There are several strange (though I use the word "different"...) customs in the culture in which I live. One of these is for men, fathers and sons 12 and older, to go for ice cream twice a year on a Saturday night, just after 8pm.
I should say that it may not be ice cream. The men and boys are free to make other choices, but usually the higher the sugar content the better.
Why do they do it, you ask? That's a fair question. You see, many of us who live in this area attend a religious meeting that's held on the first Saturday evening in April and in October. Tonight was that meeting. During my entire life the meetings were broadcast from downtown Salt Lake City to the church buildings all around the world. We would go for the two-hour meeting and then as soon as the word "Amen" was spoken over the pulpit it was a mad dash to the local dispensary of treats.
But all that changed last year. The church decided to broadcast the meetings on TV, not just to the church buildings. I didn't realize how things would change. Because the men were in the meeting, local business catered to the women in the area with sales and "Women's Night Out" sales, and the women took advantage.
Now that things have changed, I wonder if sales at the eateries and bookstores and and other gathering spots have suffered financially since the change was made. As for us and our family, we bought our Harmons gelato earlier in the day. "You are the smartest people on the planet!" the employee said to us. Because we all knew if it were 8:05pm, we'd be waiting about 30 minutes to buy the same thing. I've said it before...timing is everything!
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