In response to our conversation about the expression ding-ding man, a term used mainly in Nebraska to mean “the driver of an ice cream truck,” Greg in Auburn, California, shared that he and his wife used to call that vehicle the music truck so their children didn’t realize that frozen treats were passing by their home. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “The Music Truck”
We heard from Greg Dolkus in Auburn, California, who said he was listening to one of our old episodes where we were talking about the term for the person who drives the ice cream truck through residential neighborhoods, you know, with the music playing and all that, because it turned out that in Nebraska, primarily, you call that person the ding-ding man.
Greg said that brought back memories for him, and he writes, years ago, when our children were small, the ice cream truck would come through our neighborhood. My wife and I referred to it as the music truck, never mentioning the delectable desserts contained therein. This avoided the inevitable whining we knew we would get, and the kids continued their play while listening to the music in the background as the truck drove by. Very effective.
Yeah, he says, fast forward to a conversation with our now grown children. At some point in their lives, we don’t know quite when, they figured out what it was. But by then the truck was no more. They still haven’t forgiven us.
Weren’t the stickers of all the yummy treats on the side of the truck a giveaway? You would think. Maybe they were playing below the living room windowsill or something. Right, they just couldn’t see. Oh, the nice music truck.
