The Ice Cream Cone

Priorities

In hindsight, it may not have been a great idea to put little Johnny in charge of getting ice cream from the self-serve ice cream machine. His mother didn’t realize he could barely reach the lever. But when he did grab it, the ice cream just started to swirl down into his cone and onto his hand, which distracted him from lifting up on the lever. It really wasn’t his fault that the ice cream flowed down his hand. His mother hadn’t noticed his predicament yet but most of the nearby restaurant customers had.

It was only when Johnny cried, “Mommy!” that it got her attention.

By then, though, the mess was made and the four-year-old was running in place unsure of what to do.

Complete strangers scrambled out of their booths to help the lad turn the machine off but couldn’t risk the danger of slipping on the melting ice cream. Safe and secure now that a few had rescued him, restaurant staff rushed to clean up the liquid mess on the floor, little Johnny took the break in the excitement to lick the melting ice cream off his arms and hands.

As his mother grabbed some napkins, wet them down, and got the boy cleaned up in the midst of his tears, he yelled, “I want more ice cream. Now!”

You can’t fault the kid for trying.

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