(>The Dairy Queen Experience<)

The experience of going to Dairy Queen has changed a lot though the years. When I was a child, the Diary Queens were small boxed shaped buildings, just big enough to fit in a couple of clerks, and equipment to serve ice cream and chili dogs. In the front was a big plate glass window that went from the top of the building down to meet the counter, which was eye level view for about a first grader. On the two ends of the glass were cut small windows, just big enough to speak through to order your ice cream, and for the clerk to slide it out to you. I remember many a summer day walking up to the window in my shorts and sandals (not flipflops-they were just for swimming then) with coins in hand (not dollar bills), and waiting in line feeling the hot summer sun while waiting for my cold treat. Later on, when I was in college, I would stop at a Dairy Queen along my route home and get a footlong chili dog, parking my car and walking up to the window to take a break from the long drive home.  Later the Dairy Queens were replaced by bigger buildings that reminded me of barns, with seating inside. They were still a casual place though.  A couple of years ago in a town in Indiana where I lived at the time, they tore down the barn-shaped building and built a new, ultramodern, ultra classy building in it's place. I felt like I needed to dress up to go inside. Imagine my delight when driving though a town in northern Oklahoma this spring, and I spotted a good old fashioned Dairy Queen like I remembered from my childhood, with children walking up to the little windows to place their order.  It had a drive-through window on the side of the building to accomodate modern times, but I parked my car and walked up to the walk-up window-in my sandals and shorts.