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Taking the Fun Out of Ice Cream
Who doesn’t love ice cream? I developed a lactose intolerance in college, but I still couldn’t quit the delicious, dairy-based product. Even after a host of almond, rice, tofutti, and soy-based alternatives hit the market, I still found myself craving the real thing.
When my brother Evan managed the local Häagen-Dazs franchise, I stopped in occasionally for two scoops at a steep employee discount. But only if the owner, a short, balding fellow named Stu, wasn’t around. In which case, Evan would shake his head furiously and motion for me to make a quick exit.
Stu owned other Häagen-Dazs franchises on Long Island and split his time driving from location to location. My brother was a competent and trustworthy manager, which meant Stu was a minimal presence at this store.
As with any business relying on minimum wage staff, there was constant turnover in high school-aged employees. Scooping ice cream is not a difficult job. However, working for a powder keg like Stu made scooping ice cream a difficult job.
Early one summer evening, Stu arbitrarily fired the teenager working on cashier duty. In protest, the kid’s friend, who was manning the counter, also walked out. Evan knew I was home and asked me to work the register for a few hours, rather than frantically start calling other employees (these were the pre-texting…
