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A scoop of ice cream never hurt anyone, right?A scoop of ice cream never hurt anyone, right?

Life is Simple: Ice cream served by someone else may be safer.

Jerry Crownover

August 17, 2021

2 Min Read
sunset

First, I want to thank everyone for all of the cards, letters, texts, emails and phone calls after my recent stay in the hospital. Surprisingly enough, most of the correspondence was even from people to whom I did not owe money, so I know those were sincere — and they were appreciated.

Slow going

I feel great, but recovery from heart surgery is a slow process that is especially tough on someone who wants to be outside, doing things, and feels like they are capable of activities they know they are not ready to undertake. The doctor’s orders were strict, including very specific instructions that prohibit me from lifting, pushing or pulling anything greater than 5 pounds for the entire first month, post-surgery. That order, along with many others, are being enforced by a nurse (my wife) who is even more stringent than the meanest doctor alive, so I don’t have many options. I did, however, have a little setback a few nights ago.

I had been at home for about a week after being discharged from the hospital, and I hadn’t had much of an appetite. That hadn’t bothered me, since I could afford to lose a lot more weight than I had, at that point, but Judy thought I needed to slow down my weight loss. It was almost bedtime when she asked, “How about a bowl of your favorite ice cream?”

One of my mother’s favorite sayings quickly spewed out of my mouth, “A scoop of ice cream never hurt anyone.”

Judy went to the garage to retrieve an unopened half-gallon of my favorite from the big freezer and, since the big freezer keeps everything frozen harder than the one in the house, she instructed me to let it sit on the counter for a few minutes before trying to scoop it out into a bowl. I have about as much patience in eating as I do in healing, so after a couple of minutes, I found myself with an ice cream scoop, bearing down on the frozen treat with a force that far exceeded my 5-pound limit.

At first, I felt a little discomfort in the area of my breastbone; then a quick, short “pop” in my sternum made me realize that doctors probably know more than I give them credit. Judy had to help me to the bed, and I required an extra pain pill to get rid of the discomfort that I had inflicted upon myself.

One of my neighbors called the next day to see how I was doing, so I told him the story of my ICI (ice cream injury) from the night before. “Well,” he began, “I guess you learned your lesson.”

“Nope, I just learned that Judy needs to scoop out the ice cream for me. After all, everyone knows, a scoop of served ice cream never hurt anyone.”

Crownover farms in Missouri.

About the Author

Jerry Crownover

Jerry Crownover wrote a bimonthly column dealing with agriculture and life that appeared in many magazines and newspapers throughout the Midwest, including Wisconsin Agriculturist. He retired from writing in 2024 and now tells his stories via video on the Crown Cattle Company YouTube channel.

Crownover was raised on a diversified livestock farm deep in the heart of the Missouri Ozarks. For the first few years of his life, he did without the luxuries of electricity or running water, and received his early education in one of the many one-room schoolhouses of that time. After graduation from Gainesville High School, he enrolled at the University of Missouri in the College of Agriculture, where he received a bachelor's degree in 1974 and a master's of education degree in 1977.

After teaching high school vocational agriculture for five years, Crownoever enrolled at Mississippi State University, where he received a doctorate in agricultural and Extension education. He then served as a professor of ag education at Missouri State University for 17 years. In 1997, Crownover resigned his position at MSU to do what he originally intended to after he got out of high school: raise cattle.

He now works and lives on a beef cattle ranch in Lawrence County, Mo., with his wife, Judy. He has appeared many times on public television as an original Ozarks Storyteller, and travels throughout the U.S. presenting both humorous and motivational talks to farm and youth groups.

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