The Beauty of Square Ice Cream Cones

I've been pondering the significance of square ice cream cones. They're not the norm, you know. Most ice cream cones are rounded in shape, even those we dish up for ourselves in the comfort of our homes. Even the swirled variety are rounded. I know this because in days of yore, I used to work at a local drive-in and one of the first skills I had to acquire was the making of scrumptious looking swirled ice cream cones. This took a bit of practice for someone like me who is gifted with natural grace. =D I did eventually get the hang of things and can now swirl ice cream with the best of them, but it took a lot of practice. ;)

When I was in my youth, one of the highlights was a jaunt to my maternal grandparents' abode in Star Valley, Wyoming. To help break up the trip, my parents always stopped in a small town called Swan Valley, Idaho. To the unknowing tourist, this would be questionable. Why stop in this location when you're so close to sight-seeing wonders like Palisades Lake, Alpine, Wyoming, Jackson, Wyoming, etc.? We stopped because of the square ice cream cones. People in the know understood that this was well-worth the time it took to park the car and run inside the store to stand in line.

Not only are these ice cream cones served up with the help of a square ice cream scoop, but this tiny store still uses real ice cream, a rarity in today's world. And not just the run of the mill vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, etc. Exciting flavors like Moose Tracks, or Pralines and Cream, not to mention the illustrious, Huckleberry Temptation.

By the time it was our turn to order, we were always nicely confused as to what we wanted affixed to our tasty waffle cones. Finally making a decision, knowing that no matter what flavor we picked (aside from that one time when I tried Black Licorice, and we just won't go there) it would be mouth-watering wonderful, we exited the store happy and in good spirits.

I still look forward to stopping for square ice cream cones whenever the opportunity presents itself. My husband and I made the loop from Idaho Falls through Star Valley a couple of months ago and we had to stop for the traditional treat. I suppose that's why I'm commenting on this item today. Last night as I was looking through the pictures I have stashed in a digital file on my trusty laptop computer, I came across the picture I pasted in above. It was a nice reminder of something I think is important.

Too many of us settle for "round ice cream cones" simply because that's what most people order, or make. I think it's a crucial thing to step outside of the box and see what else is out there. How else do we attain inspiration? Life would be extremely boring if we did the same things over and over, without thought or regard to why that is.

True creativity is achieved when we look at life in a different fashion and when we try new things. I suspect that's part of why we're here in mortal mode. We weren't sent here to do the same things everyone else has done. We were meant to be a peculiar people. Seriously. This means we march in time to the beat of our own set of drums, not someone else's.

So my challenge today is this. Look around and see the possibilities. If your neighbors are all planting petunias this spring, plant daisies. If everyone else is wearing green, wear purple or orange or even fluorescent pink. Go forth, enjoy, and create, daring to be different. That's what makes life fun. Look for the "square ice cream cones." Your life will never be the same. And isn't that what really counts? ;)