Saturday, July 14, 2007

The Lactose-Intolerant Ice Cream Man

It's almost like a Greek tragedy. He brings happiness to thousands of children, happiness that he can never partake of himself, even though he has The Sweetest Job.

He is Ben Shelton. The Ice Cream Man. Wrote Mary Lancaster:
[He] makes the rounds of [Nantucket] island neighborhoods in an old, spiffed up truck decorated with surfboards and announces his presence with '60s surfer music and a ship's bell mounted on the inside of the passenger door.

...

"I've always wanted to do one so I decided why the hell not, to get it out of my system," he said, as the truck was waved down on Norquarta Drive by several smiling children. "The idea is to break even. If I make money that's even better, but it's so much fun. There's nothing for kids on Nantucket - I had no idea they would go bonkers when they see it. It is the funnest job I've ever had."

The only problem? Shelton is lactose intolerant. Never mind. All he cares about is hearing a forlorn customer say:
"Ice Cream Man, can you come tomorrow?" asks a child as we prepare to move along.

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous8:49 PM

    I just wanted to mention a great tasting frozen treat I came across at my local Whole Foods the other week. Emilee's Italian Ice, it comes in a small cute little package about 1/2 pint. I think it is brand new to Whole Foods but it tasted fantastic... usually I can't eat ice cream and other products I have tried don't quite hit the spot but this one tasted great. Just wanted to share my little treat with you guys.

    ReplyDelete