It Rained Ice Cream
food, Fun, Stupid things I do March 2nd, 2008While cleaning out a closet this morning, I ran across this photo I took some years ago when I was on a random picture-taking excursion. I love this guy. His eyes look so soulful to me. It makes me feel guilty for wanting a delicious char-broiled quarter-pounder right now. With cheese.
Seeing it, I’m reminded of one of my childhood memories involving cows, ice cream and my dad’s Lincoln Continental.
Around the time my sister Ann and I were seven and five years old, respectively, a favorite treat was our Dad driving us to a nearby dairy for ice cream. Part of the fun was driving fast over a hilly section of the road leading up to the dairy. Dad would speed up before the incline and coming over the crest we’d get that flip-flop feeling in our stomachs and shout WHOOOA!!! as we came down the other side. Funny, the little things we remember.
When we got to the dairy, Dad would go in and chat it up with the owner and Ann and I would stand outside the cow pen and hope that one of the mammoth creatures would saunter over and say hello. I can’t think of any small dairies that still exist around here, but if I see one, I have an irresistible urge to stop and moo at the cows.
On one particular visit, Ann and I were all moo’ed out and went inside to collect our ice cream. Typically, we’d get started licking in the store and be just about done by the time we got home. But this trip was different. It was the first in a long series of incidents that end with the question Why do these things always happen to me?
My problems started almost immediately after my Dad got out onto the country road. It must have been a hundred degrees that day and so the ice cream melted faster than I could lick it.
And then the dribbling started. All over my hand, down my arm and all over my lap. And then Dad found out. Nevermind that half my cone was running down my leg, all I could think was how mad he would be when he saw the mess I just made of myself.
If it’s one thing we kids tried to avoid was bringing harm to his only prized possession: his deep blue, formerly clean, 1970 Lincoln Continental with the doors that opened outward in opposite directions. He worked hard all his life to support his family and make sure we had what we needed. The car was the one thing he allowed himself to splurge on.
Unable to pull over on the narrow, one-lane road, he opted to at least keep things from getting any worse. “Stick it out the window! NOW!,” Dad shouted.
“Oh, no! Dad! My ice cream!”
“Get it out of the car!”
I did as instructed and shoved my delicious treat out the window. All my glorious chocolate ice cream hit the wind and, unbeknownst to me, rained down all over the side of the car. I thought for a second that I could stick my head out the window and keep licking, but I was too busy sucking it off my arm and hand.
What’s interesting, in hindsight, is that my Dad didn’t make me throw it out the window. Only stick it out the window. Perhaps none of us guessed that so much of it would splatter back onto the car door.
It did in a big way.
When we eventually got out of the car, we gathered ’round to assess the damage. What we had before us was the Kathy version of a Jackson Pollack painting. Thick splats at the start of it, thinner towards the middle, and dot dot dots where it tapered at the end.
I don’t remember my Dad being mad at me. After all, it only required a quick cleaning. What I do remember is I’d given up a perfectly good cone to the forces of physics and wondered whether it was possible for me to still eat that. The one rule for ice cream and kids? Do not separate.
Stumble it!
March 2nd, 2008 at 10:50 am
As you have so wonderfully illustrated, the very best memories of childhood involve ice cream.
Mizmell’s last blog post..It’s All Part of the Big Plan
March 2nd, 2008 at 11:48 am
Ice cream. Yum. I love ice cream. Yuuuuuuummyyyyyyyyyyyy
March 2nd, 2008 at 11:50 am
I still travel on Drippy Ice Cream Cone Road frequently. I am transported to that day every time. Too bad it couldn’t be saved like my Devil Dog.
March 2nd, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Great story! For some strange reason…..I am craving ice cream right now!
KFJ’s last blog post..Beverly Hills, 9021-Oh My Goodness!
March 2nd, 2008 at 12:49 pm
That is so sweet ! I’m getting me a tub o’ Gelato. I guess I’ll also get burgers, cheese, bread and other condiments while I’m at the store !
Jaffer’s last blog post..Books you will find at my local library – Part II
March 2nd, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Har! I could just see you, bending over ready to lick the side of the car….
Great story!
Maureen’s last blog post..Apologizing To Animals
March 2nd, 2008 at 2:40 pm
your dad had a car with suicide doors. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_door
I always liked those cars.
Rattln Along’s last blog post..High Wire Act!!!
March 2nd, 2008 at 2:58 pm
I sure don’t know anything better than a chocolate covered Continental.
March 2nd, 2008 at 4:47 pm
LOL @ Kathy’s Jackson Pollock. My dad loved his car too, it was always in mint condition. Not chocolate mint, mind you.
DrowseyMonkey’s last blog post..Canadian / U.S. Relations
March 2nd, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Well…thanks for the guilt trip. I just took some beef out of the freezer to make hamburgers tomorrow.
StephanieC’s last blog post..jncos: a flashback
March 2nd, 2008 at 7:25 pm
Mizmell — And other assorted junk food, too!
Regan — And you’re at an age where you can eat all you want and not gain an ounce!
ann of the shampoo bag — Some things you just can’t save.
Everyone: If you’re wondering what Ann’s talking about, see above link to Mizmell.
KFJ — It’s all I thought about when I wrote it. Specifically, chocolate chip cookie dough. God bless the person who invented that.
Jaffer — And I’m coming over your place for dinner!
Maureen — It was perfectly good, except for, you know, dirt and stuff.
Rattln Along — You’re right! I’d forgotten that’s what those doors were called. Thanks for the link. Very educational. And scary.
ThinkBox — ‘Cept fudge. Yeah, ice cream and fudge covered Lincoln Continental. That’ll do it.
DrowseyMonkey — Oh, geez. Now I want some mint chocolate chip. Why must I always write about food?!?!
StephanieC — Moo.
March 2nd, 2008 at 7:47 pm
1) It’s been a long time since I read a post and laughed out loud with tears in my eyes.
2) I remember weekend rides in the country over rolling hills – with no seat belts and no speed limits.
3) Favorite line: I thought for a second that I could stick my head out the window and keep licking, but I was too busy sucking it off my arm and hand. Brilliant.
4) Nice pic of the cow. I don’t think you (or anyone) could get a bovine to look straight at a camera like that.
5) I’m thinking I may go for a 3-point comment format. Especially before my 5-point comment format goes BIG TIME.
BigNerd’s last blog post..Check Gmail Behind Firewall
March 2nd, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Love the 5 point comment format.
It is concise.
It is informative.
It is humorous.
It is unique.
Rattln Along’s last blog post..Closing of another Era!!!
March 2nd, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Great childhood story,Kathy. Our dear old dads and their once in a lifetime toys that make them happy. We’ve all been there. Don’t you wish you could go back in time just for a few days and relive some of those great times? I certainly do. If the tables were turned, what would you do if you had a little girl that stuck her ice cream cone out of the window and splattered the side of your brand spanking new $80,000 Beemer with sticky stuff? Would you quietly slump down in the front seat and have a stroke, or would say, “It’s ok sweetie. We’ll get you another one.”
Great story. I love the real stuff.
Have a nice day.
Swubird’s last blog post..Hellfire and Brimstone!
March 2nd, 2008 at 9:10 pm
Funny and sad at the same time. If we ever meet I’ll buy you a chocolate ice cream cone to make up for this. I promise.
Jeff’s last blog post..m-m-m-MY Sharona
March 3rd, 2008 at 5:46 am
great story – what a wonderful memory ๐
March 3rd, 2008 at 7:00 am
BigNerd — You’ve got a good thing going with your 5-point comments, but I would also accept a 3-point version. Those days were great. Not a care in the world, except for “when are we going for ice cream?” Yeah, the cow. We got real close and he stared at me a long time, unflinching. Weird.
Rattln Along — I love it, too! I’ve never seen it used elsewhere, so BidNerd needs to patent it before it goes viral.
Swubird — I do, too. I’m not so sure I wouldn’t have a meltdown over splattered ice cream (no pun intended). But it would make a great picture for the blog! Glad you liked the story. Have a great day yourself!
Jeff — I’ve no doubt you would. Thanks, friend.
cathy — It is a great memory and it’s funny how just seeing the cow picture reminded me of it. Just like that.
March 3rd, 2008 at 10:10 am
Great story Kathy !!! That dairy was one of our destinations when dad was teaching me to drive. I rarely drive that road anymore, but you’ve jogged a memory I’d forgotten – I remember seeing the Aurora Borealis (sp?) as I was climbing the top of that hill – never saw one before or since.
March 3rd, 2008 at 11:50 am
Aw, great story. Every now and then you write something in such a way that it brings up a forgotten memory of my own. I remember driving over those hills–we called them “tummy jumpers.” It was a huge thrills. And, living in Illinois, I doubt the hills were anything more than a gentle slope.
I’m sorry about your ice cream!
JD’s last blog post..I Reward Good Vocabulary so you donโt have to
March 3rd, 2008 at 11:58 am
Did you know that if you snort through your nose (it can get messy, so be careful), that cattle will actually come to you? It’s true! I’ve stood at the fences flanking a farmyard and snorted ’til near asphyxiation, but it was worth it because an entire herd heard (sorry!)and came trotting on over. Really. Try it. Evelyn Woodhouse, eat your heart out!
Kat
Poetikat’s last blog post..Monday Mayhem – Dungeon-Dweller
March 3rd, 2008 at 2:39 pm
This post combines two of my greatest loves, ice cream and Lincolns (I’m a ’71 Lincoln myself).
March 3rd, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Marlene — I’m glad it jogged a great memory for you. Boy, that road sure is a memory lane!
JD — I LOVE that term “tummy jumpers”! I’ve never heard it before. Must be a mid-west thing ๐
Poetikat — I learn so much from my readers! I shall try that technique, camera in hand, and record the herd if the magic should happen.
Canucklehead — I loved that Lincoln, too. It was the best ride ever. My dad went onto buy Cadillacs for the next couple decades, but nothing matched the ‘ol Lincoln cruise!
March 3rd, 2008 at 6:33 pm
I’m not sure how they did it, but those ice cream cones always melted faster once you started licking them. It was humanly impossible to keep up with the drips. I had a couple of those incidents with my own father and it taught me to never let my own kids near the car with ice cream. Great story, Kathy. Once again, my cheeks are sore from smiling.
Lee’s last blog post..While My Guitar Gently Weeps
March 3rd, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Lee — There’s a system to licking ice cream neatly. I haven’t figured it out yet! Glad you liked my little story.
March 3rd, 2008 at 8:38 pm
Kathy, the system is simple……
You start with a bowl. ๐
Rattln Along’s last blog post..Closing of another Era!!!
March 4th, 2008 at 1:03 am
I have an award for you … sorry you missed the big ceremony, the chicken was kind of rubbery. ๐
DrowseyMonkey’s last blog post..Canadian Parliment on MSNBC
March 4th, 2008 at 6:05 am
Rattln Along — But you’ve never seen how much of a mess I can still make with ice cream in a bowl. I should just stick with milk shakes.
DrowseyMonkey — That’s OK. I didn’t have a party dress that fit me anyway. I accept your award and shall pass it on to the cleaverist people I know. Oh, wait. That’s c-l-e-v-e-r!
March 4th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Oh Kathy, even milkshakes don’t do well in cars. My mother somehow exploded an entire Wendy’s Frostee in my car. She didn’t just spill it, it kinda erupted like a volcano. There were milky chocolate pools all over the front passenger area that lingered for weeks. Since then she’s spilled more drinks and food on her floor mat beyond anything I could have possibly done as a child. There are so many stains and discolorations on it that it would keep an entire CSI unit busy for weeks. Guess it’s just payback for all of the other places of her’s I messed up through the years. lol
Michele’s last blog post..Does Your Family Do This?
March 4th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Wrong…Rule #1 is thou shall not mess with Dad’s only toy!
Bruce’s last blog post..The Great Blue Heron
March 4th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Aww, I’m sorry you lost your ice cream. One time I “lost” some strawberry ice cream in the back of my Dad’s old Rambler. Have you ever smelled strawberry vomit? He was NOT happy.
chartroose’s last blog post..March is the Cruellest Month
March 4th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Michele — I’m sorry I’m laughing at your description of the exploding Frostee. It reminds me of a story a co-worker told me. She once took an entire crockpot of barbeque to a picnic. She made a sharp turn and the pot tipped over. Everything fell out. When she arrived at her destination, someone grabbed a shovel. A SHOVEL!! to get it all out. Gross, gross, gross.
Bruce — Believe me, I was shakin’ in my boots. I think most of it dripped on me, not the interior, thank God.
chartroose — Oh, my. That sounds disgusting. I’ve had problems with strawberry ice cream, too. See #7.
March 4th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
Wonderful story Kathy. Brings back memories of my father and I and dripping ice cream cones as well. ๐
First let me say that I have been reading your work lately as I was recommended to your blog by Mike, over at Mr. Grudge. I am truly enjoy what I’ve read. You are an excellent writer. As such, I am thrilled that you accepted our invitation to join the Society of Midnight wanderers. Both Mike and I hope this emblem truly does become a symbol for those who wish to produce quality writing. It is my pleasure to read your posts here, and I welcome you to the Midnight wanderers. I know I’m late but I have been sick lately and have (I’m afraid) shirked my duties. But, better late then never. So Kathy, thank you. Welcome aboard!
~JD
JD’s last blog post..A Day at the Beach (Syned: Solomonโs Court Records, Chapter 1: โLove Songsโ, p. 03)
March 5th, 2008 at 6:33 am
JD — I’m glad you’re enjoying my writing. I sent you a note re: The Midnight Wanderers. I’m honored to be part of this new venture. It means the world to me. I’ll see you around.
March 9th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
I feel a bit like an intruder here, but I just loved that story, so had to comment. Ice cream, sun and mess go together :O)
Babs (Beetle)’s last blog post..The stranger in 1953
March 9th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Babs — Oh, please don’t feel like an intruder. The Junk Drawer welcomes everyone with a handshake and a “how do you do?” I’m so glad you liked the story. I eat ice cream year ’round, so my messy problems are limited to summer ๐
Hey, I just saw your iPhone sunset pictures. They’re amazing. Not bad at all for a phone!
March 16th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
You are too funny. The image of a drippy little girl hanging her ice cream out the window is a hilarious visual.
You are one of the funniest writers I’ve read. Thanks for the belly-laugh.
Don’s last blog post..Because I Do
March 17th, 2008 at 5:08 am
Don — That’s me. Making a mess everywhere I go. Thank you for the wonderful compliment!
June 5th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
so how was the ice cream before i melted and then rained ice cream
May 7th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Ha ha ha! What an awesome story. I remember when my parent’s had just purchased a brand new van to haul around our entire family. We were on our way home from the grandparents when my little brother puked before he could make it out of the car. It splattered right against the door of the 2 day old van. My dad was not happy.
May 9th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
Yogurt — I can’t imagine anymore more upsetting for all parties. Ugh. I’m sure the van was never the same again.
September 6th, 2009 at 8:59 am
Just a few days ago I was remembering the excitment we would always feel as kids when, at a party, we’d catch a glimpse of the big canvas container with big industrial zippers. It was always filled with dry-ice and little paper cups of ice cream and a wooden paddle spoon. It was double fun because you always got to play with the dry-ice after we’d finished eating the ice cream.
September 13th, 2009 at 7:36 am
Michael — That does sound cool. I remember getting those tiny ice cream cups with the wooden spoons at our local roller rink. You would get them at “half time” during birthday parties. Thanks for sharing your memory!