I Scream, You Scream...We all Scream at Ice Cream Trucks

Is this a dream? No, I can't be hearing ice cream trucks at 10:08 p.m.? Surely they aren't selling ice cream at this hour.

Well, I’m awake now thanks to Jingle Bells playing out front of my home for the last 20 minutes.

With the economy decline I understand why folks are doing anything it takes to make a buck. Gas prices are through the roof, grocery bills getting higher, taxes keep coming.

And now, the ice cream truck cometh!

At the start of summer it was the usual ice cream trucks playing the all familiar, "Clap, Clap, Clap, HELLOOO. But wait, what's this, another truck going the other way!? Now we have them in stereo mash-up! Two trucks at the same time! PLAYING DIFFERENT SONGS!

When I was a kid they used a tiny bell to announce their arrival, but today we get a barrage of electronic Christmas songs in June. Sometimes we can have as many as three trucks in Colgate at the same time. Nothing makes a kid more excited as to hear an ice cream truck headed their way. Suddenly, the only thing you hear is change hitting the floor, a streak and slam of the front door as your kid is goes “missing in action."

Kids make their way to the Good Humor man with sweat dripping from their brow, gasping for air, as they struggle to catch there breath. Eureka! We all remember how we acted at the thought of missing a chance to get a Fudge Pop or Nuttie Buddy.

My fear is that kids won't pay attention and run into the street as a car rounds the corner.

When ice cream trucks come around after dark a whole world of danger opens for the kids who don’t pay attention. There are lots of dangers these days and it’s hard to keep tabs on your kids all the time. How late is late enough?

Maybe I can answer that.

To see how the ice cream vendor process works, the Colgate Improvement Association started looking into the requirements governing the sale of ice cream from vehicles, and came up with some interesting information.

For example, did you know a Huckster license is issued by the clerk of court?  And did you also know Baltimore County Council passed legislation (November, 2010) that prohibits Hucksters and Peddlers from being out after sundown, or 5 p.m., which ever comes first. To read the full legislation click here, then search for §84-10.

I’m not saying all the ice cream trucks need to stop earning a living. I’m just saying that  20 minutes of Jingle Bells directly in front of our homes is a bit extreme. If the drivers could reach over and hit the mute button while stopped, perhaps the complaints would stop or be reduced.

I think it’s a easy compromise, don’t you?