20160325 Ice Cream Sundae Taster: Mischievous Twins & Forbidden Thrills

Hi ,You might have seen through various social media updates that I’ve started a long form email newsletter a few months ago, called Ice Cream Sundae. This email is a taste of Ice Cream Sundae, a teaser if you will.  It’s like when you’re at the ice cream parlour and you ask to taste this or that flavour before buying anything - except here I’m coming directly to your inbox to deliver the spoonful of ice cream. I’d say you know me well enough that you won’t be massively surprised when I tell you I generally was a nice, friendly and well-behaved little boy. I’d ask for permission from grown-ups before doing things. When I was about twelve I made friends with twin brothers in my class. They were kind of mischievous. I wouldn’t go so far as saying they were troublemakers though. The Weasley twins from Harry Potter are a fairly good reference; it should give you a fair idea of the kind of characters they were. They were up for jokes and pranks. They lived in a different village and one spring day they invited me to spend the afternoon with them and a few other friends at their village’s fête. We lived about an hour away from Paris then. We wandered around and then away from the celebrations proper. The twins were actively looking for some prank or joke to run and I followed along. I remember one in particular. We found a car in the parking lot that has windows slightly open and for some reason we thought it would be a hilarious idea to throw stuff in the car, like sand and whatever else we could find nearby. Looking back it was a stupid and silly idea, annoying (though hopefully relatively harmless).  Back then I was surprised to find out it was totally exhilarating. The thrill of doing something forbidden was amazing. It was their idea at first though I quickly made it my own and joined in with outlandish ideas of what might be fun to throw in the car next. At first we envisioned some kind of cartoonish outcome where the driver would open the door to his car and an avalanche of sand would surge out. It didn’t exactly turn out that way, just a few handfuls in the driver’s seat. We stalked around the parking lot and hid between the cars, giggling both excited and fearful someone might see us. I’m sure you’ve read or heard this idea that it’s better to ask forgiveness than permission. When I started this newsletter, I waited for people to sign up by themselves. Now I’m testing the thrills of doing something forbidden. I think you’re close enough and you know me well enough that I’ve gone ahead and signed you up - hopefully without offending you. I’ve signed you up for the Ice Cream Sundae newsletter.I honestly think you’ll enjoy it.  It’s a weekly story sent by email. It typically takes 5 to 10 minutes to read. They’re often inspired by personal experiences and then I generally make links to other themes and topics. Topics and styles are as varied as smoke bombs and the Spanish Civil war, or the tragedy of Man Flu. They are intended to be easy, enjoyable and interesting reads. I’ve had good feedback from other friends; I think you’ll enjoy them too. If you’re not sure, please read the next two editions before making up your mind. This coming Sundae I’m writing about confusing Easter myths. I’m not sure about the next one yet; it might be about dreams, video games, or grunge. Of course if you’re certain you don’t want it, by all means unsubscribe immediately. I know email inboxes are often overloaded, I completely understand if this is one too many. I hope you’re not too offended or annoyed by me signing you up, please forgive me if you are. I’ll keep my eyes closed for a while and won’t be looking if you unsubscribe. I leave you with this cute video of the different stages eating ice cream as told by babies. Thank you for reading and happy Easter! All the best,Willem

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