Snow Cones

Maybe my attachment to sugar is to blame, but ever since I was young, I have loved making and eating snow cones. Granted, you don’t need to put syrup into the shredded ice to eat it, but if you aren’t, then what’s the point of not putting it into a drink?

I started making snow cones when I was in early elementary school, so my guess is when I was six years old. It was sometime in the summer, and whenever Mister Softee passed by I wasn’t looking for ice cream, I was looking for the tri-color snow cones that he sold. Given that my parents weren’t too keen on spending the money every timed that I wanted a snow cone for me to not even finish half of it (those things were huge for six year old me), I was introduced to our Peanuts-branded snow cone machine. Now I will admit, I don’t remember if it was bought for me or if it was something that my parents have just had for some time, considering that the Peanuts Sno-Cone Machine was first sold in 1979 and the design hasn’t changed since, so I’m not sure if it was something we just had lying around or if it were bought for me and my snow cone addiction since my birthday is at the end of June. No matter what the case was, I was in love with the thing. Reflecting back on it, I think my love for the Peanuts Sno-Cone Machine wasn’t solely based in my love for snow cones, but the design of it (as you hopefully see by the picture) is just adorable, and the idea of shaving the ice yourself both satisfied me through the fact that I made what I’m eating and, considering I had anger issues at the time, probably soothed me. After all of this praise that I throw onto snow cones and this simple machine, there were still problems that arose from them. The main one is that when I used to use this a lot, I was a little kid that just didn’t understand the concept of cleaning up after yourself. Constantly leaving a mess after making snow cones, believe it or not, didn’t make my parents too happy and that, on top of the amount of sugar I consumed off of snow cones alone, made them limit me from using the snow cone machine. Another issue with it relating to me being younger is that I didn’t understand the concept of ice, making me get ice to make snow cones with and leaving it out to melt while I’m shaving and eating other ice. It’s safe to say that a plastic container full of ice-cold water was one nightmare that the dream catcher must’ve caught often.

Nowadays, I don’t live near where Mister Softee roams the streets, and I’m able to control my sweet tooth a lot better, so snow cones aren’t really something that I eat too often. Whenever I get the opportunity to get from Mister Softee, I get soft-serve anyways since it’s something I don’t eat too often and that Mister Softee does very will. That being said, I still do love snow cones, and my memories associated with them will always fill me with childlike giddiness whenever I see that old snow cone machine in the basement.