Late Summer And The Ice Cream Man...

As a child growing up here I remember things like playing outside until dark, having Kool Aid stands, sleepovers with friends, playing Kick The Can, catching horned (horny) toads, swimming at The Elks Club, riding our bikes for hours on end, catching fireflies in a jar at night and waiting to hear the music of The Ice Cream Man as he neared our neighborhood on sweltering Summer afternoons.

All of these are memories I truly cherish, but the distant music from the Ice Cream Truck is the only memory that is still alive. Today I was in the kitchen working on my peach jam when I heard the Ice Cream Truck as it neared my house. I was suddenly struck by an uncontrollable urge to go racing out with my change bills in hand, so I went with it. I felt like a little kid again as I ran to the curb in front of my house and waited as the truck drew nearer.

Neighbors passed by and stared at me in shock or amusement as I stood there looking like a goofy little kid waiting for a hot Summer afternoon treat to cool me down. A couple of people I knew waved as they drove by and I was sure they were envious of such childish behavior. I loved every minute of it.

The truck crept along my street until it was at last stopping at my house, the music ending as it came to a halt. I leaned over to tell the man what I wanted through his passenger window and I almost couldn't speak. I'm pretty sure I mumbled something about a bullet, but thankfully he gave me the ice cream version. This was the seediest looking man I have ever in my entire life seen. I was immediately certain that I'd seen him on the Texas child molesters website. Or at least someone who looked very much like him. He definitely had the same look of the perverts I'd seen on the web site. Honestly, he looked that bad. His hair was all mussed up (not in a stylish way either) and he had a tooth or two missing. I thought he looked like someone who would have sent my own children screaming and crying, back to the house.

So, when did it become acceptable to have seedy looking characters driving the ice cream truck, serving ice cream to young children? Maybe this is just an isolated rant here, but I'm rather afraid for the neighborhood children. Granted, he might just be the nicest old boy in the state of Texas. Okay. If so, why can't he have a decent haircut and wear clean clothing? I guess I just remember the nice crisp uniforms they wore when I was a kid. For all I know they were the perverts. But they were at least clean perverts.

Soooooo... my questions for the owners of the ice cream trucks are: Do you own the business as a way of making some sort of profit? If so, do you not think the appearance of the ice cream man is of some importance in making said profit? Do you do your own hiring or is it handled by the Department of Corrections unemployment office? I did notice that your trucks are always shiny and clean. Should the drivers not be equally as clean? Or is it simply too much trouble to run the drivers themselves through the car wash?

I'm at a total loss for answers here people. Those guys scare the Hell out of me and I can't imagine parents letting their kids run to the truck for ice cream, unaware of the dangerous (looking) people who operate the trucks. It totally gives me the creeps. Clean those dudes up!

Okay, rant finished. Thank you.