The Magical Sounds Of The Ice Cream Man

My thoughts today turned to ice cream when, for no apparent reason, I purchased a Ben and Jerry's "Cherry Garcia" ice cream bar while at the local Al-Qaeda convenience store. After paying Achmed, I was walking home and memories of ice cream back in the day permeated my mind. Of course, the quality wasn't remotely close to today's standards, but we didn't know the difference anyway.

We purchased ice cream and resorted to ice milk, when money was tight. Most people today don't know what ice milk is but suffice to say it was the equivalent of making Popsicles by freezing coolade in an ice tray and and adding toothpicks. Ice cream came in mainly three flavors...vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. Pecan and Pistachio were considered to be exotic. As a treat, my parents sometimes purchased Neapolitan, which was all three flavors in a one gallon brick, divided by color.

Once a day, at the same hour, the ice cream man would come down the street. He was either on a bicycle cart or a truck, but he was there daily, like clockwork. Although in those days, the majority of the ice cream men were on a bicycle cart, sometimes it was the Good Humor Truck or an independent seller. The amazing thing was that although you couldn't hear your mother telling you not to do something, the ice cream man's bell could be heard from five miles away.

As soon as you heard the jingle of the bell, you immediately went dashing toward the street, only to stop half-way when you remembered that you didn't bring your money. Some of the kids, with mothers who had a warped sense of humor, were forced to pull out their hankerchiefs (yes, we all carried hankerchiefs) and attempt to untie that Nazi knot which protected and safe-guarded your coins. Fortunately, many of us carried pocket knives and many a hankerchief was sent to hankerchief heaven after having being cut open to retrieve the coins.

We didn't seem to have a variety of choices, but the favorite was the popsicle because you could break it in half and trade flavors with your pals. That is, of course, if you could break it correctly, meaning vertically. If you broke it horizontally, trades were out of the question and you were reduced to eating the top half without a stick.

The Good Humor Man was a pleasant upgrade to ice cream and the varieties were much more appealing. The price was higher, but the quality made it worth it. As time passed, ice cream got even better and some of today's brands are downright addictive. Haagen Dazs, Ben and Jerry's (Rocky Road) and Breyers make some of the best ice cream imaginable.

All in all, my mind still returns to those days of innocence when a bunch of five and six year old kids ran out to meet the ice cream man on his bicycle mounted cart. This brings me to: Today's Question: What is your favorite ice cream?

The Cat's Ass Trophy (CAT) Award has no nominees this week. Look under rocks, my little sleuths, and see what you can find. There's bound to be a deserving idiot out there somewhere. Nominations are open until 12:00 noon on Monday.

It's Hump Day, we've got a new president which means things will be better in six days, so let's go to AREA 51 and celebrate. My ankle and foot feel better but I'm not sure if I'll go out tonight or wait until Friday. One thing for sure is that I've got cabin fever. One thing that I have been meaning to ask is that do you have a special AREA 51 that you go to?

This Date In History: 1793; Louis XVI is executed by guillotine for treason. 1924; Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin dies aged 54. 1954; The first nuclear-powered submarine, the Nautilus, is launched by the United States at Groton, Connecticut. It is also the largest submarine, at 319 ft long.

1966; Beatle George Harrison and Patricia Ann Boyd marry after meeting on the set of A Hard Day's Night. 1976; The first Concordes simultaneously take flight from London and Paris, with commercial passengers onboard.

Picture Of The Day: Ice Cream, what else? I searched around to see what ice cream pics I could come up with. The Popsicle brand has been around for years and it's not the most exotic brand around but it certainly evokes my most pleasant memories. That is, except for the time that the top of my ice cream broke off, fell on the floor and my dog ate it. The dog was pleasantly surprised at his good fortune and I have to admit I did laugh about it.....about three days later.

Birthdays: Ethan Allen, patriot of the American Revolution 1738, Stonewall Jackson, American soldier, considered by military authorities an outstanding leader, a skilled tactician, and one of the ablest Confederate commanders during the American Civil War 1824, Christian Dior, French couturier 1905, Plácido Domingo, Spanish tenor 1941.

The Hits Just Keep On Coming:

A guy walks into a bar, sits down, and asks, "Bartender, got any specials today?" Bartender answers, "Yes, as a matter of fact we have a new drink, invented by a gynecologist patron of ours. It's a mix of Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer and Smirnoff Vodka." The guy asks, "Good grief, what do you call that?" The bartender replied, "It's a Pabst Smir."

A drunk staggers into a Catholic Church, enters a confessional box, sits down but says nothing. The Priest coughs a few times to get his attention but the drunk just sits there. Finally, the Priest pounds three times on the wall. The drunk mumbles, "Ain't no use knockin, there's no toilet paper on this side either".

The divorce court judge said, "Mr. Clark, I have reviewed this case very carefully and I've decided to give your wife $775 a week." Mr. Clark replied, "That's very fair, your honor and every now and then I'll try to send her a few bucks myself!".

That's it for today my little Tutti Frutti's. Have a great Hump Day and more on Friday.

Stay Tuned !