The ice cream man stopped in front of our house a couple weeks ago - the were several kids in the yard and he thought it was a safe bet. My kids have learned that sometimes if they ask, and it's the right driver, he'll give them a treat for free. I heard him say (through my open office window) "you have to go ask your mom," to which my son promptly replied: "no, she'll say we don't have any money." My kids are well-trained. My work here is done. :)

Good work, Cinda! My sister taught her boys that the music of the ice-cream truck was actually music of the garbage truck. That kept them away.

Andrea, are there any municipal regulations in DG or nearby on when and where ice-cream trucks can operate?

So true! Constant begging each time the truck goes by! I've even tried buying the same ice cream at the grocery - 6 for the same price as 1 on the truck - but they're not interested. The worst is when they sit in the parking lot at the park.

Yikes, a little harsh..
Granted, I've been suspicious of ice cream trucks ever since I read 'The Iceman" about hit man Richard Kuklinski, who learned his trade from a fellow hit man nicknamed 'Mr Softy' because he ran an ice cream truck as a cover, but our ice cream truck seems pretty harmless. Our kids would rather walk down to Every Days a Sundae for a scoop of Blue Moon (or Blue Tongue as we call it) but if they REALLY wanted a Spongebob popsicle on a hot afternoon then that's just fine, high fructose corn syrup and sugar have something in common-everything.
Its surprising to read what residents are tolerant of, more surprising of what they're not.

When I was growing up, my parents always told us that was just the "music truck" playing music throughout the neighborhoods. Eventually when we were older and figured out the truck also sold ice cream, we had also learned that mom's favorite word as "no," and that there were cheap Popsicles in our freezer. So we never even asked.

I'm with Tony. Its certainly Andrea's prerogative to declare that the magic is gone for her and see the truck through negative-colored glasses for all the reasons she cites. I find the whole article to be a bit too "bah humbug" for me. It's fair, but I'd be happy to read the Rockwellian account that still regards the ice cream truck as a pleasant survivor from days gone by.

The costs are high to be sure, but the ice cream truck is far from alone in overcharging for sweet treats. And sometimes its worth an extra buck or two to me for the convenience of enjoying a Bomb Pop I haven't had in years, or enjoying some other ice cream snack that we otherwise don't regularly keep in our house. I serve on the board of a nonprofit dedicated to combating childhood obesity, so I'm sensitive to the health argument. But an occasional cold summer treat from a fun truck that comes down your street is a novelty I enjoyed as a kid, still enjoy as an adult and am excited for my kids to discover (this summer will probably be the year my 2 year old "gets it").

Now, perhaps some years down the line, I'll be a bit tired of it all too. But until then, I'll respectfully reject the line of "the ice cream many is causing ill humor in Downers Grove neighborhoods" and am instead going to be happy that we live in a community where we have the luxury of being excited or annoyed by an ice cream truck.

Eh, although the obnoxious music blaring thru the loudspeaker can drive me crazy, I can remember how magical it would be when I was a kid and the Good Humor truck happened to drive thru the neighborhool. When the kids were little, we'd treat them once in a while, just because that's a memory of summer. They knew it was a very occasional treat, and they got to participate in a ritual of summer life. Although I'm not a proponent of lots of sugar, they all grew up okay, are fit and exercise regularly and eat well. So, in perspective, it all worked out.

Have them turn the volume down so it can only be heard in a couple house radius. I don't need to hear it for 30 minutes as these people drive slowly up and down every street in the neighborhood.

I find it more irritating that the ice cream man that frequents my section of DG does about 35mph through the neighborhood. Unsafe for everyone, and if you want something you have to be lightning on your feet and with your wallet. Then it takes him about two houses to screech to a halt. He obviously doesn't operate on a quota system the way he blows through town.

First I'd like to that the ice cream man for at least recently *sharing* a better version of "Turkey in the Straw." I remember a really bad distorted version not too long ago. That being said...

I live very close to three schools. It's normal for me to see the ice cream truck parked right in front of my house right before the elementary and middle school kids get out of school. It just feels too stalker-ish to me which takes away the fun nostalgic feelings I used to have for the ice cream man.

P.S. The pink sherbetty (sp?) thing with the gumball at the bottom was always my favorite : )

Neal Shusterman(an author of books to 11, 12, 13 ... year olds) wrote a brilliant short story called The Ice Cream Man. Very Twilight Zone-ish. Read it and you will never chase the ice cream truck again.
Surprised the govt isn't going after the ice cream man along with coke???

You know what I prefer to this? When I lived in Bolingbrook we had an older Hispanic man pushing a cart with a bell selling popsicles for ONE DOLLAR each. They had real fruit chunks in them, the bell was not obnoxious, and he didn't almost kill anoyone in the street speeding. But I've since read that this practice is illegal in some towns (even though in DG we have an elderly man pushing a cart with a bell who will sharpen your blades for you.... odd...). I miss the $1 popsicle guy.

I love the knife sharpening man that walks throught the neighborhood with his sharpening wheel. It will be the end of an era when he stops coming by.

Wow--great comments, all.

I agree there is something nostalgic about the ice cream man, maybe because it brings back memories of childhood summers. It was also fun to treat my kids when they were little. But it does get intrusive as the years wear on and the prices are ratcheted up and up. And I agree that they drive too fast and routinely park down the street from schools in my neighborhood. Fortunately, my kids never carried money to grade school and by high school they were long over the ice cream man.

The ice cream man used to serve up soft serve from his truck when I was little. I guess health codes wouldn't allow it today.

I used the ice cream man to my own advantage. The kids would have to save up "good behavior" points to earn a treat from the ice cream truck.

My kids don't know the ice cream truck exists. And I don't think twice about it. I do, however, think twice about the guy driving the truck ... and for that reason, I don't mind my kids not knowing him. Just sayin'.

What a frightened community we live in sometimes. Truly mindboggling. How many cases...in the thousands of incidents of "peddling" some innocent fun...has something gone wrong?

Frogs in a slow pot of boiling water.

Scott, my dad is a retired parole office. That said, I'll take my kids to the library, but I won't let them outside to meet the ice cream guy. Perhaps it's quirky to you, and that's okay with me.

Quirky is an uncommon trait.

What scares me is how common its become to be afraid of everything. Along with that, the idea that we can control every environment and outcome.

Wait...also the inability to tell our children no...and that life isn't fair. Alright, now I'm off topic again.

Without the ice cream man and his truck's blaring "da da da da da da da da da da da dot" music, I would have far too few occasions to sing "There's a place in France/Where they don't wear underpants/If you ever go there/You won't see no underwear."

Which *might* be for the better, I suppose. :)

That's a much racier version of the song than we used to sing!
"There's a place in France/Where the ladies do a dance/And the dance they do/cost a dollar 92!

My son has the ice cream truck song as his ringtone on his cell phone. Annoying? Absolutely but in a hilarious kind of way.

So many thoughts came to mind as I read this article, mostly that I would love to have back the days when my kids came running into the house for money as they "heard" the ice cream man coming. I would love to have back the days when we all got a treat and sat together on the front porch licking the ice cream before it melted. Time flies and the ice cream man is just one more thing you don't have as the kids grow up and out. So enjoy the music, sing along, laugh about the interruption the truck causes, treat your kids and husband to an overpriced ice cream and sit together and enjoy it. Don't waste time complaining about something that bothers you for at the most 5 minutes of your day....life is too short.

Please take my column for what it is: my personal opinion on growing up in Downers Grove as someone who grew up here and is raising a family here. Not every issue is a crisis, but I always like to promote conversation about experiences kids are likely to remember, some for better, some for worse. Some have changed since I was a kid, some remain the same, and some remain the same but my perspective has changed.

The ice cream truck's muzak *does* bug me—I'd rather it not be the forced-soundtrack of summer. And I stand by my musing that jingle bells—or even music-box music, which is what I think they played circa 1983—would be an improvement. Would I like to see, er, hear a change? Sure. But I promise it's not keeping me up at night. ;)

As I mentioned, I'm an ice cream snob: every once in a while, my family sits outside Every Day's a Sundae and watches the trains, or "plays" chess at Oberweis. Those are our magic ice cream moments, and they taste good, too!

Thanks to all of you, for reading and joining in.

I love the Ice Cream man or as I affectionately call him "Tthe Popsicle Man! " Way to negative on the logic of a guy driving a Good Humor truck or motor vehicle to sell his goods. It is nostalgic and really fun if you hear the music in the distance, jump on your bike with your kids and try to chase him down and locate him for that all delicious fudgecicle or Rainbow Bomp buster on s hot summer day ! Part of it is the experience. I have fond memories of doing that when I was a kid and begging my mom on the fly for a handful of quarters to give the high school kid driving in the white van with the freezer in the back trying to make summer money. Good times! Hope to hear that music a lot this summer!

It is not the "Ice Cream Man" per say that I am against. It is the fact that we have about 2 a day coming by our house sometimes. I have such fond memories of the Ice Cream Truck - because we only were aloud to get something on a special occasion. When I grew up, the truck only came by a couple of times a summer so it was special. Now my kids are immune to the music. It is like background music because they hear it so much.

I am completely against Big Government or taxes, but I would love to see Ice Cream Trucks licensed in Downers Grove.

Let Andrea keep writing about ice cream trucks. While the adults of Downers Grove worry about the important things. Like the economy and how to make ends meet. Complete waste of time. You get a chance to write an article and that's what you select. You fit the pattern perfectly.

Dom...that's unfair. Not a complete waste of time, it gave you an opportunity to vent...surely you're not wasting your time?

We've got nothing if we can't for a moment relate to each other about the profound and mundane.

Thank you, Scott. It's always dangerous to judge someone on one column, one comment or one conversation. For the record, I've seen Andrea at school board meetings--one of a handful of residents who take the time to attend. She's serious and thoughtful and, like all columnists, is free to write what she wishes. And clearly, readers responded to this column.

Maybe you have thoughts you'd like to share on a regular basis, Dom? If so, you can reach me at elaine@patch.com.

I'm trying to think of a news medium that doesn't include a mix of hard news and human interest stories. I can't.

Tried the "There's the music truck" thing, but our kid figured it out.
I'd personally buy ice cream from him all the time if he switched to playing some Skynyrd.

Our kids had the option of using their allowance, but rarely did. More likely it would trigger a freezer raid or they'd start lobbying for a DQ visit.

The music 10-15 years ago was very garbled and distorted, and it seems much better now. Never really seemed a bother, just a sound of summer.

Hasn't anyone here lived in Chicago? My neighborhood had the ice cream truck, bicycle peddled ice cream, churros and other assorted goods come down our block in intervals of 5 minutes - all day long, 7 days a week. The occasional Ice-cream truck is a blessing. If they would only slow down long enough for us to get to him, it would be great.

Back before the earths crust cooled and I lived in DG (1980's) I remember that the bucolic suburban atmosphere happily included things like the ice cream truck. Its appearance was a sure sign of spring. It appears that in the 18 years since I left some residents have forgotten the things that can bring a little smile to their faces. Instead they find trivial nonsense like this to complain about. I suppose that is to be expected. I was very involved in my community there and it saddens me to see that community spirit gone.

You can always say "no." Just because the truck is there, doesn't mean you have to partake. What's annoying to you is putting food on someone else's table. Of course it's overpriced (compared to buying it at the store) -- it's instant gratification and you're paying for having it right there, no muss, no fuss.

I worked as an ice cream truck driver in the summer of 1976. It's not necessarily easy. It's boring and, in my case, you had to ring the bill: no programmed music. So you had to ring the bell the right amount, and in the right cadence. You have to drive slowly, but not too slowly. Etc. etc. etc.

And again -- you don't want your kids to have that stuff? Say no -- but say yes upon occasion!

When the kids were little, the neighborhood moms convinced the kids that when the music was playing the truck was actually out of ice cream and heading back to the "shop" to get more. That concept only lasted a couple summers!

I equate the ice cream truck music to watching Barney the Purple Dinosaur. It grates on me. I'd rather be waterboarded.

Well at least in NE Downers the ice cream truck drowns out all the noise from the jets flying over our heads every 30 seconds and the constant drone of highway traffic from 88/355/Ogden punctuated by tear down construction. Pick your poison I guess.

Just finished chasing down the Ice cream truck over 3 1/2 blocks with my 3 year old on the back of my bike and my 8 year old cutting through back yards and driveways to catch the music man selling treats. $4 for 2 fudgecicles. Totally worth it! The chase along with searching the streeets as the music fadesto locate the truck is half the fun! Happy Memorial Day Folks! Please remember our fallen Vetrans and service personnel who have given the ultimate sacrifice so we can do things like this with our kids. C'mon Summer!

Being able to do this just as I did as a kid, is so wildly fun to share the experience with my kids.