With its low self-esteem and high urban blight, Hartford is the ultimate underdog city. Sad City Hartford documents the joys, sorrows and eccentricities of New England's Rising Star.

Friday, September 17, 2010

The Ice Cream Man


The Hartford Courant is reporting that an ice cream vendor was robbed at gunpoint in the North End this week. While we don't know much about the North End ice cream truck, we do know about the South End ice cream truck. The South End ice cream truck runs ALL THE TIME.

Seriously, it starts in about March and runs until November. The ice cream truck also runs late. The jingle can be heard through the South End at 10:30 at night sometimes. It makes you think of the 90's movie Friday.

Now just to be clear we have never bought so much as an ice cream from the truck. Nor have we seen anything that we would call even remotely suspicious going on around the ice cream truck. What we can say is that we have been outside in the South End on a chilly march evening sipping a beer and heard the ice cream truck jingle and though "who the hell is buying an ice cream right now?"

6 comments:

  1. Maybe he just loves driving around the city playing the jingle hoping to spread a little song of joy amidst the ambulance sirens.

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  2. I bought and ice cream from the ice cream man at 10:30 a few weeks ago in the west end. They were out of the turtles so i had to get a sonic, it was heartbreaking. The strange thing about the truck is I never see them in the day light only at night? We got a picture with the Ice cream man and his kid that was driving around with him. Good times with the Good Humor Man!

    http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs251.snc4/39885_1460817092638_1599752824_31105210_3642888_n.jpg

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  3. Every time I hear the truck, which is a lot of times, it brings to mind my friend, the late Wilbur Troutman, RIP.
    ------------------------------------------------
    Mr. Troutman was videotaping a Mister Softee truck 10 days ago to document its incessant jingle as a violation of noise laws, when, he said, the driver jumped out of the truck and hit him with a baseball bat.

    The driver, who denies hitting Mr. Troutman, has been charged with assault. Mr. Troutman, his left arm still scabbed, has become fodder for radio talk shows in Baltimore, San Antonio, Indianapolis and even Australia. His telephone rings with calls from longsuffering ''Pop Goes the Weasel'' critics.

    ''There's a wave of public rights I'm riding on,'' he said.

    The right to quiet. The right to be free from commerce invading your house. The right to go get ice cream when you want rather than having ice cream come to you, like some runaway dessert cart rolling through your living room.

    Besides, he hates the jingle. ''Hell, we're not talking about Beethoven's 'Pastoral,' '' he said. ''We're talking about nine notes in some kind of arrangement.''
    http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/10/nyregion/our-towns-standing-up-to-mr-softee-don-t-laugh.html

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  4. I sing in a church on south Main. Whenever I leave my choir rehearsal at 9:00 PM each week, the ice cream truck is ALWAYS parked on John Street. With NOBODY buying ice cream from it.

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  5. So sketchy, def. selling more than ice cream.

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  6. OMG I always hear this dude at night and when it's cold and I wonder what is up with Hartford.

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