Lemon Drop Kids
May 6th, 2008 by Marilyn
Josie and the neighborhood kids had a lemonade stand this past weekend, set like a scene from Our Town - white umbrella, handmade signs, fresh-squeezed lemonade and sugared yellow cookies.
The kids were honoring a sick friend, and wanted the money to go to leukemia research. One look at their signs – 50 cents, HELP OUT! – and the lemon peels, and Cleo’s happy tail – it could break your heart.
But then things got a little sleepy. So they drank the inventory.
When buyers appeared again, they were out of lemonade. One boy ran inside and returned with a half-empty bottle of Gatorade.
“That Gatorade is kinda old,” said his sister, “there’s stuff in it.”
“Whatever,” he said, pouring.
They squeezed a lemon over the pitcher and tasted. “Disgusting,” Josie told him.
He threw the bottle under the table. “They will never know.”
A group of bicyclists rode by, and oh, they stopped fast – the signs, the pleas, the sunny pitcher and angel faces. They paid and they sipped, then twisted their lips and made polite sounds, wow, yeah oh boy, how about that, then crushed their Dixie cups and sped away.
The kids tasted again, and spit on the grass. “Just throw it out,” said Josie.
“Dump the Gator-emon-ade!” said the littlest one, “it’s mean to sell to dumb people.”
But they sold the last drops, and those poor unsuspecting few probably spent the evening praying to the porcelain god and cursing the angels who sold them the yellow death. Fifty dollars later, I asked them if it was right to pass off gross, fake lemonade.
“Eh,” they said, “it was a good cause.”
Old-Fashioned Lemonade
serves 6
6 lemons
1 cup sugar
6 cups cold water
Juice the lemons to make 1 cup of juice. Get the most juice by firmly rolling the lemons between your hand and counter, then cutting in half and juicing.
In a gallon pitcher combine 1 cup lemon juice, 1 cup sugar, and 6 cups cold water. Stir, and adjust water to taste. Chill and serve over ice.
Yay for Lemonade stands! We lived on a busy street (55mph) and I never had any takers when I was a kid, plus Mom made me keep the stand soooooo far back from the road that no one ever saw it. One year they were going to turn the farm across the street into a big concert venue to let KISS perform (late 70′s early 80′s) and my Dad said I could sell soda on our lawn the day of the concert. I thought for sure I’d be a millionaire…but then the town said the band couldn’t perform. Not only did I not become a millionaire but I had to wait 15+ more years to see one of my favorite bands. Sorry, this post made me “share”. LOL
I had a lemonade stand every summer as a kid! But we never made enough to cover the cost of supplies. Our backyard talent show–with its hefty nickel entry fee–was equally unsuccessful.
We were probably playing KISS (“Beth I hear you calling…”) whenever we sold anything, which was not very often, but we did do the occasional “let’s put on a show,” too. What I really wanted was a Sno-Cone Stand. I would have given anything for that Snoopy’s Doghouse Sno-Cone Maker!
that’s hilarious…and gross!
but the first batch looks really tasty.
Marilyn…
Toys R Us.
Since we were married, we’ve made an effort to stop at EVERY lemonade stand we see. All kids deserve customers!! And I like to think we tip well.
This one time, we stopped and got purple koolaid at a stand……but in the rings at the top cup, it had orange. Then we figured out that they were RE-USING the cups without washing them.
Since then……we still stop and continue to buy……but we don’t drink it! Sorry we missed Josie’s stand!
Its yum yum fun and its cool and clean
and its name is the Snoopy Snow Cone Machine.
You drop an ice cube in and get a snow cone out;
yum yum fun is what its all about!
It’s. I mean it’s. arrgh.
and in a pinch…you can make margaritas with the snocone machine…not that I’d know *anything* about that…
Joanne, that song just about made me cry. What will you do for an encore – sing The Banana Splits song? (“tra-la-la…”)
And what kind of juvenile degenerate makes margaritas with the Snoopy Sno-Cone?!
I lived on a farm growing up which had very little traffic, but I wanted a lemonade stand anyway. I even offered it for free hoping it would draw more customers! I remember sitting out in the hot sun waiting for a customer. Then some neighbor boys came past on their motorcycle/dirt bike and stopped for a cup and gave me a quarter for tip. I was so excited that I had an actual customer that my mom made me shut up shop because I was bouncing all over the place. She said I went nuts over that quarter.
I sing the Banana Splits song all the time and my husband thinks I am nuts. He has never seen the Banana Splits!
So tell me this – was it during the Banana Splits that they played the live action Huck Finn/Tom Sawyer/ Becky adventures? Does anyone remember those? I am pretty sure it played as a short in another Saturday morning show.
Go to The Banana Splits for a trip down memory lane. I thought Tom and Huck were so cute back then!
I never had any luck at our lemonade stands, either… sigh! I had better luck with a popsicle stand… homemade pudding pops!