family Day on Monday: Let’s make a decision. Are we open? Or are we closed?