Ice Cream! I'm All out of Ice Cream!

There are a number of nostalgic experiences from childhood that have been disappearing. Trick-or-treating, for example, is fast dying out as concern for children’s safety increases. But one thing that is not going away as quickly as I would expect is the ice cream truck. I mean, here is what amounts to a stranger handing out treats to your kids. Pre-packaged or not, that ice cream could have anything in it. So I don’t think I’ll let my kids buy anything from the ice cream man, or even make eye contact with him, because they’re like stray dogs—if you give them any attention, they’ll keep coming back. And the “music” is really annoying, although I am amused by the guy whose truck plays Christmas songs.

Not only that, but I don’t understand how anybody can still make money selling ice cream. These guys drive around in trucks and vans that get abysmal gas mileage. I bet if they compared their monthly expenditures on gas with their profits, they’d see that they are basically subsidizing the oil companies, which certainly don’t need the extra help.

Wow. I just realized that I can take the fun out of anything. Maybe tomorrow I’ll tackle the horrors of the school playground or something.

Comments

Unknown said…
I bet they're still making a profit. Have you seen the prices of the items they sell lately?!! They are outrageous. But I happen to know one ice cream truck (actually it's a VW van) driver that stays in business due to the company I work for. Everytime we have a company party, there's the ice cream man parked in the parking lot and handing out ice cream to anyone who dares approach him (on the company's dime, of course). But I don't think it's worth the money, if you're the one paying.

By the way, school playgrounds are scary!
August 5, 2008 at 1:39 PM
Turbo said…
I wanted to be the first to say . . . (since it is the right time where you live) . . . Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear . . . you, Happy birthday to you. Have a good one, if you dare.
August 6, 2008 at 12:42 AM
Lizzy said…
Try living in Buffalo, NY. Our neighborhood has 3!! different ice cream trucks that come through. And some of them come through twice!! And the times range from 11 am to 9 pm! Yes much yelling. Have you ever put a baby down for a nap to have it wake up screaming because of the idiotic, way too loud, and way too annoying music. Try having it day after day! I swear at times I want a sound seeking missile. Maybe then they'd stay away. And for some UNFATHOMABLE reason, they alway stop in front of our house. I say "DOWN WITH ICE CREAM TRUCKS!"
August 6, 2008 at 7:50 AM
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