By Trina Machacek
Ah life. A journey of such consequences. There are two types of consequences. Good and bad. Good ones are desired, bad ones are not. Good ones flit into my life like a butterfly. They flitter and make happy landings then flitter away. Bad ones do not flit. They come along wearing army boots that clump and clod along. Bad consequences cause havoc and then stick around like the smell of burnt toast hanging in the air. But. Yes, a squirt of air freshener on that “but.” The secret to ridding yourself of bad consequences is to open a window. Just as you would to let the bad toast smell out, open a window. Well, here’s the story.
Trina Machacek
It took more years than I care to count until I finally came up with something I can give winter credit for. I travel over 100 miles for some of my groceries. There are somethings I like at different stores so I happily fill my larder with them when I go shopping. One of those things is a particular kind of ice cream. For years there was a company called Schwan’s that offered home delivery of ice cream and many other yummy things. Sadly they did succumb to many other home delivery apps and stores that have come online. Forcing my ice cream dream company of Schwan’s to park their trucks and melt into oblivion in 2024. Get it? Ice Cream. Melt. Moving on…
So there were many sad ice cream less days until I discovered I could still order from Schwan’s on line. That was great. Imagine, ice cream coming directly to me in big, really big, Styrofoam coolers filled with dry ice tucked in with the frozen goodness of my heart’s desire. Be still my heart. Although, Styrofoam and I don’t get along. The sound it makes sends chills up my spine. Yes, like fingernails on a chalk board. You just cringed, didn’t you?! All the bad consequences of the loss of home delivery, from my Schwan’s guy, whose name was on the lips of all my neighbors as he was such a welcomed sight driving in yards in his big yellow truck, those bad consequences turned from bad to good.
Unfortunately, as time went by, so many things had become deliverable to us from online ordering that even Schwan’s home delivery by on-line got squashed by other bigger on-line home delivery places. That’s a lot of on-lines. Sadly in November of 2024 the ice cream stopped flowing to my house. I know, I know. Big deal, Trina. Move on.
The delicious flavors I loved now go home with me. In more sensible amounts however. It took a few winter trips to buy and store the right amounts so I don’t get too fat and sassy in my living room while binge watching re-runs of… Well, you get the idea. That epiphany of winter ice cream is a great consequence of the death of the Schwan’s company. So, in the line of sight of my frozen eyeballs, winter has been given some positive credit-finally!
The idea of going backwards to go forward is not new to any of us. Life is an unending journey of back-forwardness. Without even noticing you are going back to go forward. Building, gardening, cooking, driving. We learn everything. Then when we need that knowledge, we go back to what we learned and move forward using that bit of gray matter that holds the memory. Back-Forward, the way I live my life. Wishing the same grand journey to you.
Trina lives in Diamond Valley, north of Eureka, Nevada. She loves to hear from readers. Email her at itybytrina@yahoo.com
