Mr. Softee

When I was a kid, there was not a sound more beautiful than than the ring-a-ling, ting-a-ling of the ice cream truck. We kids would be hard at play when when a faint sound came drifting in on the wind. We would all stop what we were doing and perk up our ears. "Shhhh! I think I hear the ice cream truck". Then the unmistakable sound of the pre-recorded jingly song would reach our straining ears. "It is! It is! It's the ice cream truck!" "Run home! See if mom has any money!". "Please, Mom! Puh-leeeeeeeeeze can we get some ice cream?" Most of the time we were disappointed with our parents' denial of our request, but every now and then we would catch them in a weak moment, we were giving the green light for frozen treats. Then the race was on. Money in hand, we would run out to the street and hope the truck hadn't driven out of sight.

Back in the day, the ice cream truck was called Mr. Softee. Mr. Softee was basically a rolling Dairy Queen. Soft serve cones, malts, shakes, sundaes, and banana splits. Today the ice cream truck is a shell of its former self. These new ice cream trucks sell nothing but frozen ice cream bars. They are all basically the same... just different colors and shapes of the same crud. It's something that barely resembles ice cream and with the wide availability of anything kids want nowadays, these frozen treats are hardly a treat at all. But back in the day, getting ice cream was rare and it was indeed a treat. A rare and always unexpected treat. Mr. Softee didn't drive down the street every day of the summer. He only came around every once in a while. Given the infrequency of his trips to our neighborhood and given the rare occasion our parents said, "yes", an ice cream from Mr. Softee was like hitting the lottery.

Fast forward to today. I hardly ever see the ice cream truck anymore. It's not surprising considering the fast paced, instant gratification nature of the world today. When kids want ice cream, their options are nearly limitless. It is readily available and kids know how to get it. Mr. Softee is obsolete. The world has passed him by.

However, there is hope! Check out the photo below. If this truck came jingling down the street playing Mexican Mariachi music, I would bolt out of my house, money in hand, just like I did when I was a kid. Mobile margaritas? Are you kidding me? Sign me up! I'm in!