Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Praise The Lord and pass the Peanut Butter Patties.

The day, it was profound. There were so many moments that could be put into a post and so many parallels and metaphors that they could all very well outnumber the boxes of cookies we counted.

That would be over 1,100. I know I'm long-winded and Southern and all, but only Margaret Mitchell could write that much about cookies.

To be honest, we didn't have to count them one at a time, just by the dozens. And dozens. And dozens. And dozens. But first we had to pick them all up from the warehouse.

Fortunately for us, a friend of a family member allowed us to borrow a moving van. This is how the pros do it, people. We don't pick up our girl scout cookies in an SUV or some fancy Town And Country.

Oh, no. We use Mayflower. It was good enough for the Pilgrims.

In some circles, people say that there were two women on the Mayflower who sold boxes of Thin Mints to the Pilgrims while mumbling something about a Troop Fund. Over the years, the story got all twisted and now the history books say that some of the early settlers fell ill from smallpox or something, but we all know they got sick from eating too many Girl Scout Cookies.

You should have seen us loading the van. The kind Mover People Guys kept bringing cases of cookies on huge pallets with one of those trucks you see in Home Depot. You know, the ones they use to put the lumber on the shelves. Yep, those.

They kept loading until our Mayflower van was full from floor to ceiling with over-priced boxes of goodness dipped in chocolate and lemon icing and laced with some unknown substance that makes tired housewives and, evidently Pilgrims crave them in the middle of the night. (Or in the middle of the Atlantic, depending on who you are.)

We signed off with the kind Mover People Guys and headed to the other troop leader's home. She was just ahead of me obeying every traffic law and speed limit because she's a troop leader and a shining example to budding girls. And she was hauling thousands of dollars worth of cookies!

I kept picturing her getting in an accident and the cookies going everywhere in slow motion. Only I kept seeing thousands of dollars blowing in the wind and all over the road and the two of us in front of Council explaining why we did not quite meet the deadline to turn in our cookie money because the cookies were all scattered on the side of the road.

Ahem.

Once we got back to her house, the fun really began. We counted and sorted individual orders and then it started to rain. Thankfully, the clouds parted and the sun began to shine brightly on our Mayflower madness.

After three hours or so, we were finished and ready for our parents to pick up their orders after school. Let me just say, the image of two women in a van peddling sugar in the school parking lot- it is surreal.

You would think that after all of the sorting and counting that I wouldn't want to see another Girl Scout Cookie, but you would be wrong. So wrong. I am sitting here eating Peanut Butter Patties and they are quite divine. In fact, they were the first thing I thought of when I poured my cup of coffee this morning. I blame it all on the addictive substance they dip them in, oh, and the chocolate.

Hey, they were good enough for the Pilgrims.

8 comments:

2nd Cup of Coffee said...

I sing your praises for sacrificing so much just so that others could receive this Turkish Delight of North America 20th-21st Century.

Jeanne robinson said...

I love it, You are such a blessing to me. I had a blast yesterday. But sure am tired. Have a blessed day love jeanne

Lindsey said...

There have been many a day that I have praised the Girl Scouts and the fabulous cookies they provide. I needed a good chuckle today and you were it. Thanks! Now go finish off the box...

Anonymous said...

My cookies are being delivered tonight. I CAN'T WAIT!!!

Unknown said...

Loved ' the image of 2 women in the school parking lot peddling sugar'!!

Cool Blog

Stacy @ The Next-to-Nothing House said...

I love the image of peddling sugar in the school parking lot....I always call sugar "Kiddie Cocaine" too funny!

Sista Cala said...

I'll take a dozen boxes of Thin Mint pleeeeeze! Every year I buy 5 or 6 boxes. I put 3 boxes in the big freezer outside. I say, "they will be a nice treat later on".

Then in a day or two when the other 3 boxes are long gone, (like a crack addict) I run to the freezer and fumble to open a box before I can get them into the house.

At work, we call any kind of chocolate; poor man's valium. Thin mints are my drug of choice.

Chrissy said...

I have a dining room filled with other people's cookies waiting to be delivered, but sadly, my stash is almost gone.

Are they really called Peanut Butter Patties or do you call them Tagalongs? It's curious to me how they have different names in different regions.