Ben and Jerry's and I go way back. For the first 12 years of my life, I lived just a 10 minute walk away from the ice cream haven. And it was a walk that I made a lot while growing up (especially because the ice cream truck avoided my high traffic street). It's not like I went there every night after dinner or anything, but strolls to Ben and Jerry's were definitely staples of my summers (and the other seasons too -- it's never too cold for ice cream).
In the beginning, I was accompanied by my parents of course. How many rounds of penny hockey did I play with my dad and sister, sitting smooshed in the booths with the red vinyl. For my fourth birthday, my parents escorted me and four of my closest friends to B&J's to celebrate in style. We all sport ice cream moustaches in the photo. As I grew up, it was usually my friends and not mom and dad, who went with me on my sojourns to sweetness. We were typical annoying teenage customers -- hanging around the small store long after our cones were finished, rushing into the bathroom to trade secrets, singing along with the pop 40 radio station.
That Ben and Jerry's closed shortly after I moved to my new house, but I continued to patronize other B&J locations in my city, though much less frequently. Still, it was a nice sign when on my college tours, I spotted the Ben and Jerry's in Hanover.
Given my fondness for the place, it is without question that I participated in the annual Free Cone Day that took place one week ago today. When I got there, the line went past Talbot's, but how could one complain? On the 25 minute wait, one after another people came out of the store, happily licking their cones. On recent trips I have limited myself to fro-yo (I highly recommend the Chocolate Fudge Brownie), but on Free Cone Day I thought I'd indulge in real ice-cream. Then came the pressures of decision. Would I go with a standard favorite, like Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough or Heath Bar Crunch? Perhaps I should try the highly recommended Chubby Hubby? Then again, Mint Chocolate Chunk seemed mighty tempting.
On the spur of the moment, I went with "Everything but the..." (a combination of Heath Bar Crunch, New York Super Fudge Chunk, and Peanut Butter Cup). So, it's not a flavor I would get again, but the happiness of eating Ben and Jerry's still got to me.
Free Cone Day was just one more assurance for me that Ben and Jerry's is a model of an ideal business. How many other companies that you know of set aside one day each year, at locations across the world, to give away it's products for free as a way to say thank you to its customers? And it's not just a once time a year kindness -- Ben and Jerry's gives 7.5 percent of its pre-tax earnings to social and other charitable causes. They've supported everything from preservations of American farms to their current cause of building playgrounds. If you're going to ingest a product that has 59 percent of your Daily recommended value of saturated fat (the amount in "Everything but the..."), why not do a little good at the same time?
Ben and Jerry's follows a model of caring capitalism that I wish more businesses would adhere to. Perhaps the company has a hidden fault somewhere, besides the high fat content of their product. But as for now, I'm willing to buy into their "Peace, Love, and Ice Cream" slogan. I am keeping B&J's in mind as a career possibility in case nothing else turns up after graduation. Where else will I get employee benefits that include three free pints of ice cream a day?
