Summer Holidays, Watermelon and A Slice of Neapolitan Ice Cream

The best summer holiday ever "Growing Up Brittingham" was when Dad & Mom loaded all of us kids (6) up in the '53 Chrysler to go uptown to get a watermelon.

Along Austin Street (A.K.A.) HWY 54 there were Farmer's selling watermelons out of the back of their trucks. The watermelon's cost 2-2 & 1/2 cents to 3 cents per pound. There were several Farmer's lined up in parking lots and gas station lots. They were having kind of "Watermelon" wars! I remember the big hand painted signs. 

After purchasing the BIGGEST, BEST LOOKING & FINGER "THUMP-IN" GOOD watermelon we headed for Spring Street Park. No forks, napkins, plates etc just the kitchen knife that Dad brought to cut it and some newspaper to cut it on. Dad cut the watermelon in slices gave us all one and the watermelon was gone. 

We Kids really knew how to eat watermelon.  There was no concern for the juices that ran down our face, chins necks, arms and legs! Mom and Dad didn't care; we did't care that there were seeds stuck to our faces and that Mom would never be able to get the stains out of our clothes!  They were just SLOPPY, RUNNING, MESSY GOOD! It' was pure SUMMERTIME HAPPINESS! After devouring our slices Dad would dumped the rind in the trash at the park and then we played until totally worn out would head home. 

And, by the way, who's idea was it to create seedless watermelon anyway?  First of all, it's nowhere near as sweet and good as a seeded watermelon.  And, secondly, what fun is eating watermelon if there isn't the challenge of not swallowing a seed for fear you might grow a watermelon OUT YOUR EARS! 

Other hot summer days Dad would go to A&P or Piggley Wiggley and get what us kids called "ALL 3 KINDS" of ice cream in a square container. He then opened it, threw away the container, put it on a dinner platter and proceed to slice the ice cream into 8 slices (that pretty much took care of the half gallon of ice cream)!!

 CUT ICE CREAM! YUMMY GOOD TO GET ALL 3 KINDS IN 1 SLICE! AND PRETTY TOO! 

"Isn't that a successful business now?