Damn, Dave, what a crappy way for things to turn out for everyone! You and Jody did the right thing and paid for it in more ways than one. Ideally, that couple would have done as Jenise suggested but it sounds as if they may be too stunned to be making rational decisions right now. In any case, I hope that they can look back and reflect on the kindness you showed them.
Carrie -
The balsamic adds more of a rich character to the berries than a tang. You only need a tablespoon for a quart of ice cream, so I always use a decent one rather than an ultra-cheap store brand. The balsamic also helps bring out the flavor of the berries if they're at less than optimal ripeness (although this wasn't a problem for yesterday's ice cream).