There are moments in life when the world taps you on the shoulder and whispers, “Pay attention.”
My moment came the other day at Dairy Queen. Yes, my beloved DQ — the place I’ve written about, celebrated, and visited more times than I care to admit. A sanctuary of soft-serve simplicity and my favorite Blizzards.
A place of joy. A place where kids smile and grown men like me find a few minutes of summer again.
And then… something happened that shook me.
A Treat DQ, Not a Grill & Chill — and a Surprise Waiting for Me
I walked into a small neighborhood DQ in Denver — a Treat DQ, not a Grill & Chill.
No burgers, no fries. Just the good stuff: Blizzards, cones, sundaes, and all the desserts that make life tolerable.
The counter was on my right.
But something caught my attention on the left.
Three enormous glass refrigerators filled from top to bottom with what can only be described as ice cream magnificence. Towers of Dairy Queen cakes — round ones, tall ones, chocolate-dipped ones. Piped edges, perfect swirls, bright decorations. Each shelf looked like a celebration waiting for its party.
To get to them you had to walk a good 15–20 feet into the store, past the ordering counter, deep into Blizzard territory.
And then I saw it.
Wired shut. Not with chains and padlocks, but it might have well has been.
Each refrigerator door wrapped tight as if guarding precious jewels.
At first I laughed. Then I stopped.
Because they weren’t joking.
“To Prevent Theft,” She Said — Completely Matter-of-Fact
I asked the staff, half-expecting them to tell me it was a malfunction, or a prank, or part of some odd corporate policy.
But no.
They said it plainly:
“People steal the cakes.”
Steal them?
As in: walk into the store… past the staff… past the counter… twenty feet deeper into the store… open a freezer… grab a $40–$60 ice cream cake… and walk straight out the door?
“Yes,” they said. “It happens.”
More than once.
Enough times that locking up the ice cream became standard practice.
I shook my head, and honestly, something inside me sank.
I felt older.
And sadder.
And a little stunned that this is now normal.
Then Baskin Robbins Did It Too
A few days later, I walked into a Baskin Robbins shop and saw the exact same thing — refrigerator doors with chains and locks wrapped around the handles like we were in some surreal dessert prison.
This wasn’t a one-off.
This was a trend.
Ice cream cakes… under lock and key.
Think about that sentence.
What Is This World Coming To?
There is something symbolic here.
Ice cream is supposed to be simple.
Joyful.
Innocent.
It’s what parents bring home to celebrate report cards or birthdays.
It’s what grandparents use to spoil their grandkids.
It’s childhood in a box.
It’s happiness you can slice.
And yet, in 2025, we lock it up.
Because people steal it.
Not starving people stealing bread.
Not desperate parents taking milk.
No—ice cream cakes.
When did we cross this line?
When did a frozen dessert require chains?
When did the world tilt just a little too far away from trust?
I don’t have a sweeping political message here.
No policy proposal.
No sermon.
Just disappointment.
And wonder.
And a tiny ache for a time when the biggest risk at Dairy Queen was ordering a Blizzard too thick to drink through a straw.
A Small Moment, But It Says Something Big
I’ve always believed life reveals itself in tiny flashes — the monk in Bhutan, a Good Humor truck, a rubber ducky, a cup of hot coffee, and yes, a Dairy Queen stop on a random afternoon.
This moment — standing in front of padlocked ice cream — said something about the world we’re living in.
Where joy now comes with a chain.
Where trust must be guarded.
Where even dessert isn’t safe.
And I walked out thinking,
If we’re willing to steal ice cream cakes, what else are we willing to take?
Maybe the Real Question Is This…
What does it take to restore even a sliver of trust?
To reclaim the small, simple moments that used to feel effortless?
To live in a world where Dairy Queen cakes can once again sit in a fridge, unchained, unguarded, unafraid?
Another enjoyable blog but a very sad reality
Yes, social justice activists masquerading as public servants created Sanctuary Cities where the public is to restrict Cooperation with enforcement of Federal Law was the start of it all. Not only have Immigrants in the country Illegally been harboured, it’s attracted an underbelly of many others who get off Scot-free with petty crimes. The soft on crime philosophy is ruining Cities throughout North America. This is what equality looks like when the ideology is taken to its legal conclusion. Symbols are a powerful thing and putting up a shingle to the world declaring ones city as a Sanctuary City rolls out the welcome mat for “n’er do wells”. The smug politicians call it moral progress, but it’s just psychological control over everyday hard working and honest citizens. Enjoy the locked up ice creams, the locked up health supplies at pharmacies etc etc. But feel good in the fact that the virtue signalling politicians have shown just how “caring” they are with no cash bail and all the other joy robbing ideas they’ve come up with—here in Canada it’s no better, we too have politicians falling all over themselves creating “safe supply” and “safe injection” sites attracting petty and more than petty thieves from everywhere. At least here we are not lashing out at the authorities for doing their jobs—yet!
Steal 99500 and you can’t be charged . That Calif law . Steal over 1000.00 and you can be charged Insane law by the Governor .
Steal 99500 and you can’t be charged . That Calif law . Steal over 1000.00 and you can be charged Insane law by the Governor .
To add to Earl’s, parents are no longer parents, either. They have not been allowed, and others just don’t care, can’t manage a family, esp. under trying circumstances of food costs, etc. The pendulum has swung waaaaay far , and its likely now impossible to get it back. Canada is just as bad, and getting worse each day. We see it. Yet, we are grateful and fortunate in our lives, that we made choices that have benefitted us, rather than bad choices. Its all about that too, and no faith in God , schools have taken what little we had there away, -(for the sake of whoexacty?????I could go on and on, but this is now the reality we live in.