Mortgage Milkshake
Aug. 14th, 2005 02:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
susandennisI just had my favorite milkshake - chocolate and banana. I've always remembered it as my mortgage milkshake. It was about 1975. Southern Pines, North Carolina. I had quit newspaper reporting because it didn't pay enough. I quit sales for IBM because it just sucked.
And I moved to Southern Pines because - well, because there was a guy there that I liked a whole lot. I supported myself making clothes for people and finishing their needlework. It was an iffy living but enough to live on. To ensure I did not piss away the money I had made at IBM, I decided to buy a house.
I was not yet 30. I was not married. It was the 70s. Small town South. Spinsters did not buy houses. But I found a wonderful banker guy who was about my age and willing to stick his neck out. I got an 18 year mortgage with payments I could handle and I bought my first house. It was white and I painted it yellow (And then someone wrote a song about it for the remake of a Star is Born).
But, the milkshake. This was the old days, so the traditional way to make your mortgage payment was to walk it into the bank. When the first one was due, my mortgage guy was right there when I went to pay it and he was so excited he took me next door to the ice cream shop for a treat. He introduced me to the ice cream guy and told him why we were celebrating. The ice cream guy was every bit as cool and he said "let's make it a tradition! every month when you come in to pay, come in here and I'll treat you to the milkshake of your choice! What's your favorite flavor?!"
I thought that was a lovely gesture but too generous so I figured I'd pick a flavor he didn't have so he could gracefully relieve himself of his obligation. He was having no part of that. He made me up a banana and chocolate milkshake, AND put it on the menu (it became quite a town favorite) AND every single month he ws good to his word.
The milkshake I just had was not nearly as good as the one that guy made. I wonder whatever happened to the ice cream guy, and the mortgage guy... heck, I don't even know what happened to boyfriend guy. But, I do have a picture of the house!
And I moved to Southern Pines because - well, because there was a guy there that I liked a whole lot. I supported myself making clothes for people and finishing their needlework. It was an iffy living but enough to live on. To ensure I did not piss away the money I had made at IBM, I decided to buy a house.
I was not yet 30. I was not married. It was the 70s. Small town South. Spinsters did not buy houses. But I found a wonderful banker guy who was about my age and willing to stick his neck out. I got an 18 year mortgage with payments I could handle and I bought my first house. It was white and I painted it yellow (And then someone wrote a song about it for the remake of a Star is Born).
But, the milkshake. This was the old days, so the traditional way to make your mortgage payment was to walk it into the bank. When the first one was due, my mortgage guy was right there when I went to pay it and he was so excited he took me next door to the ice cream shop for a treat. He introduced me to the ice cream guy and told him why we were celebrating. The ice cream guy was every bit as cool and he said "let's make it a tradition! every month when you come in to pay, come in here and I'll treat you to the milkshake of your choice! What's your favorite flavor?!"
I thought that was a lovely gesture but too generous so I figured I'd pick a flavor he didn't have so he could gracefully relieve himself of his obligation. He was having no part of that. He made me up a banana and chocolate milkshake, AND put it on the menu (it became quite a town favorite) AND every single month he ws good to his word.
The milkshake I just had was not nearly as good as the one that guy made. I wonder whatever happened to the ice cream guy, and the mortgage guy... heck, I don't even know what happened to boyfriend guy. But, I do have a picture of the house!
