As the old commercials liked to put it, we all scream for ice cream! Regardless of its mercantilist aims, that truism is probably very accurate. Excepting those lactose-intolerant individuals who are equally squeamish of the vegan varieties of ice cream, there are very few folks out there that will contradict the idea that it is impossible to shout or sing loudly enough the praises of ice cream. Others feel that same way about ice cream shop supplies. These last folks are the men and women of the nation, and the world, that while caring about the discovery new ice cream flavors, at least superficially, what actually inspires and sets them aflame is the context in which those same ice cream flavors are consumed and presented. These types care about room lighting, countertop color schemes, and the shape of plastic or glass ice cream cups.

These persons are, nonetheless, rather invested in ice cream quality and variety. They will make time to go out to the latest gelato and ice cream spots and check out the new flavors. It isn’t even unusual for them to, every now and then, come across some unbelievably good flavor, like camote gelato or bay leaf ice cream. These experiences they store graciously in their minds for when the time comes for a needed replacement of an ice cream flavor at their own store or at one of their client-shops. All the same, one reason underpinning the incredibleness of those experiences is something others would find unexpected: the having taken in a sampling of a deliciously tasty and creamy frozen desert on two delicately dreamy and just simply beautiful ice cream spoons. That is the nature of aesthetic experiences.

Although there will always be those that will simper and smirk at the mere thought of such things — these are the same people that will invariably roll their eyes if you tell them that there is a pleasure to be found in reading or saying “besmirching smirk.” For others, such a word sequence, or combination of ice cream flavor and beautiful spoon, will always have the potential to be the reason to think the world really is lighted by the stars, even during the day. So, for those that demand such a constitution of things, let the ice cream and the personalized ice cream cups flow freely.

Sam Walters is a writer living in Los Angeles. Her writing appears in print and online.