[Omaha Rocks]

I find it pretty hilarious - and quite telling - that everybody who is familiar with those white vans refers to them as "DING DING MAN!!!"

I think you could say "Ding Ding Man!" to anybody who grew up in Omaha, and they'd know exactly what you were talking about.

[Victor 13]

Originally Posted by MR.JEFFY

I wonder who refered to it as the "Ding ding man" and how everyone just calls it that....

My children just always called him that and their friends did as well. My kids children carry on the tradition.

Hail to the DING-DING MAN!

(by the way, I have never seen a lady driving a Ding-Ding truck...)

[Omaha Rocks]

Originally Posted by Victor 13

My children just always called him that and their friends did as well. My kids children carry on the tradition.

Hail to the DING-DING MAN!

(by the way, I have never seen a lady driving a Ding-Ding truck...)

I have. Not often, but I've seen a few.

[thatguy1]

Originally Posted by Happygolucky

They remind me "Cheech and Chong" N'ice Dreams.

Scum bags driving your neighborhoods casing your houses and selling ice cream, yes very profitable.

lol

[Kenneth T.]

I totally just bought some junk from the Ding Ding Man - Omaha has its problems but it's where I was born, grew up, and will probably die - and I've known the Ding Ding Man all my life. In fact, I rode around with a Ding Ding Man I knew a couple days for fun, though it was against the rules and probably illegal. They look creepy because they employ white panel vans with no passenger seats, and they aren't paid well, per sale, so they'll try to sell anywhere, anytime in the summer - there are fights over the best territory, like parks and pools. But the ice cream you can get in the store, it's just fine, Blue Bunny mostly, and some sell sodas and candy on the side. Believe me, you'd hear about Ding Ding Man problems, because we all trust and love the Ding Ding Man!

[rezfreak]

I knew the ding ding man my whole life and never hear anything about creepy people operating them! Man that sound DING DING... just would get my heart racing even as an adult!

[Kenneth T.]

Originally Posted by MR.JEFFY

I always got so excited as a kid, we'd be playing in the yard when one of us would hear the faint ding and we would all stop in silence....."He's coming this way!" I would bolt in the house frantically--"DING DING MAN!!!!!! QUICK! GIVE ME TWO DOLLARS!" -- then back out the door before it got away....I remember this one guy was nice enough to pull in the drive way for us so we didn't have to come out to the street....I should buy something later......

I wonder who refered to it as the "Ding ding man" and how everyone just calls it that....

As to the origin of the title, as children we all knew the vans make that very distinctive "ding-ding...ding-ding...ding-ding" sound with the bell instead of the music heard from trucks you see on TV, and then and now, very few women drive the vans, they were mostly men. In a child's mind, the real mystery is why it would be called anything else? So chalk it up to A. Nonymous.

[smithy77]

Back during the Jurassic period, we used to call them "bomb pop" men because of the oversized pop-sicles they sold that were in the shape of a missile. They came by every day and they had plenty of customers. I live in Virginia now and the ice cream trucks play music here. Most of the trucks are driven by recent immigrants from all over the world who I'm sure are pretty clueless about the music they're playing. At any rate, last week, when the temperature was near 100, I heard a truck playing "Jingle Bells'.

[Happygolucky]

One was Car jacked the other night by two teenagers that had the munchies.



I think they were caught in West O .

[pheaton]

I would yell, "STOP". Then yell, "JUST A MINUTE" to run in and try to get mom to let me have some money for a treat. Every once in awhile I would get one, but not very often. I'd usually have to come back out and yell, "NEVERMIND".

Some of them have added music to their dinging and it's kind of annoying. A couple years ago when I was still living in my apartment, there were some days 1 Saturday I remember, when we had the windows open and around 10 or 11 in the morning the ding ding man would circle repeatedly, not only dinging, but playing a terriblly annoying rendition of of Pop Goes the Weasel. After about 30 minutes of the madness I heard a neighbor outside giving the ding ding man the what for. He was laying into him with every foul word he could think of. "YOU ANNOYING S.O.B. NOBODY WANTS YOUR STUPID F-ING ICECREAM, GO SHOVE IT UP YOUR......" BEEEP BEEP BEEEP. . That guy was really mad at the ding ding man on that morning. . Must have been trying to recover after a Friday night of drunkeness.

The drivers were always pretty nice and as kids you didn't think twice. Some of the people I've seen driving lately are kind of creepy looking. But I'm sure it's just someone that doesn't care about appearance, just trying to make a living. I don't recall anyone ever having troubles with any of them. I would hope they at least make sure their employees aren't registered sex offenders before employing them. I'm not sure if they do, but I would hope.