It was real cold that night, not just Miami cold, and it was late. I'd had to wait until the girls were asleep to go out into the pre-Christmas lunacy of the mall because my wife and I were keeping up ... [+]
Russ Fee is the author of the multi-award-winning Sheriff Matt Callahan mystery series. His short fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in such journals as Star 82 Review, Bright Flash Literary Review, Witcraft, Literally Stories, Spank the Carp, Short Circuit, and Hemingway Shorts. To learn more about Russ and his work, visit his website at outerislandpress.com. "The Best Ice Cream in the Universe" is in Short Circuit #16, Short Édition's quarterly review.
My uncle Gerry Karlsson was a storyteller—a great one. My cousins and I loved his stories and even loved the fact that they changed a bit—sometimes a lot—with each retelling. We'd all listen closely for any new twists, colorful additions, or shifting exaggerations; and thrilled at pointing them out to him. But one of his stories never changed no matter how many times he told it, not by a single word. It was the one he said was true. The one that he swore actually happened—to him.
Gerry was the youngest child in a family of proud Wisconsin dairy farmers. But his family's real passion was