Ice Cream Diaries 17 September 30, 2005

Ok, so I’ve officially gone an entire season without cracking open the trusty ice cream diary. Wow, time flies when you’re making ice cream 10 hours a day! The good news is it was an incredible summer. Business was way, way up for this, my sophomore season. Couldn’t have asked for better ice cream weather. According to Rick Sleubin, our local weathersleuth, we had 23 days over 90 degrees. I think we’ve had just one or two days of rain since that cold and dismal May when you last heard from me. Throw in a bit of positive press and some great word of mouth, and this had all the markings of what I’ve been calling my ‘breakthrough summer’. Part of me kept wishing for a rainy day to catch my breath and perhaps sneak in a quick episode, but as evidenced by the dairy diary-free summer, it just never happened. Great for the company coffers, not so good for my social life or staying in touch. Luckily, I’m still having a bunch of fun with it, and it’s a pretty social gig, so I rarely felt like I was missing out on something (although it was tough to miss the Brass Cat Pub’s lobster clambake last weekend, darn). I must admit, though, when I got really frazzled, I would fantasize about exotic vacation adventures for my January shutdown. Speaking of adventures, where did we leave off? I’ve got diary notes scribbled everywhere, must collect my thoughts for a minute. So how was your summa? Hope it was wicked good.

Since I seem to be having trouble remembering what I had for lunch, let me start with this week and work my way back as the memory builds up to a jog. After a dry and very warm September, it’s finally starting to feel like Fall around here. With the end of the Fall Festival weekend (more on that later) and the approach of eagerly anticipated ‘off-season’ hours that come with October, I can finally start to collect my thoughts, dig out the Halloween decorations, get organized for the first time since mid-May, and most importantly, get to work on this off-season’s premier episode. (I’m already conceding to a TV series-like September to April run of the ICD ).

I expected business to begin to trail in August then really drop off in September with the return of pencils, books, and teacher’s dirty looks, but neither happened. August was as strong as June and July, and thanks to a very warm and dry September, the pace continued right through last week. What makes September tough is the summer crew has just gone back to college, backfilled with a new and smaller crew generally still finding their way around the soda fountain. I must tip my hat to the summer ‘scream team. They really came through for me. Anchored by scooping aces Allison and Liz, with Michaela and Colette rounding out the crew, they showed up with their game faces (and aprons) on every single day. They were reliable, trustworthy, hard-working, and great with customers. My folks always said their biggest headache was staffing. I did have to bear the occasional last minute ‘call-out’, and was faced with a few staffing issues to resolve, but I’ve been very lucky in this area so far. When Liz and Allison left, I felt like a distraught parent sending his oldest off to college for the first time. I did eventually realize college is probably a better route than a life of scooping ice cream for these smart and ambitious young ladies. I told them to at least try out the ‘real world’ and get a few degrees before they chose a life of ice cream. Liz went off to Tufts University, and according to her Mom, has settled into co-ed life just fine. As for Allison, the waffle cone queen, it’s year two at Bentley, so I’m sure she’s doing just groovy too. The new ‘A team’ consists of Matt and Lauren. Matt is Liz in the male form – strong, smart and creative. Lauren is Allison, chatty and driven and easy to tease. My favorite exchange with Allison this summer was when she threw a bag of gummy bears to me, I said to her, ‘You throw like a girl.’ To which she quickly responded, ‘At least I don’t look like one.’ She went on to admit she knew she was being self-deprecating, but ‘it was worth it.’ Lauren, the newest recruit, spent the summer scooping on that big red double-decker bus, so she was in mid-season form from the get-go. I also drafted one of her bus co-workers, Ali, for the bullpen. They are a hoot when they work together, although I sometimes feel outnumbered, especially when they razz me for allegedly flirting with my favorite female clientele. Matt, a.k.a. all-American boy, is studying culinary arts and has already been introduced to the art of ice cream cake decorating. Having someone to help with the cake making is going to be great, especially if he gets the hang of those darned royal icing roses I loathe. We’ll just have to see how long it takes them to realize that employment includes becoming fodder for Diaries diatribes.

I actually snuck in a couple days off this summer, thanks to my brother Rick’s wedding in southern California. I know, you can’t believe I actually left my baby alone. Allison and Liz took good care of her while I enjoyed catching up with family, sipping Diet Vanilla Dr. Pepper’s by the pool with my cool cousin Cindy, and doing the chicken dance. When I returned, a few customers asked me ‘how’s married life treating you so far?’ Seems ‘Jim’s away at a wedding’ got telephone-gamed into ‘Jim got married this weekend’. That kind of rumor isn’t going to get me any dates this winter! Sorry for the false alarm if you heard that one through the vine Mom.

Since many of my notes from this summer are fairly cryptic, let me just share some random stuff and see where we end up…

Among the various magazines and newspapers included in my little library section of the shop is the latest copy of Men’s Health. One gentleman, midway through his hot fudge sundae, didn’t miss the irony in that month’s headline… ‘Annual Weight Loss Issue’.

Speaking of diets, I’ve noticed friends tend to go missing when they go on a diet. Guess I’m like the drinking buddy you have to give up when you try to knock off the sauce.

I bought a pair of shoes on-line this summer. Since I’m on my feet for most hours of the day, my dogs were barking loudly for a good pair of comfortable shoes Found a great deal on a pair of ‘Earth shoes’ on www.zappos.com , and ordered ‘em up at about 11:30 pm one night (Ok, so I really didn’t have a life this summer). They arrived postmarked from someplace in the Midwest at 11 am the next day. I just thought that was really cool and an amazing testament to the efficiency of our web-based, UPS driven supply chain (you can take the engineer out of the cubicle but you can’t take the cubicle out of the engineer). Of course, Allison thought the idea of my buy shoes on-line was just hilarious. My feet are still getting the last laugh though.

I briefly mentioned the Fall Festival. It’s a yearly tradeshow of sorts. A chance for local businesses to set up a booth, give out free trinkets, and peddle their wares to the townsfolk. They also have live music, bmx bike and fencing demos, sweet potato fries, and, this year, Mt. Tom’s homemade ice cream, among other forms of fair fun. The main reason I bring this up is Jack, my gas station/salesman buddy from across the steet, told me how they used to have a contest called the ‘Cow Plop’. Fairgoers would buy a square on the adjacent ball field, with proceeds going to a local charity. Then they’d bring in Bessy the cow and let her roam the field for the weekend. If she did her business in your square, you won a prize. A bit smellier than Keno, but how fun would it be to cheer for a cow to poop on your lawn. This year’s fundraiser was a much tamer, ‘Kiss the Pig’ contest. You could buy tickets to vote for who you wanted to kiss a real pig. On the ballot were Mayor Mike, Dennis – our friend the health inspector (how could I vote for him after he complimented me on my booth), Tom from Easthampton Savings, Eric the Chamber’s head honcho, and Debby the superintendent of schools. When the votes were tallied, Tom got the nod and one very public date with Miss Piggy.

With just one exception, the press was very good to me this summer. My tag line, “Life is short. Eat ice cream’ became the opener for a Springfield Republican piece about local homemade ice cream. I even got my picture right next to ice cream legend Steve Herrill. That was pretty cool. There was another article about ice cream prices in the area that, although I had the photos and some good quotes in the article, I got diss’ed in a chart comparing costs of a single scoop. Being a somewhat novice at this, when asked about my price for a ‘single scoop’, I quote a regular size. When the story ran, I was more than a little surprised to see Mt. Tom’s listed above Herrill’s, Bart’s, and Ben & Jerry’s on the price chart, mercifully saved by Cold Stone Creamery from the undesirable distinction of top of the price pile. I quickly deduced the veterans quoted their ‘kiddie’ or ‘peewee’ size. The Gazette did print a correction showing my prices actually significantly lower than the ‘big three’, just not sure how many people actually studied that recalibrated but not reordered chart. In any event, exposure is exposure, and so long as nothing gets frostbite, it still gets your name out there. On more positive notes, I got ID’ed in the Hampshire Life pullout in the Hampshire Daily Gazette and got a nice plug on the local chamber of commerce’s new website… http://www.easthamptonchamber.org/initiatives/lunch.shtml

I even got a mention in a Boston Globe article this summer. That was very sweet.

In case you didn’t get a chance to swing by for a scoop this summer, let me give you a flavor for the flavors you missed… The peach was again the summer sizzler. That one just got better as the peaches became more flavorful, especially the last few batches made with white southern peaches. Tried a Peanut Butter Banana. Or was it Banana Peanut Butter? Chai Tea, Junior Mint, and, per customer request, Coconut with Pineapple. A surprising favorite was the Skybar candy bar inspired Skybar flavor – vanilla with ‘swirl-in’s of chocolate fudge, peanut butter, and caramel. Rounding out the wacky flavor category were Banana Nut, Tutti-Frutti, and White Chocolate Almond. One of more unique flavors was a sorbet I made with red wine. Called it Que Shiraz Sorbet. The grape sorbet may have been a swifter seller, but wine lovers loved the Shiraz Sorbet. Just picked up a bottle of Cabernet for the next batch, so I’ll let you know how that goes. A favorite of mine was what I called ‘Chocolate Graveyard’. A veritable glue factory for all the broken, not fit for sale, gourmet chocolates. Rather than eat them all myself, into the batch they went… buttercreams, caramels, peppermint patties, chocolate pretzels... I felt a little like Rudolph visiting the land of misfit toys on Christmas Eve. I had my sous-chefs cut them into pieces, then I mixed them into a milk chocolate ice cream base and voila, like Frankenstein, a new creation was born You may recall my naming dilemma with the Easter Bunny Tracks. I had a similar challenge with this one…Chocolate Junkyard, Boneyard, Scrapyard, Chocolate Counter Flunkies, Broken Chocolate Dreams, Reservoir Chocolates. Fun names are cool, but the downside is having to explain what’s in it eighteen hundred times a day.

Speaking of new flavors, a few of the boys at my local watering hole have suggested it’s time to concoct a Red Sox-themed flavor. You may remember my version of a Green Monster flavor last year. I’m thinking about a ‘Ballpark Medley’…peanuts, cracker jacks, sunflower seeds, hot dogs… ok, maybe I’ll skip the dogs. Ideas, thoughts, comments?

It’s almost time to start cranking out the pumpkin pie ice cream. Just ordered up the ingredients today. Just think, beautiful Fall foliage, deep blue skies, pumpkin pie ice cream, Skybars, wax bottles, whistle pops…come on, you know you want to visit…

I’ve also been challenged to come up with a ‘Candy Corn’ flavor. Aside from adding actual candy corn, I haven’t quite figured out how to make that one. It’s sortof like asking, what does chicken taste like.

I helped sponsor the summer reading program at the local library. In addition to requesting a bunch of free scoop coups (coupons), they asked if I’d do an ice cream making lesson for the winners. How could I say no. So the top 15 readers got an ice cream making lesson (ice cream hat included) and a cone. I understand last year’s prize was lunch with the mayor, so I hope this year’s readers weren’t disappointed they only got to make and eat ice cream and candy for an afternoon.

So have you missed Rudy and the gang? When friends come to visit, they inevitably ask if Rudy’s around, hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite diaries character. Sometimes I wonder who they’re really here to see. Although he’s not a float-chuggin’ regular anymore, he’s definitely a town fixture, if not the town hooligan. I recently watched him pushing a shopping cart around the backyard parking lot. When I chidingly yelled out to him, ‘Aisle 6 has no line’, he just gave me that devious smirk, and continued towards the pond with his cart. He actually went missing for about a week this summer. His younger brother Reej came in one day and breathlessly asked if I’d seen his brother Rudy. (ok, he didn’t call him Rudy exactly). I insensitively suggested he couldn’t get far pushing a shopping cart. He remained on the lam for a few days, but to sighs of relief from brother Reej and his folks, he returned, unharmed save for a few new piercings and one dented cart. Last time I saw Rudy, he was walking home from school, sporting a giant backpack overflowing with books. Perhaps his summer of living dangerously and running away with burning man shocked some sense into him. As for Reej, that smooth talking, paper route bag toting, pep stick connoisseur, he’s had his own share of run-ins with the law. Seems he actually spent an entire night in the tank this summer. I’ve been pressing him for details as to the nature of his crime, to which he responds, ‘maybe I’ll tell you on my deathbed’. I haven’t seen much of Reej either on account of he lost his route when he got busted by the cops. He’s generally a good kid, even if he does always have a crazy story of how he got eighty-three detentions that day. He stopped in recently to buy fudge for his Dad to give to Mom so he wouldn’t get in trouble for forgetting their anniversary. How can you not post bail for a kid like that.

I have one regular customer who comes in almost exclusively for root beer barrels. He operates a bookbinding business in the old converted mill up the street. His small staff stops in every couple of days for lunchtime desserts of ice cream and cashew turtles. Well, a few weeks ago they somehow let their boss’s birthday slip by them. In a move of desperation, they bought out my supply of barrels and had me hand pack a quart of vanilla and add a healthy dose of crushed root beer barrels. Probably doesn’t sound appetizing, but it was actually pretty good. RBBV may never make it to the big board, but it was an appropriate gift for that special someone with a passion for root beer. Turns out, they made a root beer barrel trail from his office to the backyard, where a surprise party awaited. From there, they brought him to the shop for a healthy helping of the one-of-a-kind root beer barrel vanilla ice cream I’d prepared earlier. He really seemed to enjoy it, which was cool to watch. A simple heartfelt gesture born out of one person taking the time to notice what brings pleasure to someone in their life. At the risk of sounding maudlin, I believe the world needs more of that. And unfortunately, the world has a bit less. The thoughtful woman who put that little party together was Meg Sanders. She was struck and killed last week while riding her bike in Northampton. She was just 23. For what it’s worth, I dedicate this episode to Meg and the many people who are coping with her loss.

Thanks for listening,

Jim