Mamma, I Need a BJ’s Velvet Freeze
Around 10 years ago my my wife, her son and I were driving north on Union Blvd near Palmer Park on our way to visit some friends. Matt, my step-son, is about 11 years old at the time and he spends the summers with us and lives with his dad in Georgia during the school year.
At this age Matt is just figuring out how to push his mother’s buttons and relishes nearly every opportunity to do so. My wife, Robin, plays along most of the time but sometimes doesn’t know when Matt is trying to get to her.
BJ’s Velvet Freeze is a local hangout located at 1511 N. Union Blvd and has been there ever since I can remember. They specialize in soft-serve ice cream cones, novelty ice creams, burgers, fries and other not-so-good-for-you stuff. We had taken Matt there once before and he was always vying for a way to ingest more sugar and today was no different.
As we wait for the light to change Matt, who claims to be able to “turn off” his southern accent when around girls, calls from the back seat of the car in the most southern accent you can imagine, “Mamma, I think I need a BJ”. I don’t think that Robin was even paying attention to where we were or the fact that BJ’s was on our left as we sat at the stop light. Her jaw hit the floor and she was in complete denial that her 11-year old son could have any idea what he just said.
“What did you say?” she says, smoke beginning to waft from her ears.
“You know, an ice cream. Right there mamma!” and he points out the window to BJ’s Velvet Freeze with a slight grin on his face.
As we lay in bed later that night Robin asks me if I think Matt knew what he was saying.
Being an 11-year old boy once myself I proclaimed, “Of course, he did!”
BJ’s Velvet Freeze has been the source of many a good story, a corresponding good laugh and plenty of good ice cream ever since!
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