Where Xutos declares the end of summer in Boise
Scary Larry Sells His Last Ice Cream
By Nathaniel Hoffman, 10-08-07
| A fall day, a pile of leaves, the ice cream man. | |
No, not that scary larry.
I mean the ancient ice cream man who plies Boise’s Northend. I hadn’t heard his truck for a few weeks. But one unseasonably warm day brought old Larry down my street at about 16:30 hours today. He said it was his last day. He said when all the ice cream is gone he’d be calling it quits for the year.
I handed Larry a fistful of change. He handed us two ice creams. Something creamy and something fruity.
Petra said, “Scary Larry? But he’s not scary...”
The guy was probably scary twenty years ago. If this was anywhere but Boise, I’d say an ice cream man named Scary Larry was probably selling more than ice cream. Maybe a little Mac Dre on the side.
But we just wanted to eat ice cream in a pile of rust colored leaves. I got Petra to trade me the chocolate nut covered thing for the fruity thing. She thought she was getting a good deal.
Then I took this picture. Which captured my mood perfectly.
Petra asked: “Is it going to be summer soon, dad?”
Like this story? Get more! Sign up for our free newsletters.
Like to receive our print magazine, The New West? Click here for free subscription information.

Comments
We do have a skunk that wanders through our neighborhood in the late summer. My kids will no doubt associate that summer smell with seeing their parents dash madly around the house hysterically closing every door and window. Perhaps the skunk was just looking for something fruity, too.