I  bounced up to the table with my cash in hand.  “What have you got?” I inquired, smiling.  Then I looked at the pictorial price sheet on the table.

$15 for a package of microwave popcorn, with 15 individual packets inside.  $30-40 for large tins of popcorn.  I wanted to just back away at that point, but after voluntarily approaching the table and speaking up, felt I couldn’t.  I ended up buying the cheapest item, which was a very small tin of caramel corn with peanuts for $8.

Aside from the prices, I was shocked that the young man in the Boy Scout uniform did not say one word during the whole transaction.  His parents did everything.  And he was a teenager — taller than I am.  If you are involved in Girl Scouts, you know that we are told this should NEVER HAPPEN.  The cookie sale isn’t just about making money; it’s also about the girls learning skills, like dealing with the public, making change, etc.  Adults are NEVER supposed to do the selling.  We get in trouble if we get caught doing it.

So, I’m sorry, Boy Scouts, but I won’t be buying any more popcorn.  I’ll be waiting for the Girl Scout cookie sale.  The price is going up in Oregon and Southwest Washington; next year they’ll be $4 per box, but I don’t think that’s too outrageous, given the quality, and it’s comparable to the price of many store-bought cookies.  I also know for sure that it’s an organization I can believe in.

Girl Scouts of Oregon and Southwest Washington will begin taking orders for cookies in January 2009.  For other areas of the U.S., you can check here for availability.  Outside the U.S.?  You may be out of luck.  Sorry!

Tag Surfer? Well, I know some of you use the Blog Surfer to keep track of your favorite blogs. Tag Surfer is similar, but instead of adding your favorite blogfriends, you add your favorite tags to a list, and then the Tag Surfer will show you the latest posts with those tags. It’s pretty cool. You can access it from the Dashboard — on my Dashboard, it’s two tabs over from the Blog Surfer.

If you know me at all, you won’t be surprised that one of the tags in my Tag Surfer is “girl scouts.” It’s been a pretty quiet tag until recently, but today I see several posts about Girl Scouts. The interesting thing is that three of them are about the same thing: Muslim girls in Girl Scouts. Apparently the New York Times did an article about this.

I think it’s pretty cool that Girl Scouting embraces girls of all religions and backgrounds — and always has. Rather than rehash the whole thing for you, if you’re interested, here are the links:

http://dromeish.com/2007/11/29/a-chance-to-fit-in/

http://godvertising.wordpress.com/2007/11/28/muslims-advertise-too/

http://hopesays.wordpress.com/2007/11/28/muslim-girl-scouts/

New York Times article