It’s that time of year again when the off pitch, broken-record sound of the ice cream man can be heard winding his way through your neighborhood. This sound is often associated with the childhood bliss of summer. It does not often strike terror into the hearts of young’uns wilting in the summer heat, rather the mechanical notes of “When the Saints Go Marching In” elicits an excitement that sends them running inside to beg for money for some of the ice cream man’s treats.
Maybe I didn’t have a normal childhood, but the sound of the ice cream man still sends shivers of disgust up and down my spine. I feel the need to hide, mutter curses, and spit when his truck saunters down my street. I think of the ice cream man as a seedy weirdo who can’t (or doesn’t want to) get a real job. He uses his job selling ice cream to scope out neighborhoods and the innocent children who live in them.
My mother is solely responsible for my attitude toward the ice cream man. She would warn us against him, and rarely did we have the opportunity to buy ice cream from him, and certainly never by ourselves. My mother’s words and attitude were justified on the fateful day that my brothers were chased by the ice cream man in his truck after they had attempted to buy ice cream with acorns instead of money. When the ice cream man showed up in our driveway breathing hard and pointing an accusing, fat finger at my shaking and cowering little brothers, we all knew mom had been right.
I sense the same apprehension when the girls I nanny for beg me to let them get ice cream from the slow moving ice cream van. It should have come as no surprise to me then that the lawyers I work for, while going through their pictures of injured clients, recognized the ice cream man in one of the photos.
All doubt was erased when I found This Picture. (This man is not, and never has been, a client of my employers)
No, the ice cream man is not to be trusted. Protect yourselves from him this summer. They sell much better ice cream in shops anyway!
4 comments:
I've come to a conclusion: I do believe the ice cream guys and the street sweeper guys may both belong to the same dark, secret underworld!!
I have gone to the local ice cream van with my kids a couple of times, but would never let them go alone...seriously!
Once we went to the van and there was an ice cream woman. She undressed me with her eyes. YIKES :>(
I ran from the van!!
Also, wuz up with the guy chasing the kids for his dollar anyway? Take your acorns back with you to NorthWood and collect the money first next time!!!
...sorry..I'm feeling grumpy..
Sounds scary. {:o I lived a sheltered life - in the country there aren't any ice cream trucks or men. If we wanted ice cream, it was in the freezer or a drive to Dairy Queen. I think I made out good - when I got older & lived in town I was suspicious of those guys and never bought anything from them.
My brothers tried to use acorns to buy ice cream (probably b/c my mom wouldn't give them any money for such a dirty cause). I think they may have chased after the truck when they were refused and the truck driver turned on them. Maybe they weren't all that innocent in it, but it was still a little alarmist of the driver to do what he did!
Colleen, with that pic I found on the internet, I think your suspicions were confirmed! You lucked out.
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