Brendan Recommends- A Soft Serve Ice Cream Cone

It's hot outside. It's humid. Today I was in a full sweat after doing nothing more than standing outside breathing.

The Dude II moments before the mess.

Let's cool things down with a nice, simple cone of chocolate and vanilla swirl soft serve ice cream.

Often I'll order a more complicated scoop, but as my plastic spoon digs at the hard chocolate chunks buried within, I'll gaze over at someone else eating a soft serve cone and wonder why I didn't order it myself.

A soft serve ice cream cone is a summer pop song: mass-produced with no nutritious value, but always perfect.

No one ever replies in the negative when when asked, "How's your cone?"

To re appropriate a Woody Allen joke, "Even the worst one is right on the money."

A soft serve ice cream cone is now.

You don't save a soft serve ice cream cone for later after a few exploratory licks.

You have to eat it with the right mix of lazy enjoyment and determined speed, because nothing changes from a solid to a melted liquid mess in your hands faster than a cone piled high with soft serve ice cream.

A soft serve ice cream cone is a race backwards to a moment in your life when you got exactly what you wanted and what you wanted was as easily obtained and as it was forgotten.

Mr. Plow

I can't believe Daddy is making me shovel the driveway. Isn't that HIS job?

And Mommy bundled me up like that kid in A Christmas Story. A need a range of motion!

Work, work, work.

Shovel, shovel, shovel.

I might as well do the front lawn while I'm at it.

And the neighbor's lawn too.

Don't tell me it's going to snow again. No way!

Oh sure, Daddy. Come outside to help once I've already finished. Just in time for the photo op.

Mommy, coming through in the clutch with a cup of hot cocoa.

It was all worth it!

Ok, now let's see what Daddy wrote about me on his blog.

Daddy and the Dude(s)

Brendan Mackey's Blog is proud to announce the signing of Luke William Mackey to a lucrative long-term contract.

Just like in the NBA where the latest trend is pairing superstars to form a Big 3 (a la the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, and NY Knicks), our team has added another dude.

There was some concern within the organization that the two dude's talents wouldn't properly mesh and there would be fights over the the binky.

Sure, things might get a little shaky in the beginning, especially with such a short preseason, but ultimately, we feel that raw talent will win out.

Luke William, via his agent, is quoted as saying, "Though I had a lot of tempting offers, it was always my dream to become a Mackey and through hard work and a lot of sleeping, eating, and pooping, I hope to prove my worth to my teammates and Mackey fans, who are the greatest fans in the world."

2012 will be an exciting year for our team, and with Luke William in the fold, we think we can go all the way this year.

Happy New Year!