Tuesday, March 10, 2009

would you like some cookies?

My parents have a sign in their window that says ‘no solicitiation…unless you’re selling cookies, then it’s ok.’ I made it and put it up because Girl Scouts truly are the only people welcome at my door without an invitation. When I was growing up, it was normal for people to come to the door to sell you food. Most of my summertime calories as a child came in the form of half-melted ice cream from a one-armed Indian man that drove a rusty truck full of freezers down my block. It was fantastic. Sometimes the doorbell would ring and I’d look out the window and see a little man with a dolly laden with boxes of un-ripened strawberries waiting patiently at the door. “Fresas, lady?” Sometimes the door-to-door tamale lady would come by but that is where I draw the line. I do not buy tamales from strangers that come to my door. That’s just ridiculous.
Anyway, I digress. Imagine my shock and awe when I opened my apartment door and found two little girls with a basket of cookies greeting me. This was an awesome surprise since I live in a security building with fancy key codes and secret cameras. How did these girls find their way in? Maybe they live here. I didn’t have time to learn the logistics; the point was that they have cookies and they were AT MY DOOR. I asked if they had any Caramel Delights, to which they replied, ‘no, but we have Samoas.’ What? Samoas? WHAT?! Just a week before, Matt’s mom had emailed me to tell me that the Girl Scouts had changed the name of my most favorite cookie ever, the Samoa, to ‘Caramel Delights’ for some unknown reason. She even bought me a box to 'Caramel Delights' to show me. It was then that I realized that these girls just looked like regular girls, not scouts. They were wearing Hannah Montana shirts and no green sashes or berets. They had no badges and I had no reason to believe that they were anything but Disney loving girls who robbed some legitimate Girl Scouts of their cookies and then broke in to my building to sell the black market confectionaries.
I bought a box… but not the Samoas. I just felt weird. I got the shortbreads instead. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. However, these girls needed to be praised for their bravery of doing door to door to all the crazies (myself included.) I have been eating one cookie a day so that of they were poised by these “Girl Scouts” maybe I wouldn’t die so quickly. These cookies have been a constant source of paranoia for me for a WEEK now. A whole week.
Imagine my surprise and relief when I was riding the train this weekend and happened to look out the window at the perfect moment and saw MY Girl Scouts in uniform with a table full of cookies. I will probably eat the whole rest of the box of cookies today.
I looked in to it more and it turns out that the name of the cookie is dependent on what company the troop buys their cookies from. So 'Caramel Delights' are legit, though still not as catchy as 'Samoas.' I remain suspicious about that whole situation, though.

3 comments:

woozug said...

They were most likely not old samoas. The truth of the matter is that the name wasn't changed, they are just called something different in different parts of the US. I grew up knowing them as caramel delights, but after moving six hours south, I know know them as samoas. So don't hate on the girl scouts for selling you old cookies, because they were probably fine.

Dionne said...

I have never heard of caramel delights! Kristen just taught me something new, and I am ushering my second child through the girl scouts at this time... but only as a parent. I must say, I found your post about girl scout paranoia so funny it brought tears to my eyes! I certainly hope you will enjoy the rest of your box of cookies in peace!
Cheers,
Dionne

Ashley said...

yes, I also learned from Kirsten about the cookies. Thanks Kirsten! It's funny, because my mom had a similar experience this week. She sent my dad to the grocery store's Girl Scout stand for 'peanut butter patties' and they had NO idea what those were. The Girl Scouts must unify or they will self-destruct!

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