Saturday, August 22, 2009

Friday 8-20. Lotsa pics!

Friday was another scorching day in NYC. As I was exiting the G Train in Brooklyn a woman fainted into my arms; an ambulance had to be called. Just loading up the truck's supplies is enough to drain you for the day. At 1:00pn I parked at Union Square, and when making my first cone the generator died with a thud. After a few phone calls and a lunch at Republic while waiting for word on what to do I headed back out to the depot. By this time I had Bryan along, and he was able to snap photos of a few things I've been wanting to share.

Part of the drive from the depot to the Williamsburg Bridge goes underneath an elevated subway line. Driving under the J line makes me imagine what Columbus Avenue must have been like when an el line ran along the length of it.
As you enter the Willamsburg Bridge you see this sign; when I read it I hear the voice of Marty Merkowitz, Brooklyn Borough President.
Apocalyptic Manhattan! A huge weather-resetting storm was blowing in as he headed back to work.
A few weeks ago I posted a pic of the former CBGB, but I had the location wrong! It's the leftmost dark canopy; a Varvatos store. Bor-ing!
Driving up Bowery; stormy winds a-blowin.
It rained as we parked, then it let up. Cat Head Guy stopped by, and we had a talk. Something caught cat's attention during this shot. Cat loves sitting on Charlie's head; he stoops a bit and the cat hops onto his leg, then his shoulder, and finally scoots up onto his head. It's all pretty adorable. What makes it all even better is that Charlie can be a bit brusque.
Here's a close-up of cat. Cat loves a cone, and it's good for business.
A week ago I issued a challenge via Twitter. For the first person (man or woman) to show up and sing "Glitter and Be Gay" (from Leonard Bernstein's Candide) I would happily turn over a free cone. Tweep @OperaKitty came and turned some heads by belting out the full tune! It was fun to have a performance in front of the truck, and people on the street got a big kick out of it.
This hasn't happened in a while; a full out chocolate explosion. Ricky Ricardo voice: Lucy! Tha choclate 'sploded!!
The Village Lions are a rugby team here in NYC, and I remember partying with them back when I played with Gotham RFC. Their women's side is assembling a fundraiser calendar, and a few of them came up to the truck wondering if they could shoot in front of it. Check out the booty!

The evening's biggest surprise came at about 10:30, when my mom, sister, brother, and niece strolled up to the truck! Mom, Nancy and Mia flew down from Maine as a birthday surprise. All decked out in BGICT shirts; how could I have been happier??
The last shot is of Mia, my niece, checking out the inside of her first ice cream truck. She's not allowed back on until all of her baby teeth fall out- I don't want to give someone a surprise topping!

I'm off to a birthday lunch with my family. I'll be back out tomorrow (Sunday) so come by if you can.

4 comments:

  1. And, may I say....the acoustics were quite lovely! The vanilla ice cream with saba and blueberries was yummy. I'm watching for the next time you have bacon.....I am so there!

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  2. Hi Dougie, greetings from CO! Janet told me about your latest gig! Then I look you up and see a great pics of you and some Quints! How fun!

    Debbie

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  3. Greetings from Georgia!....I have been thinking of starting my own ice cream truck business...are there any words of wisdom?....and just curious, how much did you spend for your truck?
    Thank you for your time :) Erin

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