Try This: Banana Split

Shortly after the first “Try This” column ran, Dobelbower, 61, contacted me to say she'd never had a banana split.

With National Ice Cream Month upon us, it was high time she break her streak for super sundae futility. So, she agreed to meet at the Braum's minutes from her Yukon home.

Before meeting Dobelbower, I wondered what a sad path one must walk to avoid the ice cream equivalent of a home run. Turns out she has always just been diligent about maintaining her weight.

“I never much cared for ice cream, plus I always thought it was just so fattening,” she said.

Dobelbower said she preferred brownies or chocolate truffles, and the thought of bananas mixed with ice cream didn't appeal to her.

Now a grandmother, she had to adapt. A couple of years ago, she started buying mint chocolate ice cream, which edged her closer to the brink of the ice cream nirvana that is the banana split.

Dobelbower became an optician in 1976 and has continued in that capacity and as a contact lens technician ever since. She is semiretired, working one day a week at the office of Dr. Robert Cooper, which allowed her to meet me at Braum's, taking a break from the gardening that keeps her busy most of the time.