Here we are. March. It’s that time of year again. Mardi Gras? No. Ash Wednesday? Still no. National panic day? Maybe a little. (March 9, if you’re wondering.)
We all know deep within ourselves that March is a significant time of year for one reason only: the McDonald’s Shamrock Shake. Highly divisive though it may be, the elusive Shamrock Shake is a hallmark of what is usually a drab, boring, and uninteresting time of year.
But where does all the division over this savory, chilly delight come from? The shake’s yearly appearance prompts the same argument among McDonalds frequenters: Is its minty flavor authentic? Is it just vanilla ice cream with green food dye? Is it even ice cream in the first place?
And so the squabble goes, year in, year out, without fail. You know what else happens every year without fail? People buy the Shamrock Shakes, regardless of its contents. Herein lies the answer to this timeless debate: it doesn’t matter. If it’s the highest quality ice cream from the heartiest cows and the freshest mint plucked straight from the vine, terrific. Makes the $2.59 price tag that much more reasonable. And if it’s more like the kinda gross homemade ice cream you make with your neighbors on Labor Day, who cares? It’s McDonald’s. We know you’re not going there for a five star meal prepared by Chef Boyardee himself. One way or another, people are going to buy the shakes, and its quality will be the last thing on their minds. I choose to enjoy the splendors God put on this earth for divine reasons unknown to us mortals, including McDonald’s annual treat. Long live the Shamrock Shake!
AJ Veninga is from Eden Prairie, Minn.
His majors are philosophy and psychology.
