The ice cream cone

A couple of weeks ago my husband and I were hosts for an event in our front yard for National Night Out. This occasion is a great opportunity for neighbors to meet neighbors. During this time, city officials, law enforcement, and first responders go around to the participating neighborhoods in Madera.

Since it was a very hot day, our event was an ice cream social. So, I bought a couple of those big tubs of ice cream, and all the toppings to make sundaes. I bought large bottles of root beer so people could make root beer floats, and I got some ice cream cones. Everything was set out on a table, with bowls, cups, straws, spoons, and napkins. People could help themselves and design any kind of ice cream dessert they wanted.

I happened to notice this time that not a soul chose to have ice cream in a cone. I had purchased a package that afternoon, so they were nice and fresh and there were plenty of cones for everyone. Most of them wanted an ice cream float.

Ice cream cones are not something people think about much, but I do remember as a child what a treat it was to go to the drug store and get an ice cream cone there. The cones were always those kind of yellow ones with the straight sides and the bottoms that had the diamond designs on the outside. Down inside the bottom of the cone was a grate designed to strengthen the bottom of the cone. I like to push my ice cream down with my tongue, so that it fills up that part where the grate is. Then, I eat the cone from the bottom. It really tastes good eaten that way.

When the sugar cones and the waffle cones became popular, I never chose them because I liked the old fashioned ones. There is also a system I have for eating the sugar cones, but it just doesn’t give me the satisfaction I get from eating ice cream in the old fashioned cone.

There was a Tastee Freeze in our town that had a neon ice cream cone outside next to its sign. The ice cream part was drawn in a bright blue, and the cone part was in a bright yellow. To this day, every time I see that color combination on a neon sign, it reminds me of an ice cream cone, and I get that “ice cream cone taste” in my mouth. It immediately makes me hungry for ice cream in a cone. (I remember a dry cleaners store who used that same color combination on its signs, and it would remind me of an ice cream cone, too.)

Nostalgia. Isn’t it wonderful how we have such delightful memories of things from our past? Whether it is music, a smell, or a combination of colors, we can be reeled back into a time to remember something pleasant. I think my love for ice cream in a cone goes way back to that counter in Rexall Drug Store.

Have a great week! If you get a chance, get yourself an ice cream cone this week, and enjoy!

— My love to all,

Nancy

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Jesus said, “It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth.”

— Matthew 15:11