Your love is better than chocolate, better than anything else that I've tried...

I'm hungry again. What, it wasn't obvious from the picture of me, three boys and a gigantic ice cream sundae?

David and I make a point of going to Ghirardelli's together whenever possible. We've visited the Factory together, as well as the locations in Chicago and Las Vegas - which is where the picture at the right was taken in the summer of 1999. Clockwise you'll find me, David and our friends Steve Ginter and Dennis Higbee.

If memory serves, it was about 106 degrees in the shade that day, and we were out wandering around together, generally up to no good. I had just stopped on the sidewalk to take off my shoes when I spotted Ghirardelli's across the street.

ICE CREAM! I pointed, squeaked and took off, pretty much leaving the boys to follow or melt in the heat. I didn't have to ask them to follow - they were at my heels, laughing and remarking that the pull of chocolate would always have hold of me.

The looks on the faces of the other patrons as we tumbled up to the counter, ordered an Earthquake, and polished it off amidst laughter, tying cherry stems with tongues, Steve singing The Drunken Scotsman and telling the Sub Sandwich story, and Dennis telling the joke about the Scotsman with a fly in his soup. ("Spi' i' oot, ye wee bastard!")! They surely must have thought they'd been invaded.

David and I have made many trips to Ghirardelli's, but this one has always stood out in my mind as one of the most hilarious. There's nothing like summer days, good friends, and ice cream.