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Life without ice cream?

John Howell
Posted 8/25/15

What would life be like without ice cream?

Fortunately, I haven’t had to ponder that possibility for more than a day or two at a time, if that. When disaster strikes and the freezer is bare of …

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This Side Up

Life without ice cream?

Posted

What would life be like without ice cream?

Fortunately, I haven’t had to ponder that possibility for more than a day or two at a time, if that. When disaster strikes and the freezer is bare of ice cream, the crisis is solved with a 15-minute trip to Dave’s Marketplace or Stop & Shop.

Actually, when you think of it, you can buy ice cream just about anywhere. Convenience stores have freezers full of ice cream bars, cones and pints, if not quarts and gallons. And then, of course, there are the ice cream emporiums like Newport Creamery and Friendly’s, although, regrettably, there are fewer of them.

The thought of no ice cream crossed my mind as I finished off the last of the Brigham’s vanilla, sprinkling it generously with walnuts. Few things are better, except for Starbucks’ mocha-almond or Starbucks’ mocha chocolate chip, which I haven’t found in supermarket freezer cases for ages. Those bittersweet chocolate chips in rich velvety coffee ice cream really were exceptional. (I must have bad timing, because it’s gone whenever I go looking.)

Knowing Tim Forsberg in our office can find anything on the Internet, I put him on the case. After 10 minutes, one of the longer Tim searches to my recollection, he concluded it can’t be found locally, or for that matter, anywhere.

Discontinued? What a tragedy.

I have lots of company in my love for ice cream.

I find soulmates at the supermarket all the time. I suspect like me they know exactly what they want, but can’t resist looking over all the brands and flavors before opening the freezer door and pulling out what they had come for. And then there are times when it’s not there. The row is empty and the choice is another flavor, or, heaven forbid, another brand. Coming back another day is not an option – best to have some ice cream than none whatsoever.

I can forego anything else – bread without butter, steak without potatoes, pork chops without applesauce and, naturally, eggs without bacon – but not dessert without ice cream.

This got me thinking, and I’ve concluded it’s no mistake supermarket ice cream freezers are just about as far away as possible from the checkout lane. People who layout markets have figured us out. We’ll find the ice cream wherever it is, and by putting it in the back of the store, we’ll walk by lots of other items – and most likely buy something else, too.

It works with me. If I’m on a mission to get ice cream, I usually return with bananas, apples and grapes as well. Such healthy fruits help justify such a caloric rush, although it may be days before the fruits are touched.

You know we’re not alone in loving ice cream. Dogs are wild for it. In fact, doggie ice cream is a line produced by our very own Warwick Ice Cream. I haven’t tried it, nor has Ollie. Knowing Carol, she wouldn’t let him have it anyway. I’ve been reminded many times that Ollie is not to have ice cream. Carol insists that it would be bad for him.

That was not the practice with Binky. He got to lick the ice cream bowl and would wait patiently for his nightly treat. The highlight were those nights when the last scoop was dished from the container. That’s when he got the container. He would carefully carry it in his front teeth to the pantry, then, securing it firmly between outstretched legs, start licking at the rim until his full snout disappeared. By the time he was done, the container couldn’t have been cleaner.

Ollie is no dummy. He’s quick to get his head inside the dishwasher when we load the machine, and I’ve noticed the ice cream dishes get extra attention.

So even Ollie gets his ice cream, although I lament from the looks of it, he’ll never sample Starbucks mocha almond.

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