Fair warning: The following will make absolutely no sense to those who have never been blessed with the taste of Blue Bell ice cream.
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Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey ‘n rye
Singin’ this’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die
The music and lyrics of that timeless song played through my mind as, after having driven my Chevy Camry to my nearest H-E-B store, I found that the “levee” was indeed dry.
In this case, the ice cream shelves I was staring at were totally empty.
A sense of disillusion, even betrayal, came over me, not quite as profound as the sense of loss and disillusion expressed in “American Pie,” but pretty disappointing nevertheless.
You see, I had come to the store to grab up some of those freshly delivered cartons of Blue Bell ice cream, a sustenance we had done without for more than four months. And, now, all I saw through the fogged-over freezer glass doors were empty shelves.
The chorus verse of that famous song played through my head once again and now my glasses fogged over, too.
Fortunately, a Good Samaritan shopper must have sensed my distress and asked me to turn around. When I did so, lo and behold, in another cabinet were the glorious containers of Blue Bell ice cream.
About four months ago Blue Bell swiftly and voluntarily recalled its ice cream products nationwide — about 8 million gallons — after they were linked to 10 listeria cases in four states, including three deaths in Kansas. Blue Bell closed its plants in Texas, Kansas and Alabama.
But today, after its plants underwent “an extensive cleaning and decontamination, under the regulatory oversight of health officials,” during which hundreds of Blue Bell workers were laid off, trucks from the Brenham, Texas, Blue Bell Creameries are once again delivering the precious commodity to retailers across Central Texas in what the Wall Street Journal calls “one of the food industry’s more ambitious recovery attempts.”
Although Blue Bell faces a tough road to fully regain the confidence and trust of retailers and consumers, the efforts of the 108-year old company — until April the third-largest U.S. ice-cream maker by sales, according to the Journal — will certainly be boosted by the tremendous loyalty and support of Texas consumers like this author and of those who are described below by the Austin American-Statesman:
When the first delivery truck showed up at the 24-hour Hancock Center H-E-B just before 4 a.m., shoppers were already waiting, H-E-B spokeswoman Leticia Mendoza said. Some had driven from as far away as Waco and even Dallas – areas that aren’t scheduled to get Blue Bell products for several more weeks – and bought coolers and dry ice to keep their ice cream from melting in the Texas heat.
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Most other H-E-B stores in the Austin area open at 6 a.m. and they, too, had lines, Mendoza said.
I just had my first taste of Blue Bell ice cream in four months — better than ever. However, at least for the time being I will have to do with the fact that H-E-B is limiting me and other Texans to no more than four half gallons of ice cream per store visit.
Bummer!
Lead image: Courtesy Blue Bell Creameries
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.