With the summer season in full effect, there's one sight and sound seen all over the country. That's the little white truck playing the annoying but strangely addictive nursery school music. It's the ice cream truck, something I'm personally drawn to.
I've had a love affair with the ice cream truck since childhood. I didn't have the luxury or privilege of growing up in the middle of the city where the ice cream truck made 2-3 stops depending upon where you live. My grandmother had connections and therefore, the ice cream truck would stop at my house every day during the summer months for a few years. We would spend sometimes $40 between my immediate family when the truck came through. That could be why I started becoming overweight at 8 years old. But hey that was, and still is, some good ice cream!
I remember during my sophomore year at Winthrop, second semester, the middle of April. It was on a Sunday afternoon and I just woke up. I heard that ice cream truck music. Granted I lived on the 5th floor of Richardson Hall. That made no never mind to me. I FLEW downstairs and through the lobby to the parking lot where the ice cream truck was. People were clowning me that I was running after the ice cream truck as a 19-year old college student. But I didn't care because, again, that's some good ice cream!!
I then REALLY realized I had a problem in August 2007. It was the hottest month of the year, I didn't have A/C in my car I was driving at the time, and the ole truck was in front of me. So what did I do? I followed the ice cream truck for about 3 miles until it stopped in Fridy St. Apartments in Blacksburg. I then parked, and got behind the crowd of young children like I was Homer Simpson or Smokey from the movie Friday. I got my ice cream!
Many folks I tell this story to are just like "You could have just went to the store" or "Why didn't you stop by Dairy Queen or McDonalds? They have soft-serve.". Truthfully, I do like soft-serve ice cream better. However, you can get store-bought ice cream and soft-serve ANY time of the year. Plus the ice cream only runs about 5-6 months out of the year, and they have treats that you cannot find in stores. They have the red,white, and blue pops, the Good Humor specials that FINALLY made it to stores about 15 years ago, the banana-chocolate popsicles, double-decker ice cream sandwiches, and many others that aren't sold in stores. They are usually dirt-cheap also. For $5, you can have quite the sugar rush, and quite the headache if you eat it all too fast.
I would be remissed if I didn't mention the pictures on the side of the ice cream truck listing all of the available treats that can be bought. There's something about having that visual selection in front of me that makes me feel like a kid again, makes me crave the ice cream more, and somewhat makes the ice cream tastes a lot better.
I've seen the truck about 3 times so far since it's gotten warm, and I haven't stopped for any ice cream yet. I haven't even stopped the truck, followed it, etc, in over 2 years. Nonetheless, I still enjoy the ice cream truck and it is a vice of mine. Many folks I know enjoy the ice cream truck, especially those with children whom beg their parents for money to buy ice cream. I'm just able to come forward with how much I love it.
Maybe before the summer is over, I'll have another good ice cream truck story. Till then, let that music play and the truck roll on through town!
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