My parents live in the country. Well, kind of. They live in a small village- in the country. It is a very rural area that remains a bit isolated. The town did not get cable until 1995. I was in college when they got cable. When we were young children, we only got one channel-WRGB Channel 6. It was CBS. One of our other neighbors only got Channel 10 (ABC) and a third neighbor had Channel 13 (NBC). If you wanted to watch something on the channel you didn't get, you went to your neighbor's house.My parents were married 30 years before they had pizza delivered. And then it was here in Ohio. They were visiting me and we decided to order pizza for dinner. I called the pizza place, placed the order, and hung up the phone. I told them it would be half an hour, and Mom picked up her purse while Dad got the car keys. They wanted to know how far away the restaurant was. I explained to them that they have delivery drivers, and the driver would bring it to our house. My parents wondered how they knew where we lived. I told them we have ordered from this chain before, so they have our information on file (but I didn't tell them HOW often we order). When the pizza arrived, my parents were stunned that it was still hot. Where they live, if you pick up a hot pizza on the way home, it is cold when you get home and needs to be reheated. Not that my parents are stupid- it was just a new experience for them.
So imagine my surprise when Mom called one night this summer to tell me they now have an ice cream truck that comes to town. I honestly wondered if Mom had had a really rough day and maybe drank one of Dad's beers. I never imagined I'd experience this phenomenon in late October when I went to visit.
On Tuesday night, 10/19, I was sitting in the living room with Dad after dinner. The windows were all closed, yet around 6pm I heard the distinct music of an ice cream truck. We have ice cream trucks in Middletown, so I'm used to hearing them go up and down the street. But I wasn't prepared for the excitement of the ice cream truck coming to Berlin. I looked around, puzzled. Dad asked what was wrong, and I told him I heard an ice cream truck. My father, who is 6'3" and has one very bad knee and one that is a little better, jumped out of his chair like he had been sitting on an ejection spring. He shouted excitedly, "Mr. Ding a Ling is coming! Dear, get your wallet, come on!" (Dear is my mother). My mother was washing dishes and she immediately stopped, and ran to her purse. She grabbed her wallet and said, "What do you want?" but started rushing out the door before Dad could answer. I thought they were doing this for me, and told her "oh, I don't need anything." Dad said, "No, you have to buy from her and support her so she keeps coming back."
My parents then practically tripped over each other trying to get out the door. They were bouncing up and down with excitement as we waited in the driveway. They kept looking up and down their road, trying to see where she went. I listened to the sounds of the music, and could tell the truck was still on Main Street, and had not yet turned up Mom & Dad's road. It was only about 40* outside, and dark already, so it was a bit brisk. Dad went back inside to watch the news, telling Mom to just get him 'something'. Dad has a sweet tooth, especially when it comes to ice cream. There are few ice cream products he doesn't like. Mom stepped inside to get coats for us.
As we stood there, watching the truck slowly make its way up Mom & Dad's road, stopping at other houses along the way, Mom told me that the one neighbors are like 'little kids' when the ice cream truck comes along. I asked her how she & Dad had acted, because to me, they acted like little kids. She said, "Well, yes, but they get enough to last the whole week". The ice cream truck made several stops on Mom & Dad's road which is great. There are 11 houses on Mom & Dad's road, and a couple of them are second homes for people who live in the city. There are no little kids on the road, just a couple of teenagers. When we were growing up, almost every house had kids in it, but we've all grown up and moved on. However, our parents are thrilled by the ice cream truck and eagerly run out each week to get their fix.
Finally, the truck pulled into Mom & Dad's driveway. They have a big round driveway which makes turning trucks around very easy. The ice cream truck lady parked the truck, and we went over to make our purchase. I asked her if I could take a picture of her & the truck, because it was such a neat experience. I just knew I'd have to blog about it! But I didn't get her name. She said she comes every Tuesday night. I don't know if she'll keep coming in the winter, but if she doesn't, there are going to be some very disappointed adults on Maple Avenue and Walnut Lane. These adults will have to revert to their previous method of buying ice cream- at the store!
Mom had us each get two things. The ice cream lady was very nice, and it was a lot of fun. I have to say, all the times the ice cream truck has gone past my house in Middletown, I've never gone out to it. Maybe I'm embarrassed because I always thought it was a thing for children. When we went back inside, I wouldn't let my parents eat their ice cream until I took a picture of our loot for my blog.
Berlin still doesn't have pizza delivery, and the nearest grocery store is 20 minutes away. But they have an ice cream truck, which is much cooler than a Papa Johns!
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