When I realized that I was going to be going to college out of state, one of the things that I anticipated missing most was Blue Bell. After "the incident," also known as when Blue Bell did not so good things and got pulled from shelves because of a listeria outbreak, everyone in Texas, including myself, mourned the loss. Nothing broke my heart more than seeing the empty shelves after the recall and realizing that so many of those sweet treats I enjoyed were Blue Bell creations. My friend Ashlyn, a fellow Blue Bell lover, put it perfectly when she said "they actually managed to put happiness in a gallon."
Oftentimes I have had to explain to non-Blue Bell lovers in college (those poor cells) that Blue Bell surpassed being just an ice cream company. It's a part of so many of my childhood and everyday memories that when the company was at risk of not coming back, I totally freaked out. It was a void that couldn't be filled by any other ice cream no matter how hard they tried. This little boy and I just wanted Blue Bell.
The love of Blue Bell is so fierce that people were legitimately selling it on the "black market" after the first recall...and they were actually being purchased.
When it finally came back I had literally just left for college. Funnily enough, my mom told me about how the stores were limiting the amount that people could purchase.
Nothing made me happier than having my first bowl the day I returned for Thanksgiving. It was literally priority one after Mexican food. Despite the fact that they were offering, and continue to offer, the most basic flavors (Vanilla, The Great Divide [Vanilla and Chocolate], Dutch Chocolate, Cookies & Cream, and Butter Pecan) the stuff still sold out when it first returned.
I have a friend in New Orleans where Blue Bell has just returned, and they are experiencing what Houston did at the end of August with the limits and long lines all for those golden rims. She told me people were camped out the first day and it predictably sold out.
I understand that the listeria breakout was a huge issue, and not something that should be taken lightly. However, much like I would forgive a family member for a mistake they shouldn't have made, I didn't hesitate to forgive Blue Bell. What that speaks to is not the cult mentality that the rest of the country sees us as having, but to the fact that Blue Bell isn't just ice cream, it's a cultural symbol.
Those childhood memories of sundaes and ice cream from the corner store on a hot summer day and the distinct flavors that only Blue Bell can create are something I can never let go. Perhaps it's the fact that we're in perpetual summer in Texas, but for some reason, Blue Bell is special and irreplaceable. It's family.
